Octagon September, 2016

Some words from Elaine
The big news since the publication of the July
Octagon is the establishment of a new chapter, the
WHITSUNDAYS CHAPTER. The importance of
this is reflected in both the cover and contents of
this issue.
The cover photo was provided by Cathie Meredith,
the inaugural Coordinator of the Whitsundays
Chapter, along with the information that the
pictured MGB is owned by Kevin and Beryl Doyle
of Walkerston. The Healey in the photo is owned
by Bradley Short who will probably also be a
member of the Club by the time you read this. The
Tiger Moth pictured is one of two in the Mackay
Tiger Moth Museum; the other in the museum was
built in Cowley by Morris Motors in 1943! How is
that for a happy coincidence!
Inside is an article by David Miles, our Chapter
Liaison Officer, giving his “official” report on the
weekend and the success in forming the new
Chapter while each of the Chapters attending
has included their perspective of the weekend
in their reports. Everything written about the
weekend is filled with positivity and with reports of
happy events which will live on in the participants’
memories for a long time. Well done, David!
For those new to the Club, one of David’s many
achievements during his second Presidency of
the Club (2004 - 2008) was the introduction of
Chapters to the Club, an innovation which helped
our Club membership to soar from fewer than 500
to more than 800 during that period.
Due to a strange circumstance of programming
competition events in our calendar, our Ace
Reporter who generally provides reports of
competition events was left with nothing to report
on! This did, however, allow space to finally
publish Part 5 in his well-researched ‘History of
Motorsport in Queensland’ which has, for too long
now, been held over until the next issue and then
the next etc ... but at last it is here! Parts 1-4 have
previously been published in earlier Octagons but
are still available for reading on the website at
http://www.mgccq.org.au/nostalgia7.htm.
Following the publication of the July issue
featuring Dean Tighe in his Dallara-Judd hillclimb
special, I received a request for an article to be
published about the car. This is the first time in
my 10+ years of Octagon editorship that this has
ever happened. I contacted Dean who was happy
to oblige and all of you, hillclimb enthusiasts
and otherwise, will find the story of ‘The JuDDi’
excellent reading. Maybe there are others who
secretly also wish for a particular article to be
published - let me know if you do!
The National Meeting is now a few months in the
past but the stories of the long trips there and back
still make great reading. This time you can read Pt
2 of the Rayments’ trip to Perth and the full story of
Ian and Karen Fettes trip there and back (the long
way!) along with Malcolm Spiden as their shadow
in his
MGB GT.
“Chapter Chatter” is now enhanced with five
Chapters reporting on their events. Full credit
goes to Cathie Meredith of the new Whitsundays
Chapter who produced a report and photos for
this issue when the Chapter was barely a fortnight
old and she and her husband, Wayne, were busy
with moving both house and business and fulfilling
commitments to another Classic car club of which
they are members. She is living proof of the adage
- “If you want something done, ask a busy person!”
Sadly, Russ Geraghty’s bucket of tales is now
empty with the publication of the final of this
‘series’ - I live in hope of more to come! His
inimitable writing style never fails to bring a smile
to the reader’s face. Thanks, Russ.
Unbelievably, the next issue, the November one,
will be the final one for 2016. Please have any
items for it to me before the end of October.
- Elaine
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The Octagon - September 2016