Monday August 26, 2019

Road video and map – Gundagai, NSW to Echuca, VIC

Most of today was spent driving the 250 miles from Gundagai to Echuca where I visited the National Holden Motor Museum and wandered around this tourist town.

The Holden is an Australian icon which, in 1918, started building car bodies for Ford, Chrysler and General Motors on bare chassis imported from the US. The bodies were specifically designed for Australian tastes and needs and the vehicles sold well. It was acquired by General Motors in 1931 and began assembling complete cars as well as designing and/or manufacturing cars that were sold in the US (Chevy and Pontiac), UK (Vauxhall), continental Europe (Opel), the Middle East and South Africa. The factory was closed in 2017 as part of GM’s reorganization of global production.

There are many things I am loving about Australia and I can understand why so many younger people who experience it stay here. Today, I’ll just talk about the people. In Sydney and Canberra my encounters were friendly and helpful but not different from anything you might experience anywhere. The past couple of days, however, have been in small places and everyone just seems to want everyone else to have a great time. At the museum I met Mark at the front desk and paid my admission. He asked where I was from, I told him England, then the US and he started the introductory video for me; all perfectly normal. However, once another volunteer had taken over at reception and he could have gone home, he came into the display area to find me and act as my personal guide. He was obviously very knowledgeable and an enthusiast (he owns two of the cars on display) and with him by my side I was able to get far more out of my visit.

Later, while wandering the touristy high street, I experienced several”Crocodile Dundee” moments as complete strangers said cheerful hellos or G’days when we passed. At my hotel, when the owner learned I was on a road trip, he cheerfully volunteered to spend some time with me tomorrow morning to go over the rest of my route and offer advice for places to visit. Amazing.

The National Holden Motor Museum has over 50 cars on display. These are some from the 1960s.
There are many special cars in the collection. This Australian designed and built car was the first production model of the Holden Monaro which was exported to the US as the Pontiac GTO and to the UK as the Vauxhall Monaro.