Congratulations Mark Speakman.

I was absolutely delighted yesterday when it was announced that my friend & fellow motoring enthusiast Mark Speakman was elected the new N.S.W. opposition Liberal leader here in New South Wales.

Photo of Mark Speakman & myself (15/4/2018)  posing in Darren Grant’s 1911 Classic Vintage vehicle (Emmy Lou) at our 2018 Sylvanvale Pre WWll Vintage Car show at Dunningham Park with North Cronulla beach in the background.

Mark, the N.S.W. former attorney general defeated former planning minister Anthony Roberts 22-13, to get the gig.

I sure as hell do not envy him, he has a huge job ahead of him. It will be a long road to hoe for him & his troops to make headway with 4 years from the opposition bench’s.

Best of luck, mate.

I honestly thought that Mark would want to have a shot federally & take Scott Morrison’s seat of Cook when Scott vacates his seat when ever that may be.

I first met Mark & his lovely wife Caroline many, many years ago in the dining room at the Anzac Day Dawn Service breakfast in the Cronulla R.S.L. club in Cronulla.

Mark has been a staunched supporter of the Sylvanvale Pre WWll Vintage Car show since  I started it way back in 2015, when I requested his support to lead the official party & dignitaries. 

He has always put his hand up without one exception.

I just hope that now he is the leader of the opposition here in N.S.W. he can afford the time to join us again on Sunday 17th September for this years Sylvanvale Pre WWll Vintage Car Show in Sutherland.

Photo of Mark Speakman, Sutherland Shire Mayor Carmelo Pesce & yours truly in Cronulla Mall on 15/4/2018 beside my 1930 Model A Ford Special Delivery Wagon.

Photo of Mark with Dirk Regter from Holland (in Cronulla mall) on 14/4/2019 seated in Dirk’s 103 year old Model T Ford that was on a round the world trip (80,000 miles or 130,000 kms) visiting all Continents raising money for Dirk’s preferred charity.

Due to the wretched Covid Virus we were forced to cancel our Sylvanvale Pre-WWll Vintage Car show in 2020 & 2021,  however we managed against all the odds last year to get the show back on the road in 2022.

Last years Pre-WWll Vintage Car show that was held on 20th March ‘22 we absolutely blitzed it at our new location in Sutherland raising well over $30K for people with a disability that are less fortunate than us to reach their potential.

Needless to say we & our volunteers are full steam ahead for this years Pre-WWll Vintage Car show to be held in Sutherland on September 17th 2023.

If you are reading this email & contemplate joining us for this years event please keep Sunday 17th September vacant, we only have 150 places available so it will be 1st in 1st served.

You can contact me on 0438 692 737 or via email warbo47@gmail.com & reserve your position well ahead of time if you prefer.

We have a little less than 5 months until the BIG day, I will keep you all in the loop as to the progress of our exciting extravaganza come September, trust me if you are a car tragic like myself you will not want to miss this wonderful community event.

If you don’t have a Vintage Vehicle to exhibit to the many thousands of people in the “Shire” you can always join the thousand of spectators that enjoy these Classic treasures from yesteryear.

The children absolutely love checking out these works of art from a long gone era.

I will finish off this email with 2 photographs of which I am very proud of. 

Looking forward to looking back.

Thanks again, looking forward to another tremendously successful Sylvanvale Pre-WWll Vintage Car show in September ‘2023.

Stay tuned, stay safe.

Cheers

Warbo.    (Event organiser & proud custodian of this special event).

Where am I now, you may ask??

 Hello everyone again from the Insular Peninsula,

I have been laying low since my return to good old Sydney Town at the beginning of March from my 3 month sojourn in Phoenix Arizona, however this is just about to cease.  I thought that it would be a good idea to give you all a breather from my travels & emails from the other side of the world.

Good friend Andrew Heath & yours truly enjoying a ‘Dog’s eye’ with the works, mash potato, peas & gravy. Absolutely scrumptious.

Our Chrysler Restorers Club of Australia were invited to exhibit some of our members' vehicles over the Easter weekend. (see photos). 

There were 20 vehicles that showed up to give our Club some very public exposure with a good variety of the Mopar brand over the years. My 1964 Plymouth/Valiant 2 door Sedan with some of the other members' vehicles in the background that were on display.

As you can see in this photo we were blessed with perfect weather for our day out.

Have you guessed where we are as yet ???

Upon arrival the “Trolly Dolly” from Down-under as usual looked after his mate Andrew like a silk worm with a fresh cup of  HOT tea & HOT Cross buns, slathered with butter & Blackberry jam, trust me, Andrew said that he would leave home if I continued to spoil him like this. I kindly reminded him that he does not have enough money to move in with me, besides he is definitely not attractive enough.

The suspense is killing me, I will now let you into the secret where we were on Easter Monday. None other than the Sydney Royal Easter show. We were instructed to meet at Gate No.10 at the Showground between 0700-0730 so that we could be escorted to our privileged prime display area before all the punters arrived.

It has been many years since I have attended the Royal Easter Show, as a matter of fact over 28 years to be precise. Nathaniel, my son, was only 5 years old the last time I went to the Royal Easter Show & at that time the Show was held at a completely  different venue here in Sydney. The Easter Show was first held in Sydney in 1823 by the Royal Agricultural Society of N.S.W. It started at Parramatta Park, moving later to Prince Alfred Park then Moore Park. Sydney Olympic Park has been the venue since 1998. The show is allowed to use the “royal” moniker thanks to Queen Victoria, who gave her permission in 1891.  The show is Australia’s largest annual ticketed event. Rodeo riding remains an attraction at this event. The show regularly attracts crowds of around 1 million people each year. However the Royal Easter Show would be nothing if it weren’t for all the animals & magnificent displays of produce. Not to mention side show alley, the unbelievable wood chopping events held every 10 minutes, daredevil motorbike events that are called the wall of death.

One of my favourite attractions is where all the different growing districts throughout N.S.W. make up these enormous displays where they show off all of their area’s vegetables, fruit, wool & what ever else they produce & are judged in the best exhibit competition. This years winner was the Northern Districts that includes, Kyogle-Moree-Coffs Harbour-Guyra-Murwillumbah-Casino-Ben Lomond & many other areas too many to list in my blog due to limit restrictions.

Getting to know you at the Royal Easter Show 2023.

Once we had parked our vehicles in the allotted area I said to Andrew “Why don’t we venture out into all the attractions before the thousands upon thousands of spectators arrive”.

Andrew is a Royal Easter Show expert, he has been to the show year after year for many years so I used him as my very own Show guide which worked out absolutely fantastically. I can assure you we didn’t miss out on too much, towards the end of the day I was completely exhausted & ready to return to my ‘64 Plymouth/Valiant for a well earned R&R relaxing on the front bench seat of the car for a very well earned rest.

Looking back on our excursion to this years Royal Easter Show I was pleasantly surprised by the quality & versatility of all the events, I would definitely recommend a visit to this wonderful yearly attraction.

Our Chrysler Restorers Club of Australia display was very well received by the many thousands of car enthusiasts that attended the show that did not expect to see anything like they did which made our day so much more enjoyable.

Stay safe.

Cheers from the “Squire from the Shire”.

Warbo.

Ken Warburton

M: 0438 692 737

E: warbo47@gmail.com

To have a look at my Facebook Page - CLICK HERE

Now T-minus 5-months to go…

Monday 17th of April - 2023 marks exactly 5 months to go in the countdown for our 7th Sylvanvale Pre-WWII Vintage Car Show to be held on Sunday the 17th of September 2023 at the council car park in Flora Street, Sutherland N.S.W.

You have all heard about the most traveled Model A Ford in the World, named “Sheila”. This will be your opportunity to get up close and personal with her at this years show plus many more new entries, including a few surprises.

For those of you that attended last year’s outstanding and successful Pre-WWII Vintage Car show - you ain’t seen nothing yet! Please reserve the 17th of September 2023 in your papyrus diaries for another unique event in the “Shire” for the whole family to enjoy. 

Event: Sylvanvale Pre-WWII Vintage Car Show

Date: Sunday the 17th of September 2023

Location: Sutherland Council Car Park, Flora Street Sutherland, 2232.

Time: 9:00am until 3:00pm

Food and beverage vendors on-site.