Cruise Night 9/2/2024
The annual Cruise Night on Friday 9th February saw 13 vehicles and 28 members, partners and friends choose their own route to cruise through the town on a mild summer evening to meet at Swanport Reserve, an attractive lawned riverside reserve situated on the southern side of Murray Bridge adjacent to a very picturesque section of the River Murray and which is usually a relatively quiet picnic and fishing spot.
However, on a previous occasion the little corellas decided to also entertain themselves in the area and at around six pm, the perfect time for what seemed like a nice relaxing picnic tea an incredibly loud jumble of squawking voices flew in and proceeded to race from tree-to-tree screeching with as much volume as they could muster. After they departed it was much quieter and as one would say “they’re like Collingwood – you either love them or you hate them.”
On this occasion they were relatively well-behaved causing only minor disruption and given the informal nature of the event, members were able to socialise, and conversations flowed as individual picnics and platters were shared around.
Amongst the visitors present were club member Malina Bretag’s parents who were visiting from Queensland.
Like the members of the club, the ages of the vehicles present varied from late models to the oldies, and in particular the 1926 Chevrolet truck of Eric Wehrmann and the 1925 Chevrolet Bread Van of Trevor Wehrmann together with the handsome 1929 Dodge DA (BUD) of John and Vicki Courtney are wonderful examples of the “oldies” and a credit to their owners for the restorative work carried out by them.
One is always surprised by what Claude and Liz Minge will bring out of the box (excuse the pun for a former undertaker), and this time it was the 1970 300SE Mercedes sedan, and what a superior example of German engineering this vehicle is.
Jan Hall’s comments of “perfect weather for going topless” was taken seriously by Jerry and Kerry Wilson in their 1960 convertible Chevrolet Corvette, along with Bruce and Di Dawson’s 1958 Austin Healey, Jan Hall’s convertible BMW, David Smyth’s BMW Motorsport Roadster and Cecily Graetz in her convertible Mercedes.
It is always interesting when a group of people from diverse backgrounds come together with the common thread being an interest in cars particularly vintage, classic, and other unique vehicles, and you may likely find yourself sitting next to a complete stranger and ask the question “what car did you drive here today” and the conversation continues, and a new friendship is made.
Club President Harry Howitt and Treasurer and event coordinator Jan Hall agreed it had been a top gathering of like-minded motoring enthusiasts once again with great weather to boot. They thanked everyone for attending and wished them a safe journey home.
