Wellington Strawberry Fete 6/10/2024

A cool morning (well, it was the first day of daylight saving after all) met the band of members who assembled at the Clubrooms.  Nine cars and eighteen members were looking forward to a very relaxing and enjoyable day’s outing. 

The Wellington Strawberry Fete, being a somewhat shorter Club Run, is particularly suitable for our older cars, and it was great to see John and Vicki Courtney roll up in their beautifully restored 1929 Dodge, its paintwork gleaming in the early morning sun.

We departed the Clubrooms at 9:00 a.m. sharp and made our way to Wellington via Maurice and Hindmarsh Roads, then on to the Jervois Road where we turned off at Flagstaff Road.  It is quite a pleasant journey along Flagstaff Road, with changing scenery (from the pork and chicken industries to crops and farming scenes, to salt lakes) and enough bends and curves to keep the trip interesting.  The final leg along the Wellington/Langhorne Creek Road saw us arriving at the Fete at 9:30 a.m.

Long time stalwart supporter of the Fete, Des Kluske was there to guide us in to the reserved area for our static display.  It wasn’t long before we were all settled in, with the Club banners flying in the stiffening breeze, tables and chairs dotted about and thermoses and morning tea appearing.

Another three members rocked up a little late, making our total representation 10 cars and 21 people.

For the rest of the day, we were free to do as we wished – either sit and chat, wander round the many stalls, listen to the Murray Bridge Community Band or support the Wellington Community by purchasing the delicious (and generous) servings of strawberries and ice-cream/cream.  Scones with jam and cream were also on offer, not to mention a variety of hot food and drinks.  Anyone hungry was certainly well catered for.  The substantial number of stalls were selling a variety of items and I, for one, always manage to find something interesting, or useful, to spend money on.  I was very pleased with my purchases on the day.

The Wellington Strawberry Fete is the sole fund-raising event for the year to support the upkeep of the Wellington Hall.  It is great that our Club supports this worthy cause every second year and it must be said that there is always much interest from the community attending the Fete in our static display of historic vehicles.  A steady stream of appreciators seems to be the order of things during the entire day.

But all good things come to an end and, as the day wound down, the band packed up, the stall holders packed up and we packed up, ready to head home.  John Courtney offered a vote of thanks to the organizers, who, in turn, thanked those who came along, and we made our own individual ways home. 

Once again, a very pleasant Club Run for the Auto Collectors Club of Murray Bridge.