GVMVDC comes to Tatura
You would be forgiven if, when you stepped outside on Wednesday April 16th, you thought that you had warped fifty or sixty years back in time. The streets in and around Tatura were awash with vintage and classic cars as members of the Goulburn Valley Motor Vehicle Drivers Club (GVMVDC) migrated towards Dhurringile.
The GVMVDC was formed in Numurkah in November 1970 to cater to veteran, vintage and classic motoring enthusiasts before moving to Shepparton in 1972 and purchasing clubrooms at Grahamvale in 2006. The club has more than 300 members throughout the Goulburn Valley, from Benalla to Dunolly, Katamatite to Euroa, with 8% of our members calling Tatura 'home'.
We are currently developing a new club website, due for launch in a month or so, and decided that we needed photos of our members' cars against a historic and identifiably Goulburn Valley backdrop. Where better than the 148 year old Dhurringile Mansion? Unfortunately, since the Victorian Government Penal Department purchased the mansion in 1965, being granted release from the minimum security prison was almost easier than gaining access to the grounds and building for photos (without breaking the law at least). However, following discussions with the Dhurringile Decommissioning Team, approval for us to hold a photo shoot in the mansion's carpark was granted, along with permission to view some of the 68 sympathetically restored rooms within the historically significant mansion and the beautiful Ferguson & Urie stained glass windows.
Hence, on Wednesday April 16th 87 club members and 42 vintage and classic cars converged on the mansion at 10 am. Two hours of semi-organised chaos ensued as vehicles were moved into position, photographed and then re-shuffled. The shoot included stunning examples of Australian, British, French, Italian, German, American and Japanese vehicles, ranging from a 1926 Austin 12 Tourer to a 2025 Chevrolet Corvette and most everything between. Following the photo shoot, members decamped to the Hilltop Golf Club Bistro for lunch.
Our thanks to the team at the Bistro for providing an excellent lunch under trying circumstances, given that the number of members that turned out for the day was approximately twice the number anticipated (and booked for at the Bistro).
In particular though, our thanks go to Ms Tracy Canavan of the Department of Justice and Community Safety's Dhurringile Decommissioning Team for facilitating our access to the mansion building and grounds, and also to the Decommissioning Team personnel for whom nothing was too much trouble on the day. Unlike earlier 'visitors' to the mansion since it became a prisoner-of-war camp in 1941, many members of the club were reluctant to leave.
Robin Fletcher
President - GVMVDC
