November Midweek Run to MOVE

Your reporter didn't feel like driving the competent but blah hatchback which is currently just passing through his life all the way to Shepparton, so he hitched a ride in the comfy red leather back seat of Gary Dole's '67 S Type Jag, and away we 13 in our 4 club cars and moderns went. Things got better quite quickly. Not only did some sun appear amongst billowing clouds, but the road north to Pyalong is spectacular, passing through rolling hills with sentinel rock formations adding to the visual drama.

By the time we were on the Goulburn Valley Highway, the steady purring of the 3.4 litre twin cam in overdrive relaxed your reporter completely. What better place to catnap than in the back of a fast cat? Any reports of snoring are scurrilous and defamatory....maybe.

And so suddenly we were there at MOVE - the Museum of Vehicle Evolution - at Kialla, just south of Shepparton. From the outside it's a very big tin shed, but inside it's another matter altogether. You could think of it as a big toy box for the district's movers and shakers. Large banners promoting local businesses and producers line the high walls of the enormous wing devoted to their historic trucks. However, it's the cars just inside the door that cause the first sharp intakes of breath. American Iron, Rods and Muscle Cars grab attention. There are also friendly volunteer guides roving around and are happy to chat. Brian sidled up as your reporter stood slack-jawed in front of the biggest and shiniest Kenworth prime mover he'd ever seen up close, and 20 minutes later all questions were cheerfully answered, not just about the cars and trucks, but also about his 40-year career as a truckie and the remarkable changes he'd experienced. The big Kenworth was pristine - not a stone chip to be seen - and no wonder, as it had less than 700k's on the clock. It had been bought to pull another " show truck" around to displays, only that show truck wasn't finished yet!

We wandered back to the cars. An EH Holden had had 600 horsepower stuffed into it, and in the finishing off the bill came to just under the median Australian house price - $850k. By contrast, a bloated mid-70s 2-door Lincoln Continental Town Car, 36,000 miles on the odometer with immaculate burgundy paint and body bling, had been secured at auction in Detroit for $21,000, plus $7,000 for shipping. It needed only brake pads for a Roadworthy and club plates.

The size and scale of the collection are stunning. Motorcycles? Plenty of them in their own section. Upstairs to the mezzanine a beautifully curated selection of velocipedes and bicycles beckoned. An 1890 American bike stood out, made of laminated hickory wood, even the fork and rims. And, of course, an early Malvern Star, made in the 1940s and looking like it had just been wheeled out of the factory shop in Glenferrie Rd.

Time flew, your reporter never got to see the Furphy Foundry display, but another section stopped him in his tracks. Off to the left of the entrance is a doorway to another world. The Loel Thomson Costume Collection has on display a fraction of her lifetime's gathering of textiles, clothing and artifacts spanning 200 years of fashion, all meticulously curated and interpreted. Let's gloss over the lurid '70s men's clobber, all colours and geometrics, the ladies' historic unmentionables on bashful dummies, and just pause and ponder what's in that glass display case. It's a lady's white fur hand-warming muff, and...is that?...is that a little dog's face? Is it 3 little Japanese Spitz dog faces sewn together? Are they real? Do we really want to know? Aargh!

Lunchtime drew us reluctantly away, but most agreed there was more to see on another visit, especially as displays are changed regularly. We adjourned to the Parklake Hotel, which, though a recent build, gave off a '70s vibe of brown and gold and osa tentatious marble. We'd seen an orange body shirt, green & yellow Paisley tie, and deep purple safari suit back at the museum that would've blended right in.

Thanks to Pam, and especially Brian and Linda who did much necessary research, for another memorable day which turned out far from bleak.

Thanks to our Midweek Run Reporter Greg Brown, for this detailed and interesting article.