COROWA 1999
20th Annual GPA Swim-In
Corowa N.S.W.
Tuesday 9th to Sunday 14th March
On Sunday 7th March Maureen Bell and myself left
Kurrajong on our way to Corowa after ensuring we had all the necessary
requirements for this special event. As well as Jenni Bennie and Roger
Ross we had both spent lots of time and phone calls to ensure that this
event would be a memorable one. Our first overnight stop was at Yass
where we stayed the night with Mick and Lori Newling.
On Monday morning we left Yass and headed towards Corowa. We searched
the antique shops on the way down and put posters advertising the event
in some of the shops that we went into. [Ray Mobbs commented that he
knew which shops we had been into by the terrific colour posters we had
put up]. We arrived at Corowa at 2pm and briefly stopped at the caravan
park to offload some of our supplies before starting to distribute
posters through the shops in Corowa. Jenni Bennie, one of our other
organisers, met up with us and we decided to go up to the Shire Offices
to meet the Mayor: Councillor Gary Poidevin and General Manager: Mr
Bruce Corcoran. After our meeting we felt that our requirements for the
week were being taken care of. A number of participants arrived on
Monday and we caught up with them that evening. Peter Short who attended
the first Swim-In in 1980 with his GPA had received information from Ian
Grieve and arrived over the prior weekend.
Tuesday and Wednesday were spent approaching businesses to donate goods
and putting up more brochures along with receiving phone calls from a
number of radio stations, newspapers and television stations. The media
coverage was fantastic.
On Tuesday afternoon I received a phone call from Bob and Jenny Dimer
from W.A. informing us that they were at Mulwala, 40 minutes away. We
organised to meet them and escort them through town as they had
transported Half-Safe over from the Guildford Grammar School in Perth.
John Hedges rode his Harley Davidson to the edge of town and escorted
Bob. The Budget Rent-a-Car Company from W.A. provided a pantechnicon at
a discounted rate as they had received appropriate television coverage
in Perth. A number of people greeted Bob and Jenny and took photos of
Half-Safe in the pantechnicon. For the organisers this was a very
special moment as Roger Ross had conversed with the Grammar School and
Maureen, Jenni and I had organised fundraising and sponsorship. That
evening Richard Farrant from the U.K. and Dave Brown arrived.
Wednesday morning at 9.30am we unloaded Half-Safe. We found a loading
ramp near the tennis courts and put up with the millions of ants while
we all waited for Half-Safe to be unleashed and started up. Many people
were gathered around the open rear doors of the pantech and were
delighted when the engine started, filling the interior of the van with
smoke prompting a quick exit onto the loading ramp. Half-Safe was driven
back to the caravan park and parked alongside the Budget truck and a
GPA. Maureen and I went to Rutherglen and visited the Uncle Tobys
factory and Cofield Winery for donations of goods for our raffle. Upon
our return Dave Wolfe and Ray Mobbs had arrived for their overnight
stay. A number of us walked up to The Royal Hotel for our evening meal.
On Thursday we had our ‘Ladies Rally’ [Gentlemen by invitation only]. A
number of men showed interest as we were searching the antique and craft
shops. We left at approximately 10.15am and our first stop was Chiltern
where we stayed for 45 minutes. Dave Wolfe dug deep in one of the shops
and found a part for his 25 pounder. Our next stop was Beechworth where
there were numerous things to see and do. It appeared that most of us
ate lunch at the famous Beechworth Bakery which recently has been voted
the 1998 Victorian Tourism Awards Winner for Significant Regional
Attraction.
We ended our rally with a visit to Cofield Winery
which is a small family winery established in 1990, specialising in
white and red table wines, including sparkling wine. On our return to
the caravan park we met Keith Smith and Carrie Forrester from Tantrum
Films in Perth who arrived to take footage of the Swim-In to begin a
documentary on Half-Safe. Keith had contacted me on Friday 5th March to
ask if he could attend our Swim-In as he has been planning to make a
documentary and wanted to begin it at Corowa. They organised to arrive
at Corowa and we organised their accommodation. We were also fortunate
to have Brian Asbury from Canada arrive with his friend Catherine. That
evening a slide show was provided by Ian Grieve and Allan Newton who had
some interesting early shots of Corowa.
On Friday a ‘Mystery Trip’ was organised to incorporate the amphibious
and road vehicles. After lining up outside Uncle Tobys the convoy was
led to Shaws Flats which by river was 23 miles from the caravan park.
Colin Anderson from Shepparton restored a Ford Marmon Herrington LP4
Armoured Car for this special year. It was one of just 9 built by the
South Australian railways in 1939. Each was given a name and Collin’s
was called Wombat. Unfortunately it broke down on the first leg of the
‘Mystery Trip’. Two of the five GPA’s which started on the convoy did
the first part of the river cruise. Keith and Carrie [our documentary
makers] came with me and we kept ahead of the river cruise.
After Warwick Lord led a few people astray with his toilet roll the road vehicles were led to Chiltern for a look around the town led by Alan Carpenter. Some people who wanted to see the GPA’s come out of the water made their own way back to the Winery. I had organised for WIN Television and The Border Mail to meet at All Saints to do some coverage for us. They arrived at 12 o’clock and interviewed myself and GPA owners who were waiting for the GPA’s to arrive down stream. Those waiting were hoping the trip was successful however someone said “Look out for the lifejackets and then we will search for the wreckage.”
After 2 hours and 10 minutes the GPA’s arrived and we proceeded into All Saints Winery where we had lunch on the grass while the television and newspaper reporters took photos and interviewed us. We arrived back at the caravan park mid afternoon to greet the GPA’s who did the short river journey from the winery. I received a phone call from Eddie Ford, the Editor of Restored Cars Magazine to tell me that he had arrived in town. John Hedges went and met him and took him to the river where all the action was. Mal Mackay was convinced by an unnamed female to stage some grand entries into the lagoon.
The footage taken was great. That evening Maureen and
I had organised with The Star Hotel that we have our dinner on the
balcony. After our initial thought of 40 people we had to double the
booking. This was an enjoyable evening where we got to talk to our
country members and Steve and Keith Moody from Coonabarabran who joined
the AMVCS over the weekend. Those who came will remember the $2 coin
which was dropped down my dress and disappeared. After a body search by
Bob Dimer he was successful in finding the missing $2.
Saturday was our busiest day. I had photocopied programs and information
for participants so they were aware of the schedule for the day. At 9am
the Corowa Police changed the lights on the bridge so the vehicles could
be in convoy over to Rutherglen for the photo shoot. We organised a
permit in N.S.W. for Half-Safe which was transported on a trailer for
the Victorian section. The return journey occurred at 10am. By this
stage Half-Safe was unloaded off the trailer to drive through Corowa.
The procession was led to Bangerang Park where I organised for Swap Meet
people to park in one area and vehicles to park in another area. The
Lion’s Club provided a delicious lunch for us and Keith Adam organised a
parachute jump. There were 66 vehicles in the procession and numerous
others joined us in the park totalling 85-90 vehicles.
The weather concerned us for a while with the occasional spot of rain however this passed quickly and the rest of the day was warm. Dennis Nolan who is currently living in Saudi Arabia was introduced to me. I was fortunate to be asked by Bob Dimer if I would like a ride in Half-Safe and be ‘Elinore Carlin’. As we were going back to the caravan park I was thinking of the determination of Ben Carlin to complete this circumnavigation of the world by land and sea. We drove down to the lagoon and after numerous photos were taken and Bob showed me that my passenger seat was on top of the toilet we changed seats for a short time.
John Oldenmenger returned me to Bangerang Park where we dismantled the sign board and proceeded to the area for the Guiness Book of Records attempted world record for ‘The greatest number of privately owned GPA’s ever assembled’. We were fortunate to have 16 in our line up and they were all numbered with Half-Safe being Number 1. Brian Bell had the largest number of GPA’s: 4. However they were all small models which he placed across the bow of Half-Safe.
Mick Downing from Corowa provided a cherry picker so
people could get aerial photographs of the GPA’s. Also attending to
write reports were the Corowa Free Press, the Mayor and Shire General
Manager. The GPA owners were handed special certificates while later
people who attended this special event with a vehicle received another
certificate. A number of GPA’s ended up in the lagoon for a group shot
in the water. At 5pm the Corowa Shire had organised a Civic Reception
for us. Jenni Bennie and I were loaned original 1942 nurses uniforms by
John Hedges so we dressed up for the occasion and enjoyed the food
provided. Speeches to verify the World Record attempt were given before
we left the Corowa Sports and Citizens Club and proceeded to the area
allocated for the Spit Roast dinner.
Maureen and I had collected money for 186 adults and 21 children. The
main course was served rather quickly and we organised icecream in cones
for the children prior to the adult desserts. While the main courses
were being served we had a black out for a short time however people
quickly came to the rescue with torches. Unfortunately when dessert was
announced a few people at the front of the queue took more that they
should. One person was seen with 4 pieces of cheesecake and a pile of
cream on their plate. This was very inconsiderate of them. The evening
proceedings of speeches, prize giving, raffle draw and auction went
well.
There were a number of raffle prizes which kept
people interested. The first prize was accommodation for two people for
two nights at Ball Park Caravan Park. It was won by Alexander Cameron.
We have not been able to award it to him so if anyone knows him can they
please get him to contact us otherwise this will be raffled again next
year. Maureen and I had purchased a number of things over the past
months which we used as prizes for people. The auction was interesting,
as Alan Carpenter and Bevan Fenner were our auctioneers. Rick and
Michael Cove, Mick Jerecivich and Kevin Burne assisted with this also.
The total money from the auction was aver $1200.
Fortunately I was able to stay at Corowa until the Monday so we spent
Sunday morning sorting out the money and went down to the river in the
afternoon for some well earned relaxation before going up to The Royal
Hotel that evening for dinner.
There are a lot of people to thank for their assistance. Bob and Jenny
Dimer for their efforts in transporting and caring for Half-Safe. John
Hedges for supplying a P.A. system, video coverage, noticeboard, paper
and on hand when assistance was required. Richard Farrant for being on
hand to assist in many ways. Brian Bell for his help and assistance over
the last 12 months including organising colour posters, labels and media
releases. Gwenda Ross and Kathleen for fundraising, organising Roger and
the certificates to all vehicle owners. Lyn Seward for the raffle and
screen printing assistance along with her husband Bob. Jim Bennie for
assisting Jenni. Bruce and Deborah Birrell for assisting with the
Souvenir Programs. Hugh and Barbara Thompson for organising a
commemorative cake and searching for past information on Corowa and
Half-Safe. Leslie McKibbin for helping with requirements for Saturday
evening and assisting at the Swap Meet. The transport costs of Half-Safe
were successfully covered by donations, auction, raffle, screen printing
etc.
The wide variety of vehicles was great to see. We asked people to sign a
visitors book and from that and video coverage I have come up with the
following list:
Folding push bike
WLA Harley Davidson
Austin Champ
Studebaker
½ ton Dodge Weapons Carrier
1939 Ford Marmon Herrington
DUKW
LP4 Armoured Car
International Mk 5 [F1] 6x6
Ford Utility
Chev Blitz
Series 3 Land-Rover
White Half Track
Bren Gun Carrier
1963 Toyota Delta
Chev Panel Van
White Scout Car M3A1
GMC 211
24 Jeeps
16 GPA’s including Half-Safe
6x6 Dodge Weapons Carrier
BSA B40
Lend Lease Chev
Dodge M37
No 12 Cab Blitz
2A Land Rover
Command Car
RAAF Staff Car [FJ Holden]
Saracen Mk 1
C15 Blitz ‘Pie Van’ Wireless Truck
GMC
1941 Ford truck
4 ¾ tonDodge Weapons Carriers
Dodge Power Wagon
Blitz Tanker
2 White Scout Cars [Australian AOP version] C15A Blitz
Stakeside Ford
2 110 Land-Rovers
The event was a great success and I personally would like to thank
Maureen, Jenni and Roger as together we made this a very successful
occasion. Throughout the past 12 months we kept in regular contact so
the programme would fall into place. Saturday was our busiest day and we
realise that we were trying to fit probably too much in however by the
end of the day everything turned out the way we wanted it to. The Corowa
Shire had provided us with great support and by the numerous radio,
newspaper and television interviews they successfully promoted our
event. Hopefully everyone enjoyed themselves and will return next year.
List of Donators who assisted in the
transportation of Half-Safe.
Australian ex-Military Vehicle Collectors Society [AMVCS]
Victorian Military Vehicle Corps [VMVC]
Military Jeep Club of Queensland
Wartime Vehicle Conservation Group of South Australia
The Military Section of the Veteran Car Club of WA Inc.
Military Vehicle Collectors Society Inc. of South Australia
Mal Mackay [NSW}
Charlie Anderson [Qld]
Trevor Diffey [Vic]
McKibbin’s Transport [New Gisbourne, Vic]
MV Spares, Darcy Miller [Wetherill Park, NSW]
Marathon Spares, Max Goodrich [Walca, NSW]
Graham Person [NSW]
Rick Cove [Vic]
Reg Butler [NSW]
Ian Grieve [Qld]
Robert & Lyn Seward [Vic]
Anonymous x 2
Further Acknowledgments
Bob & Jenny Dimer [WA]
Mick Downing Maintenance Corowa
Hugh & Barbara Thompson [Vic]
Tantrum Films – Keith Smith & Allan Carpenter [Vic]
Carrie Forrester
Brian Bell [NSW]
Lyn & Robert Seward [Vic]
Jenni Chapman & Kevin Burne [NSW]
Keith Adam [NSW]
John Hedges [NSW]
Ken Jasper MLA
John Weeks [NSW]
Corowa Lions Club
Warren Brown [NSW]
Corowa Chamber of Commerce
John Matsaniotis [NSW]
Corowa Tourism Authority
A& K Auto Spares, Corowa
Corowa Shire Council
Craig Watson – Watson Photography [Vic]
Dave Brown [NSW]
Uncle Tobys, Wahgunyah [Vic]
The Star Hotel, Corowa
Bruce & Deborah Birrell [Vic]
Channel 9, Perth [WA]
Gwenda Ross & Kathleen [Vic]
Richard Farrant [U.K.]
Corowa Sports & Citizens Club [NSW]
The Globe Hotel, Corowa
Phillip Scott –Budget Catering, Corowa [NSW]
Bob Cameron [NSW]
Ball Park Caravan Park, Corowa, [NSW]
Mobil Service Station, Wahgunyah [Vic]
ToolesDisposals,Wodonga[Vic]
Budget Rent-a-Car, Perth [WA]
Leslie McKibbin [Vic]
Eddie Ford -Restored Cars Magazine [Vic]
Rick Cove [Vic]
Wine Makers of Rutherglen [Vic]
Michael Cove [Vic]
Rob Goodall from The Royal Hotel & Federation
Mick Jericevich [NSW]
Cellars, Corowa
Bevan Fenner [Vic]
Corowa Photo Shop
John, Sophia, Corrina &
Guildford Grammar School, [WA]
Ramona Oldenmenger [NSW]
Ian Grieve [Qld]
Allan Newton [SA]
Earl Williams [Qld]
Jim Bennie [Vic]
Gary Poidevin, Corowa Mayor
Bruce Corcoran Corowa Shire General Manager
A very special thank you to all the people who donated goods for the
raffle and auction.
Jan Thompson
