HETNR-QLD

Carindale, Brisbane, Easter Sunday, March 31, 2002

Around 35 old cars assembled at the VCCQ clubrooms at Carindale, Brisbane, on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2002. There were six Rambler AMC cars including one driven up from Sydney for the occasion, some Nash models and 20 or so Hudson, Essex and Terraplanes ranging from the early 1920s to 1954. There were also other makes in attendance, a 1927 Chandler, a 1927 Reo, a 1929 Chevrolet, a 1936 Plymouth and a Morris 8.

There was an amazing range of vehicles (spanning sixty years) from companies with models that too often are overlooked and overshadowed by ‘The Big Three’. The Hudson AMC enthusiasts are as dedicated as any and have imported a range of models that were not originally supplied by the Australian distributors. As well it was good to see some of the rare Hudson models from the 1930s like the 1936 Terraplane convertible. A 1951 Nash two door sedan attracted a lot of attention; this is also a very rare car. Not to be left out was a fine variety of very early Essex cars, which were a favorite in their day.

A lot of owners from further afield came in their modems, all up there were approximately 100 in attendance. The main instigator behind the gathering was Grant Yarrow, of the long time Hudson owning Yarrow family from Rosewood. Grant and QVVA President Frank Wegryzniak enlisted a few willing helpers and made it all happen.

The aim of the day was to get HETNR owners together as a group and to see if there was interest in holding occasional HETNR activities. Clubs exist in NSW and Victoria for HETNR products, but there is little HETNR group activity in Queensland.

An informal meeting of those in attendance decided to try for two gatherings a year, one being an Easter static meeting in or near Brisbane, the other being an overnight rally out of Brisbane in September/October. Toowoomba has been pencilled in for this year, and the NSW Club is hosting the week long National Rally in October in Parkes next year.

There will be an occasional newsletter to keep HETNR people informed. Initially at least the newsletter will be free, financing of the newsletter will be determined later.

For those wondering why Hudson, Essex, Terraplane, Nash, Rambler and AMC owners would group together, Nash took over Hudson in 1954 and formed the American Motors Corporation which produced the Rambler.