Museum Friends Car Club

The Museum launched its very own Car Club at the A Chequered Past event – a celebration of 100 years of motoring history in Australia at Wakefield Park Raceway in 2019.

That event was the first time a selection of our iconic vehicles were seen in motion and lapping around the track. And some of the vehicles had never been seen before.

Since then Car Club has welcomed many new members into its community. They share and engage in a passion for cars and automotive history. We work with specialist Museum staff – like our vehicle conservators and curators – who share their knowledge of the collection to offer the group unique opportunities.

Our tailored programming takes our club members behind the scenes of the Museum’s large object storage facility to see how we conserve and keep these vehicles in working condition. We have been lucky to take a closer look at a variety of significant vehicles, both off and on display at the Museum.

We’ve explored the history of Australia’s own motor car, the Holden, from the Prototype No. 1 (1946) through to the Calais V-series (2017). We've examined the Museum's collection of coach-built vehicles, and witnessed the incredible result of the conservation work to restore the 1948 DE 36hp Daimler Landaulette that was used by Queen Elizabeth II during the 1954 royal tour of Australia. We’ve also seen the 1967 Brabham BT23A-1 Repco V8 inside a giant, air-filled bubble – a conservation device that we call a ‘carcoon’!