The International Castlemaine, Australia Lancia Event October 2017

By Vicki Tullius

Castlemaine

Paul and I were introduced to Castlemaine many years ago by our good friend, Gary Byrd.  Thanks to Gary, we have made wonderful friends in Australia as well as from several European countries by attending the biennial Castlemaine rally events (our first Castlemaine event was in October1985).  We cannot say enough about the generosity and hospitality extended to us from our “Aussie friends” during this event. Upon our arrival, we were provided lodging, entertainment and tours of the amazing cities of Melbourne and Ballarat by Anna and Chris Long and Shellagh and Alan Hornsby. Paul and I were loaned Chris Long’s precious little Ardea Sedan to use for the Castlemaine rally and the following tour around the Island of Tasmania.  This is not expected, ever, but we were touched by Chris’s generosity this year and that of Peter Renou 2 years ago when he loaned us his newly restored Appia sedan.

Prior to the Castlemaine rally, we attended the Motor Classica, the International Concours d’Elegance and classic motor show where Lancia featured 110 years of Lancia innovation. It was an exceptional display of 43 Lancia automobiles that included Tricappa, Lambda, Aprilia,, Aurelia, Augusta, Ardea, Appia Saloons, Zagato, touring and Vignale bodied cars. A favorite of the show was a beautiful Aprilia Ghia sport owned by Brian and Dorothy Hawke of Australia.

(Older photo of a “young” Brian and the Beautiful Aprilia)

The Castlemaine event occured over 3 days beginning with a luncheon on Friday at the historic Buda House and its elaborate 19^th century garden. This Victorian mansion was built in the 1860’s and is said to be the most complete survivor of its period.

An evening reception and social followed at the impressive art gallery in the town of Castlemaine, a home to many writers and artists from Melbourne.  Perhaps the highlight of the weekend was the rally that took us to a private estate where we had a fabulous lunch of paella that was followed by a talk from the guest of honor, Bruno Cena from Italy.

Bruno shared his experience as an engineer at Lancia in the 80’s and 90’s.  He was instrumental in the improvements in the development process at Lancia.  Participants came from all over Australia, the US, UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France.  The event ended with a dinner in the town hall where overseas guests were acknowledged, special honors were given and concours awards were presented.

The Following Two Tours Through Tasmania

Tasmania is an island with less than 600,000 inhabitants and where 1/3 of the land is not habitable with a temperate rainforest in the south-western part of the island.  There are great roads for Lancia driving and with little traffic.  Fortunately, we experienced little rain and great weather while traveling.

Alan and Shellagh Hornsby and Elsa and Neil Pering enjoying a break during the first Tasmania tour

No rally would be complete without a tour of car collections. Our tours included a fabulous collection at the home of Chas Kelly

( See attached photo of Jeff Hill)

and of the National Auto Museum in Launceston.  We ate our fill of seafood and drank interesting Tasmanian wines.  Our tours included overnight stays in Cradle Mountain (where we had our first glimpse of wombats), and in Strahn in the southwest wilderness on Macquarie Harbor.

Chris and Anna Longs in their Lambda headed towards Cradle Mtn.

During the boat tour through the harbor, we explored the convict prison at Sarah Island (established in 1821) and strolled through the rain forest on the Gordon River.

On the second tour, we traveled to the East Coast to the Freycinet Peninsula with its national park and the famous Wineglass Bay.  While touring the Bay, we had a great view of fur seals, little penguins, dolphins and wales.  Basically, we covered the entire area that is habitable on this amazing island.   While in Hobart, the annual “Display Day” took place on the lawns in front of the Parliament House.  This all day event is sponsored by the Club Motori Italia of Tasmania.  While our beautiful Lancia automobiles gained attention and the owners chatted and shared their stories with one another, this woman went Christmas shopping in the famous adjoining Salamanca Market!

The Spirit of Tasmania

The Spirit of Tasmania is a massive auto ferry that has daily routes to and from Melbourne, Australia and Devonport, Tasmania. It is obviously an essential part of the trip leaving in the evening and docking early the following morning.  The ferry provides meals during the ocean trip, comfortable sleeping cabins and plenty of time to socialize with one another. It is quite an experience in itself!

Sebastain Simon provides amore detailed account of the Castlemaine rally and tours in the Lambda World Register Newsletter January 2018.  www.lambdaworldregister.org.

Lancia Drive 2/28/18 The Delta Tour

What a treat!  6 beautiful Lancias showed up for a day of exploring the Delta.  If you are not familiar with the Delta, it comprises a labyrinth of waterways east of the Bay, formed by the confluence of the San Joaquin and the Sacramento Rivers.  Often overlooked, it is a fascinating place to spend a day driving old Lancias.  We started in the tiny town of Rio Vista, and followed ‘the Sacramento’ north.  We had Tom Gilmore in his Audi; hop-scotching us so that his passenger, Steve Snyder, could take pictures. Thank you Steve!  The Lancias were: Joe Hurwich’s B24 convertible, Vicki’s and My convertible, David Word and Judi Beisler in his B20 Coupe, Gary and Holly Dowling in their Flaminia convertible, Leif in his Flavia convertible, and Neil and Elsa Pering in their Fulvia coupe. Such a treat to see such a wonderful collection of Lancias navigating the byways around the Delta.

Driving the Delta always creates a challenge for me.  The river twists and turns so much, that in short order I cannot tell which side I am on (Vicki: “that bridge took us over a tributary, not the river”, Me: “Oh, . . . never mind”).  There is much to see. Numerous historic draw bridges, highlighting a myriad of engineering solutions to facilitate maritime navigation on the river.

The Historic Grand Island Mansion, where next time we will have our lunch.  And two wineries, where we had a chance to talk, drink some wine, and eat some cheese and crackers, generously supplied by Leif.

The drive back took us across a few more waterways, and then to a ferry, and a short run into Rio Vista for a late lunch.  From the Ferry stop, I could see the high towers of the Rio Vista drawbridge.

As I started to pull out of the queue waiting for the ferry. . .  you see, I thought I would just run down to Hwy 12 and into Rio Vista beating the crowd for lunch, Leif explained that we were on an Island, “either wait for the Ferry, or drive miles back to the bridge that got us on the island”, (Ryer Island).  As I said, the Delta challenges me.

Well, the Ferry ride was interesting, and we had a fine lunch, with great people, and wonderful cars.  Can’t wait to do it again.

Paul Tullius

The March Calendar Photo is of the 1964 Lancia Flavia Vignale 1.8, owned by ALC Member Malcolm and Karen Harris of Seattle Washington. The car is fully restored and we look forward seeing it on future events

1937 Aprilia Berlina belonging to Noel Macwhirter from Venus Bay, Victoria, Australia
photo taken at Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, Tasmania, Australia

To ALC Members and other admirers of Lancia (who should be members)joining the 2018 after tour.

We are making a slight change to the 2108 aftertour to accommodate the kind offer of Bill and Maureen O’Sullivan to host a dinner at their house in Rancho Mirage on Tuesday 22nd.

To avoid a long drive from the Miracle Springs Resort and then back after dinner we are changing Hotels to the Hilton Garden Inn in Rancho Mirage.

This is just a 12 minute drive or an Uber ride from the O’Sullivans.

We were unable to get a cheaper rate for a group booking than the online rate which is around $85.00 using a AAA or AARP discount.

Phone. (760) 776-9700

http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/hilton-garden-inn-palm-springs-rancho-mirage-PSPRMGI/index.html

Just need to click on “special rates” and check AAA, AARP and Senior Rate to get the $80 room. There was a $10.57 tax so the total was $90.57

So please book a room at the Hilton Garden Inn and then cancel your reservation at the Mirage Springs resort.

Sorry to put you all through this but this will be a fabulous addition to the tour.

And of course please let me know if you are joining the after tour and have changed hotels.

The following was received from ALC Member Erik Lynn.

His Contact info is:

elynn1@cox.net

Hi Leif-

I know I missed the deadline for the calendar, but the below is a really fun event we do annually that just got finalized. If anyone is traveling to Phoenix at that time it is a good one – even in a rental car.

Secondly, I take time off for all the auctions here and generally car pool and show newbies around.  This happens January 13 to 21 with most of the 6 auctions crushed on the last days 17th and beyond throughout the weekend. It is a madhouse from Thursday on trying to get to them all so coordinating and sharing passes helps.

If any members are in town for that, I would be glad to be a local contact for recommendations or even host as much as I can.

Cheers,

Eric

…

Hello car rally enthusiasts-

The Giro is returning again this year late in January after the auctions are all done. The date is January 27^th.

This is the second decade for yearly Phoenix and Italian inspired Automobile scavenger hunt fun in January. Don’t miss it!

Link to get registered is here:

https://www.phoenixsistercities.org/event/il-giro-di-phoenix/

You all can register for the member price per person since you are associated with this car club email.

Looking forward to seeing many of you then and hopefully a good contingent of Italian Cars!

Ciao,

Eric

…

1923 Lancia Lambda Airway Saloon at the Torino Lancia meet 2006

This is the only remaining in the world, restored in Australia by Brian Hawke.

This photo was taken during the Restoration in 1993, with Brian showing the progress.

Current owner: ALC Member Tina Byrd