A Short History of the Australian Historic Rally Group
On the 10th of August 1991 a decision was made to form an Historic Rally Club and on that date wheels were put in motion and a committee was formed but not elected immediately.
The meeting followed an Historic Rally on the Saturday to Swans Crossing from Port Macquarie.
Hal Moloney took both his Vanguards and loaned one to Dave Morrow & Robert Wilson.
Anyway I digress, as the event was based at the Sandcastle Motel at Port Macquarie which was famous for the Southern Cross connections.A meeting in the dining room was organised on Sunday morning to form what was to become the Australian Rally Register.
Dan White chaired that inaugural meet but Dan is pretty sure later Neil Taylor was elected President, Christine Bethwaite as secretary and Des West as treasurer and Max Stahl as publicity officer. My records do say that Dan White was the original president but Dan seems sure it was Neil Taylor.
The meeting was terminated at the restaurant as the Motel needed the room for lunches.
Two days later an application for affiliation was sent to CAMS.
The club was formed to promote Historic Rallying, run road events on good roads, conduct social events and assist Historic Rallying with exchange of information.
At the end of 1993 the club name was changed to the present name Australian Historical Rally Group, AHRG
The club has successfully established and runs a Blue Plate scheme for members with older cars that are not driven on a daily basis.
Danny Castro, Andrew Crawford, Gary Maher and Ron Fraser held the presidency at various times.
Our current president, Geoff Thomas has held the office since 2002 and has moved the club from strength to strength.
The club has been privileged to have two very important and experienced members in Brian Lawler and Des West. Brian & Des have always shown a keen interest in new and younger members and have a wealth of knowledge for the older members.
Several of the rallies run annually such as the Night Owl, Fluffy Duck, Evan Green Memorial and Heart of the Hunter, have become very popular. Directors such as Ron & Jim Pope, Arthur Evans, Paul O’Neill, Ron Fraser, Geoff Thomas and Gregor Dickerson have and still do, organise these important rallies.
In 2010 many club members journeyed to Taree to see Des West inaugurated into the Taree Hall of Fame.
Members today not only support their own and other local events but also compete in major events such as Targa Tasmania.
Hal Moloney June 2013.