Western Sydney Historical Truck Club

National Historic truck & Commercial Vehicle Show - Lockhart - A Different Perspective

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Story and photos by Noelene West

We left Camden about 10.00 o’clock on a sunny Friday morning.  The red truck travelled really well (there and back).  We arrived in Yass at 1.00 o’clock, topped up with fuel and had lunch.  Waited a while for Bruce Brown but he had gone onto Bookham.  We left Yass about 2.15 pm and arrived in Lockhart about 5.15 pm.  

Lockhart is a very pretty village with lots of statues and a wide main street and paths.  All the stores have wide verandas as well and inscribed plaques on the paths.  Very impressive.  We drove to the Caravan Park and on the way ran into Peter (one of the organisers) who told us that Bruce was at the Lockhart Showground.  We drove out there to catch up with him and see if he wanted a hand to set up.  However when we got there it was not Bruce Brown but Neville from Deniliquin.  They both drive rustic looking Toyotas.  We waited until Bruce arrived at about 6.00 o’clock.  It turned out that Bruce needed an extra power cord to get his caravan connected to the power supply.  

We volunteered to get that and book into the Caravan Park while we were in town.  We arrive at the park and are greeted by a group from Echuca.  “That’s your cabin”, they say.  Bummer it is locked.  They tell us that the manager lives just around the corner and to go there and collect the key.  Off we toddle to find that we are not booked in and the van has been booked by some one else.  What!!!!!  The manager said she would call the Commercial Hotel to see if they had anything available.  Yep, they say, a twin room with shared bathroom facilities ($35.00/night).  Not a worry - it turns out there were only three of us staying at the hotel.  We booked in and bought the power cord for Bruce and returned to the Showground.

Bruce and his buddy (Bob Wheeler) had settled in and the ladies committee were setting up Kay and Bruce Brown’s antique quilts (40 of them would you believe).  The organising committee were very impressed and grateful for their efforts.  My photos do not do them justice.  All is good so we return to town and settle in.  Beautiful meal at the pub – they obviously have an excellent chef.   Some chit-chat with the group from Echuca and the local clientele, and off to bed.

After complimentary toast and coffee at the hotel we set off for the showground on a sunny Saturday morning.  The weather was perfect although very hot on Saturday with the threat of thunderstorms later in the day.  Bruce loaded and covered his jeep just in case the stormy weather arrived.  The storms did not eventuate although there had been quite a lot of lightning on Friday night and Saturday night too.

We had a great day.  Checking out the trucks (55) and a number of good looking cars.  Sitting around gas-bagging and eating.  Gary and Rita Schroeder arrived in his recently restored NRMA Dodge replica of the original truck which had been owned by Frank Brooking.  They were there for the day only as they had other commitments for the Sunday.  Bruce used his jeep to give the kids and adults trips around the site.  The jeep ride is always very popular.  He also used it to take Judith Peel (Committee Member for this event) around the site to collect numbers for the Saturday night get together!  

The Lockhart Showground is being upgraded.  They have refurbished the pavilion and the entry gate is really different.  It is made up of wool bales from the surrounding properties.  They have planted additional trees and upgraded their power supply for the campers.  They have done work on the livestock pens and the pavilion.  According to Peter (another organiser of this event) that the upgrading will be ongoing as funding becomes available.

We had dinner at the showground with some of the other participants.  Pizza and cake for dessert.  They also provided a band but we were a little weary and returned to the hotel after dinner.  The Victorian crew were there so we had a couple of drinks with them and found out that a couple of them and their little dog had been given a ride into town in Bruce’s jeep – they were really chuffed and had thoroughly enjoyed their little jaunt!  

On Sunday we headed out to the Showground about 8.00 o’clock.  Had a quick breakfast and a chat with the remaining participants (not too many) and headed for home.

Fuelled up at Wagga Wagga and Goulburn and had lunch at Goulburn.  We arrived home about 3.00 o’clock after an uneventful trip home which is always a bonus.

We had a great weekend and plan on going there again in 2016.