The tour was conceived by two members of the local community who decided that they would promote tourism within the Macedon Region by creating an event for cars 25 years and older. The event has been sponsored and supported by the RACV, Tourism Victoria, Tourism Alliance Victoria, the Macedon Ranges Shire Council, Gisborne.                                                                                               John Lang, a member of the organising committee, took time from his task of marshalling participants into starting positions to show his elegant and rare 23/60 Vauxhall of the early 1920s. Amongst his other occupations John is the editor of 'Alvic' - the Alvis Car Club's magazine - one of the finest on-line car club magazinesin the country.                                                                                       Close by was a 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 belonging to Mr Bob Jones of Sunbury. It is unusual in that its radiator and trim are in gold rather than the more usual nickel. Bob's car was re-bodied in 1933 by Martin & King of Melbourne. It was originally owned by the late Solomon Green, a well-known Melbourne bookmaker and philanthropist whose horse Comedy King won the Melbourne Cup in 1910. The Jones family has had the Rolls for 20 years, during which time Bob has had assistance from the Rolls-Royce company in repairs and maintenance.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The bodybuilding firm, Carrosserie Van den Plas, produced special coach work for British Leyland and Austin Rover. One of their best known bodies was made for the Farina - designed Austin Princess, which went into production in 1959. The 1964 Mark 2 Princess on the Tour was fitted with a 3 litre engine, the same engine that went into the Austin Healey. 15,000 Princesses were built, many ending up in Australia.                                                                                                                                  Peter McMaster is the owner of the black 3 litre 6 cylinder Princess shown in our photograph. It hasthe same three speed automatic gearbox as used in Jaguars of the time. Peter has done most of the work on the interior trim. All the woodwork is original. He intends to carry out some minor repairs, and to respray the body. "Part of owning cars like this is learning to do much of the work by yourself," he says. He works in his own garage, acting on the principle that if you muck something up then you pay somebody to come in and fix it up. However, he has resprayed other cars before, and he is not daunted by the task. In 1964, Rolls Royce put one of their motors in the Princess, trying to capitalise on the market which probably wasn't there. “There was a common opinion that a Rolls-Royce motor maketh not a Rolls-Royce," Peter says.                                                                                                                                           
A few cars back in the line, Chris and Barbara Baker were waiting for the start in their black and maroon 20TR Triumph Roadster. The car still has its NSW registration AM 22 VT which was on it when they bought it in November 2006. An advertisement in Australian Classic Car magazine for a similar car caught their eye, but it had already been snapped up before they could get it. However, they were able to find a link to this present car which did not get away this time. The Triumph 2000 Roadster has filmstar looks, a similar vehicle having been featured in a television series - 'Bergerac' - of the 1980s. It has the same tubular cross-braced chassis as the 1800 cc Saloon. Its 2088cc four-cylinder engine produces 68 bhp at 4200 rpm. A three speed manual gearshift is located on the steering column. It has rear wheel drive, transverse leaf spring and wishbone suspension, and drum brakes. Its top speed is 78 mph.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Parked just ahead of the Triumph can be seen the little yellow 1972 Citroen 2CV, which has had a remarkable history of long-distance trips including one in 1996 when Bill, the owner, and his wife drove it out into the Kimberleys, Western Australia. In 2004 the couple drove to Innamincka (Qld) White Cliffs, Broken Hill and Canberra. Bill plans another long-distance trip next year to Broome.                                                                                                                                                                                        One of the undoubted stars of the tour was the yellow Bugatti Brescia of 1924, formerly owned by the late Lou Molina, and currently by Lou's son Anthony. Kim Thompson had the car trailered down from New South Wales, where it has been out of action for a a short while, its most recent outing being the East Coast Targa two and a half years ago. Kim has on many occasions been navigator for both Lou and Anthony. I learned from Kim that Anthony and Barbara Molina had been involved in the tsunami while they were holidaying in Phu Ket. They were sitting in their hotel when the wave came through and swept everything and everybody away. Anthony suffered a broken ankle, broken wrist, and abrasions; Barbara had a dislocated shoulder. They got back to Australia, where it was found that Anthony had more serious injuries than were previously realised, and which required him to undergo immediate surgery. He was in intensive care for four weeks, and he lost a considerable amount of weight. However, Kim was able to say that Anthony is back on his feet now, and may well be competing again soon.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  It was nearly 9.00 o'clock by the time I had arrived at the stately cream and black Rolls-Royce in our photograph. It was produced in March 1933, with bodywork by Martin and King of Melbourne. It has a Phantom 2 chassis and, as a photograph taped to a rear window of the car shows, it was in dilapidated condition when it was bought.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The line of cars now stretched from beyond the town fountain back to the 19th Century courthouse by the time I got to talk to Theo Riddle, the owner of an AC sports car which is fitted with a Rover 3½ litre V8 engine, and has a five speed gearbox. Theo finds it a thrilling car to drive, as it has tonnes of torque, and the kind of speed that must have appealed to Carol Shelby when he selected it as the basis for the AC Cobra in 1968. 9.00 had come around, engines were started, the flag came down, and the participants set off for morning tea at Romsey, lunch at Parammor Farm at Carlsrhue, afternoon tea at New Gisborne and a Gala Dinner at the Cope Williams Winery at Romsey. Length of the tour is about 240 kilometres with two routes one for slower vehicles and one for faster.   Text and photos - Bill Hunter