Excitement that recalls the style and class of older times.

	Maserati smoking its wheels as it sets out on the quarter mile sprint

Eddington is 142 km out of Melbourne  - 40 km from Bendigo. It's not very easily found. That needs to be understood. The neighbouring places are Baringhup West, Laanecoorie. Neereman and Waanyarra.  Many road maps and sat nav systems don't even tell you how to get there. But the true believers manage  to come from all over the country. Amongst others, author John Medley from NSW - as you will see in a forthcoming Part 2 of this article, featuring Richard Abey's classic photos.Despite the remoteness, there are full amenities, of course, and there's always plenty of room to walk about, admiring the competition and other cars. And you see people you've known about over many years, who are not necessarily rich and famous - just people who compete in classic machinery, without sponsors or extravagant teams of engineers.  Whilst the meeting is conducted under strict CAMS rules, there is a freedom from many of the constraints and interferences that are imposed on many modern big meetings. Country Fire Authority motor vehicles outnumber the official cars you see around higly publicised events. You can look the cars over, talk to the drivers. There are no huge concrete blocks or walls of safety netting obscuring your views of the quarter-mile sprint. (see what I mean? Miles - in the older style of things) And there's no endless chatter over the PA system either that you get at big-crowd circuits round the place. Nor are there rows of stands flogging model cars,'memorabilia', or old magazines.  The cars were magnificent. The drivers were brilliant. And that's what everyone had come to see.   

Jim Russell	The Kieft	Maserati Replica	Betty Lowe's Alta
Chatting to owner-drivers	Standard Special	Austin 7	Self-governed informality

 

	Graeme and Betty Lowe

 

Mackdonburg Special	Clear view of the track	Keith Roberts Riley Special	Robert Sales'  Fiat Ballila