Myrniong 17 April 2011

Myrniong is a small country town in Victoria, Australia. with a population of about 300.. It is located near the Ballarat - Melbourne Highway,
72  kilometres (45 mi) north west of  Melbourne and 15 kilometres (9 mi) west of Bacchus Marsh. Some of our photos on this link show the Freeway 
in the background.

European settlement began in around 1850 with local farmers producing wheat for gold miners at nearby Blackwood. The Post Office
opened on 6 September 1858 as Pentland Hills, was renamed Myrniong in 1872 and closed in 1970. 

Myrniong is known for its many bluestone buildings, including the historic Plough Hotel, established in 1859, and the Anglican church.

An Historic Car Sprint is held just out of  the town each April. It is organised by the Austin 7 Club Inc and the Myrniong Hall Committee,
with proceeds going to the Myrniong Hall Restoration Fund. The 24 event caters for racing, touring, sports, Clubman, reproductions and
Specials of all capacities from before 1930 to the 1975 period.

The 850 metre hillclimb rises 850 metres from a steep uphill right curve, a crest turning left, and then through a dip that leads to the finishing line.
It's too steep for these old bones.  Until recently a good old bloke wiith a tractor and trailer used to transport spectators from the start area
right up to the top, but  sad to say he is no longer around. 

Motormarques brings you a selection of som of its favourite hillclimb vehicles and their owner/drivers.

Owen Dickson - Austin 7 803	Bruce Mapplestone - Tait A7	Martin Stubbs - Tyrrell A7	Rusell Dickson - Cardwell A7
Bob Boast - MG TC S/C	Lloyd Hocking - Austin Renault	Doug Sterry - Ford  A Spl	Graeme Steinfort - Brooklands Replica

 
Barbara Hill from Mount Eliza bought the Austin in Australia late last year.
"My husband had a heart attack in July, and I said it's time we had some fun.
So we bought the car from a man called Doug Spencer and he restored it
over a two-year period. Before that it belonged to a man called Innis Irons --
a well-known man here in Melbourne and he had blown it up ages ago and
he had left it in the back shed until he was forced to part with it and Doug
Spencer of East Bentleigh got hold of it and spent two years restoring it."
"The body was done over a period of time. Originally it was built by Mr Venn,
and Innis Irons cut It underneath to make it lighter. It has had a lot of work
done on the engine."
"It has Renault pistons and conrods. Pressure fed tank, highlift cam, SU
carburettor which I am not familiar with. The car used to belong to
Bernie Jacobson at one stage. It has certainly been around the traps.".

"It has not been a very good run today because it had carbon-ed up plugs.
Something to do with the carburettor - running rich. They are an art form on
their own."

We have adjusted the mixture and cleaned up the plugs. We have adjusted the mixture and cleaned up the plugs, so hopefully it will do better
on its next run."

MM: I notice you have set up a little dog's seat in the back.
"With the dog sitting in it, and you go driving around in it, people stop and stare. They toot, and they wave, and they pull up alongside you and
ask to be photographed standing next to it." 

"Because of the new car registration arrangement you can drive it now and we drove it down to Mornington and parked it near the beach and we
walked away and when we came back there was a small crowd gathered round it, and this lady said, "could I get in?"

And I said "well you can if you take off your high heels." So she did..



 Click here for Part 2