Zephyr & Zodiac Owners Club of Melb

Well it’s almost hard to believe that our Convention has come and gone so quickly – three years hard work for less than 4 days of fun and good fellowship. However, what will stay with us are the great memories.

 Originally the Convention committee seriously considered running the event in the Albury/Wodonga area, however we decided on Geelong which proved to be a good choice. We thought it would be achievable to have around 75 cars entered and upwards of 200-220 people attending. We in fact had 88 cars and a total of 217 people attending, which included our guests. The Convention attracted entrants from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and from all states of Australia – a truly International Convention! 

Unfortunately, when we first announced that we intended to celebrate our 35^th birthday milestone by staging an ‘International’ Convention, we received some rather severe criticism, and at times openly hostile comments from a couple of clubs in New Zealand, and surprisingly from a sister club in Australia. This negativity was of course regrettable as our intention was and always has been to celebrate our 35^th birthday in style, as well as to further the ‘Z’ car movement rather than step on toes, or put people’s noses out of joint. It’s interesting we received no such criticism in 1995 when we staged our second International Convention in Cobram. Regardless, the Convention was a huge success and ultimately the beneficiary will be the ‘Z’ car movement in general.

Thursday night’s ‘Meet Greet & Register’ was well attended and it was a great time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. We believe we fed 150 people during the evening, and perhaps the only dampener on the night for me was not catching up with Dave & Judy Henley and family. Whilst Dave had planned to arrive during the afternoon, he unfortunately found himself with a very sick motor in the MKIII which forced them back home to collect the Zodiac. Fortunately, they all arrived safely in the early hours of Friday. As Dave said “mate there’s no way we wouldn’t have come to the Convention’.

Friday’s ‘Boot Sale’ in the car park of the Mercure Hotel was a resounding success and by all accounts quite a bit of money changed hands whilst some rare bits and pieces found new homes. My business partner, Neal Videan gave me 3 new MKII bumpers and a few very desirable MKII & III badges & emblems, all of which were snapped up quickly. Ian (Noddy) Carey tells me he financed his whole Easter from what he sold at the boot sale – well done Nodd!

Our memorabilia night, also on Friday was a fantastic night and I thank Ron Barker & Greg Hodson, along with their team of helpers for a job well done. Also to be thanked are all the people who loaned us some of their prized possessions to display. It really is amazing to see what people have in their possession and seeing it all on display was fantastic. During the evening we served up 52 large pizzas, 33 serves of fish and chips (it was Good Friday) and a few serves of pasta. All in all it was a terrific night.

Our ‘Show N Shine’ on the Steampacket Gardens went well and fortunately the weather was kind to us. The 88 Z cars on display was an Australian record I believe and they included 14 MKI’s, 40 MKII’s, 29 MKIII’s, 3 MKIV’s and 2 Granadas. The foreshore area of Geelong is particularly picturesque and well patronised by the many tourists, many of whom had a good look at our cars during the morning. Jim Flegg led the long entourage of cars down to historic Queenscliffe where we had lunch as well as another Show N Shine and a look around the town. Many took the opportunity of looking around the towns many interesting attractions.

Saturday night was our Rock N Roll night and it was great to see so many people making the effort to dress up for the occasion. The Mercure put on a fine 3 course meal for us whilst our Rock band, aptly named The Zephyrs, played some fantastic music. So good was the band in fact that they were able to encourage some of the most unlikely rockers to get up on the floor. All in all it was another great night and one to remember.

Sunday was of course the big day and again the weather was kind to us for the stunning Great Ocean Road run down to Lorne, again led by Jim Flegg. Whilst some stopped off for a coffee break along the way, or a photo shoot, most of us arrived on the foreshore in the private parking area before 10.30am. The cars were once again parked in Show N Shine format and soon attracted quite a lot of attention from the locals and the tourists. Lorne proved to be a great place for lunch on a sunny day with many of our entrants taking advantage of the abundant restaurants and other eateries. Most of us headed off back to Geelong before 4pm in readiness for our Presentation night at the Ford Discovery Centre.

As expected the Ford Discovery Centre proved to be a real winner for all concerned. Whilst some of us were happy to have a pre dinner drink, others were more interested in the many exhibits and cars from all eras. Most of the cars at the FDC are on loan by individuals and of course the ZZOCM has had cars on display on two separate occasions. The 3 course meal provided by Truffleduck, Geelong’s premier caterers, was fantastic as was the set up of the tables and general atmosphere.

Our professional Show N Shine judge Owen Webb, along with Supercar legend John Bowe, presented the trophies for the various categories and of course there will always be healthy debate about the results. Owen was of course 100% impartial and he gives points on what he sees and marks the judging sheets accordingly. Some of us may be inclined to judge on favourites and passion which is not the way to judge a car in a Show N Shine. Our resident auctioneer, Shameless O’Whiskers conducted another successful auction during the night, the highlight being selling the Convention banner for a cool $500. All up it was yet another great night with some of us heading back to the Mercure for a night cap and chat.

Monday morning’s breakfast was well patronised; in fact we fed 160 people between 6.30 & 10.30am. Many of the entrants and visitors took the opportunity of breakfasting with either old friends or new ones, whilst others did both. The buffet breakfast was certainly well received by everyone and a perfect finale to what was a most enjoyable and memorable Convention.

On behalf of the Convention Committee and the ZZOCM, we sincerely trust you enjoyed our 35^th Anniversary Convention down in Geelong this Easter and everyone made it home safely and without incident. As I said on the Early Arrivals Night ‘The cars are what bring us together, whilst the people really do make the event’.

Regards to all

David N. Rayner

Convention Chairman