Corowa 2020

[Mike K]

Corowa was different this year with a large 1943 searchlight providing the evenings entertainment for all the attendees . The power trailer has a Ford V8 and a hefty 2 phase AC generator. The AC is rectified by some method.
, I should have asked the operator how the rectifying was done in 1943 ? We also had a FW 190 doing strafing runs over the camp ground .... quite a sight . https://australianaviation.com.au/20...e-wulf-fw-190/

[DaveBuckle]

Re the FW190 Mike - was an awesome sight and sound - he was giving it a (all too brief) blast alright ...
Am a bit of a fan - pix here are of one I was lucky enough to get up close with at Marlborough NZ this time last year.

[Ganmain Tony]

Finally made some time to put pictures of this years event on here.

Apologies it has taken this long.

Started off quiet at the start of the week but as you can see... numbers certainly increased by the Saturday.

[Ganmain Tony]

The Bicycle was an interesting item. WW2 Malvern Star painted in the ETS flying school colours.

Jake Nevilles superb restoration of this ambulance.

The Model T, magnificent, complete with Colonel Blimp.

[Ganmain Tony]

Might interest a few who are into zee German stuff.

To add to Mike and Daves comments. The Focke Wulf was a fearsome sight with a fearsome sound,

I would not have liked being on the ground if I had I heard that sound in WW2.

[Jan Thompson]

Hi all,

I still have some sequential and standard number plates left for sale. If you are interested please let me know and I will post one to you. I currently have the following sequential number plates available at $30 plus postage:
103, 107, 108, 114, 115, 116, 119, 120,132, 133, 134.

I also have some standard plates available at $25 plus postage.

[Richard Farrant]

I have just been prompted to put something on here about the Swim-In which took place in Australia a few weeks ago (Terry, thanks for the prompt!).

We will have a full report in the next KVE News which should released in early June, but just a quick run down now on our 41st event, which was actually the 40th anniversary of the first one, every one held on the same location, Ball Park Caravan Park at Corowa, on the banks of the Murray river..

As we arrived over the bridge by the caravan park, I looked down at the lagoon where the boat ramp is and said that it was unlikely we would launch any amphibians there, the river level was so low. This was correct and the amphib owners did a recce and found ramps on the Victoria side of the river, but ultimately found a great location on Lake Moodamere which is close by.

Our theme this year was Military Motorcycles and we got 33 there, a good assortment originating from several countries and periods. Participants come from all corners of Australia, no mean feat with the furthest driving their military vehicles from Perth, Western Australia and north of Bundaberg in Queensland. There were 235 military vehicles entered which was a little down on numbers, but bearing in mind the recent bush fires and related problems, it was understandable. It was encouraging to see a number of newcomers there and one guy said to me that he wished he had known about the event years ago and he is definitely returning.

Despite the advance of Covid-19, there was no warning of lockdown prior to the event, only concern in the country was the mad rush to buy toilet rolls. The week's activities were well received and nobody had any worries, the event ended with a meal at the RSL club on Sunday night, when we heard it announced that from midnight all events of 500+ people were banned. So we were probably one of the last events to take place before the lockdown.

We must give our grateful thanks for the sponsorship received from the Federation Council and the Corowa RSL and their valuable support to the event..

regards, Richard

[Richard Farrant]

Here is the LARC V belonging to Trevor Vuillermin on Lake Moodamere. Trevor enjoys the event and is always keen for people to ride on his vehicle and share the experience. There was a second LARC V this year, but sadly it failed, when the radiator broke loose. We had 3 DUKW's and 4 GPA's at the event as well.

[Jan Thompson]

The numbers of vehicles were up by 10 this year. Quite surprising considering the fires and floods early in the year.

2020 Vehicle list
Dodge 9 LARC 2 Unimog 3
Chev Blitz 4 Ford Blitz 2 Toyota HJ47 1
Strickland carrier 1 LP2A carrier 4 Ferret scout cars 3
DUKW 3 GPA 4 Studebaker 3
White Scout Car 2 Saurer 1 Kubelwagon 1
Mercedes Fire Truck 1 International ACCO 5 Mack 2
GMC CCKW 1 Austin Champ 2 Diamond T 1
Moke 1 International MC Fire Truck 1 FV439 1
Oka 1 Tatra Half Track 1 Pinzgauer 2
Ford C11ADF Utility 1 International S-Line 1 HUMVEE 2
Ford XF Ute 1 Ford Model T 1 WW1 Limber 1
Reo 1 Chev truck 1 Bedford QL 1
Ford 10C van 1 Bicycles 7 Land Rovers 51
Jeeps 71 Motorbikes 33

Total 235
Motorbike list:
Harley Davidson WLA – 9 Yamaha -4 BSA WM20-3
Suzuki -6 Royal Enfield -2 Norton – 1
Condor -1 Chang Jiang CJ750 -3 BMW R75-1
Indian- 1 Zundapp K800-1 Welbike-1

[Jan Thompson]

During the week participants are encouraged to fill out a Voting Form. Thanks to those who did. On the Saturday night we present the awards. This gives us an idea of who should receive awards:


1. Mal Mackay Memorial Award: This award will be given to an individual who appears to get the most enjoyment out of being at Corowa. It was awarded to Jan Thompson-Creamer
2. Hard Luck: David Barton for a breakdown on the way to Corowa and went back home for another vehicle
3. Breakdown went to Andrew Wilson for his LARC: The radiator fell out of the LARC after going into the water.
4. Encouragement Awards went to:
• Mark Groves, loves chatting to everyone and getting into GPA’s,
• Trent Keith getting his newly restored DUKW into the water and overcoming issues,
• Ray Smith NSW- Corowa Virgin and first time attendee with his BSA WM20. He always had a smile on his face.
5. People’s choice for the best vehicle: Chris Watson with the GKN Sankey FV439
6. People’s choice for the motorcycles was Rod Bredin with his Harley Davidson WLA and Sidecar
7. Long distance from the north: Sam Scholz
8. Long distance from the west: Gary Schluter
9. Best Bog: Manfred Henkel with this BMW and sidecar motorcycle.

[Jan Thompson]

Here are the awards for people's choice for the favourite vehicle and the favourite motorcycle.