THEY’VE seen better days, and only reach a maximum speed of 65kp/h, but it will be a rare sight and a nod to the golden-age of motoring when more than 100 vintage Morris cars come together in Canberra.

The first Morris car came off the production line in Oxford, England, in April, 1913 – one month after Canberra was first named – and will celebrate its centenary with the capital next year.

In April, rare models from around Australia and NZ will be taken out for a spin for the Morris 100 Canberra celebration and tour.
Created by William Morris in England, the Morris series of motor car models range from the 1913 “bullnose” Oxford to the 1961-1971 Oxford VI.
The cars that will tour Canberra have been lovingly restored, part by part, by members of Morris Registries from around Australia and NZ.

Tour organiser Malcolm Noad, who is based in Royalla, restores Morris cars by collecting parts from eBay or “word of mouth” – with one of his cars, circa 1925.

He says the oldest car in the rally is from 1913, and the newest “probably around the 1960s.”

“It’s pretty amazing, you get a pile of rusty bits – because that’s all that’s left of them nowadays – and just build a car from it,” he says.

Malcolm says he wanted to bring the rally to Canberra “because we’d never had anything like this before.”

“I think people will like the historic value of them, the look of them,” he says.

“They were pretty popular in Australia, but more so in NZ. The Australian ones had to be modified with larger radiators to cope with the hot climate.

“To drive them is a bit of a challenge for us because they’re so much slower than modern traffic, you’ve got to be pretty careful – the top speed of the earlier cars is about 40 miles an hour [about 64kp/h], so we only drive them on organised rallies. They’ve got very skinny tyres, the brakes are pretty ordinary, but I enjoy it all.”

Morris says the cars aren’t too popular for weddings, despite their classic looks: “We did have one wedding but the poor bride could barely fit her dress in, they’re a bit too small.”

Convoys of the iconic cars will congregate at strategic locations across Australia and travel in informal convoys to arrive in Canberra on April 19. The weekend program, hosted by the Morris Register of NSW, includes two celebratory dinners, scenic drives around Canberra and a display for the public to see the cars up close.

More information at morris100.org.au

UK cars on parade

Terribly British Day vehicle display will be held at the Treasury car park, Langdon Circuit, cnr of Commonwealth Ave, on the south side of Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, 10am-3pm on Sunday, December 2.

More than 350 British-made vehicles will be on display, from Austin to Zephyr. The featured marque this year will be the MGB which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Terribly British Day is organised by the Jaguar Car Club and the British marques clubs and entry is free.