Beaudesert And District Restored Auto Club Inc.
Car in Scenic Rim

The beaudesert and district restored auto club inc runs the original beaudesert swap meet every year in beaudesert qld 4285 early in 1977, founding members graham o'neill and robert wilkie decided to place an advertisement in the beaudesert times to see if there was sufficient interest to form a vintage car club. Our club badge was designed and ordered in may, 1978 from badge maker a.j. Parkes. The first swap meet was organised and held in the small area of the beaudesert show grounds known as side show alley on 17th september, 1978. Terry moore was the club's first auditor and his wife carol typed up our news letter in the club's early days when john ackers was editor. The club had its first show display at the beaudesert show in september, 1977. The first club outing was with the austin 7 club on 20th february, 1977, when a barbeque and picnic run was held. Apologies were recorded from merv lahey, noel dever, a.ferguson and ron jurgensen. It was decided to form a club with membership open to anyone interested in the restoration and preservation of veteran, brian nutley, terry power, glen payne, percy arthy, robert arthy, bob arthy, neville falkenhagen, charlie falkenhagen, byron payne, bill horsnell, daphne toy, vintage and post vintage vehicles whether they own a vehicle or not. An election of officers was held for the ensuing twelve months: president cyril payne vice-president robert wilkie secretary graham o'neill treasurer graeme bigalla club patron merv lahey dating officer ray ducat rally director ron toy social director lynn payne others present at the inaugural meeting were: jim ferguson, and ian lahey. Prospective members came from beaudesert, boonah, beenleigh and jimboomba. At the inaugural meeting held at the beaudesert state school on 11th february, 1977, nineteen (19) enthusiasts attended and four (4) apologies submitted. It produced a modest profit of $128.00. Our swap has grown over the years to the point where 5,000 enthusiasts now attend each year.