To celebrate 100 years of RACV Alpine Trail, 48 of Australia’s oldest and rarest motor vehicles left RACV Noble Park for a nine day event in celebration on Saturday 15 October.
The trail was launched in 1921 to test vehicles and advocate for better roads and services in Victoria’s high country region. Now RACV together with the Vintage Drivers Club (VDC) recreated the inaugural event.
The President of the Vintage drivers club and Event secretary, Glenda Chivers, was delighted to have celebrated this centenary milestone. “I would like to thank all the participants, the organising committee, and RACV for their support and passion for this event,” Ms Chivers said.
The vehicles participated in this celebratory event are all manufactured between 1921 and 1930. Australia’s oldest Bentley, one of the original participants in the 1922 trial, will join the fleet again in 2022 alongside RACV’s 1928 Model-A Ford.
The 1921 trial ran from Melbourne to Lakes Entrance, Tallangatta, Mount Buffalo, Wangaratta, Healesville, Ballarat and Geelong before returning to Melbourne. This year’s event will follow, as closely as possible, that 1000-mile route and run from Saturday, October 15 to Sunday, October 23. Other towns included this year will be Mansfield, Bright and Creswick.
“Our members are excited to recreate this piece of Australian automotive history over the coming nine days,” Ms Chivers said.
RACV’s General Manager of Social Impact and corporate communications, Louise Steinfort, is proud to bring this unique piece of automotive history to life. “The Vintage Drivers Club, along with the event committee has done a fantastic job of organising the RACV Alpine Trial Centenary,” Ms Steinfort said. “This event would not be possible without their dedication and commitment to preserving the history of Australian motoring.”
The RACV Alpine Trials were popular with private individuals and motoring companies, which attracted up to 60 entrants to each event. Each vehicle carried at least two people, the driver, an observer and sometimes an administrator. The trials’ routes were onerous. At the time the Australian Motorist reported that the RACV Sports Committee deliberately designed the trial to be “one of great severity” so manufacturers’ claims about their vehicles could be put to the test “for the benefit of prospective purchasers.”
The continuation of Alpine Trials by the Victorian Light Car Club, and then by the Historic Rally Association, makes it one of the world’s oldest surviving motor sport events.
