2008-12

December 2008

SUBARU 4WD NEWS

Meetings of

THE SUBARU 4WD CLUB of WESTERN AUSTRALIA INC.

are normally held at

7.30pm on the second Tuesday of each month at the

Wembley Community Centre (Joan Watters Building) 40 Alexander Street, WEMBLEY W.A.

Subaru 4WD Web Site: http://www.subaru4wdclubwa.asn.au

WA 4WD Association (Inc): http://www.wa4wda.com.au

SUBARU 4WD CLUB NEWS

SUBARU 4WD CLUB of WESTERN AUSTRALIA INC

P.O. BOX 434, SOUTH PERTH, W.A. 6951

2009 COMMITTEE

(Home Phone)

PRESIDENT: John Cahill 9341-1446 [email protected]

SECRETARY: Robert Griffiths 9250-6270 [email protected]

TREASURER: Tony Richards 9386-7705 [email protected]

SOCIAL ORGANISER: Keith Wilcox 9344-6830

TRIPS CO-ORDINATOR: Josan Moss 9341-1446

EDITOR: Jim Wilcox 9306-8222 [email protected]

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: David Peck 9275-5617

Keith Low 9459-3358

Wendy Griffiths 9250-6270

Tom Minto 9382-4678

Ian Johnson 9448-5419

MERCHANDISE: Tony Richards 9386-7705

WEB MASTER: Karl Boeing 9341-5087 [email protected]

4WD ASSOC DELEGATE: Tony Richards 9386-7705

M’SHIP CO-ORDINATOR: Keith Low 9459-3358 [email protected]

PROPERTY OFFICER: Geoff Hayden 9447-5698

LIFE MEMBERS

Fred Offer, Keith Anderson, Jonel Householder, Ray Stewart,

Ian Johnson, Peter Andruszkiw and Ron Caunce.

SUBARU 4WD CLUB of W.A. INC

Presidents Summary.

At the AGM last November all positions were filled except that of President. As you may know I agreed to fill the position and, although unsure of plans at the time and periods of absence we have managed to get by with the help of our Committee.

Member numbers at meetings have been disappointing, hard to ask a guest speaker with low numbers but maybe we would get more if we had one, it remains a problem. Membership is almost unchanged despite the generous sponsorship from Subaru Australia and our best efforts.

The lowest point of the year was the tragic passing of one of our long standing members.

The high points however were the number and quality of the Trips and Socials, many of which required a huge amount of planning and organization resulting in excellent attendance by members.

Our ongoing relationship with DEC was cemented with 3 trips to Lochada this past year.

A sincere thanks to all those who contributed so much time and effort to the Club and to you the members for your enthusiasm, particularly on the Trips and Socials.

Hope to see you out there in the future.

Simon Newton.


Presidents Report, December 2008

I have to admit that when we drove into Perth after our trip around “the top end” Josan and I finding ourselves elected Trip Coordinator and President of the Subaru 4WD club unopposed was the last thing we expected.

Thank you all for your faith in our abilities and hope for your support whilst we have our “trainer wheels” on. Thank you also to last year’s office bearers and committee members for serving the club so well.

As it stands now our Calendar, in our “30th year”, is largely full of reservations without any detail against them. The committee is meeting this week to discuss what we can plan in the short term and I suggest we add a range of activities to commemorate the event. Many organisations whither after only a few years; it is testament to the continuing enthusiasm and support of our members that the club is still in existence. However, to continue another thirty years we need renewal of the few who undertake the lead for so many events. To facilitate this, Josan is looking for an experienced trip leader to present a talk to the club on what it takes to prepare for a trip and the do’s and don’ts. I hope we may be able to create a fresh guide or checklist for trips of various types and durations accessible through the web site.. Perhaps we could also consider the concept of “mentors” for new trip leaders to provide them with experienced telephone support and review of their preparation and execution of a trip.

Many of you may not have heard of the serious traffic accident that Rob and Wendy Griffiths were involved in the day after our AGM. Rob was seriously hurt and was in the RPH Major Trauma ward for many days. Wendy was badly bruised but able to go home after a brief stay in hospital. Their Outback however is not so pretty, having been cut open to get Rob out. It is testament to the safety credentials of the Subaru that both Rob and Wendy are now at home after a crash which pushed the car sideways 30 metres courtesy of a speeding, inebriated P plate driver. On behalf of the club, we wish them a speedy and full recovery.

As a result of the crash, the planned “Light show” Christmas party that Rob and Wendy were planning to host has been moved to Simon and Anne Newton’s home instead (minus the lights). We hope to see them and many other club members there to celebrate a very good year.

Thank you’s are again due to Peter Andruszkiw for organising the tent and stand at the 4WD show and his subsequent leading of the very successful Lancelin sand dunes run where there were quite a number of non club members who came along to have a play in the sand. Hopefully some of these people will join the club and help us to continue the enjoyment of the journeys and trips across our great land. Finally, please my Best wishes to all members and their families for a Merry, Joyous and Happy Christmas and New Year. - John Cahill


TRIP CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT December

First and foremost I would like to thank the club for accepting me as Trips Coordi-nator at the AGM. Secondly, I wish John and I had driven just a bit slower around the “top end” from Canberra, then I wouldn’t be saying this! Just kidding, I am looking forward to carrying out this role, as I know the new committee and mem-bers will provide lots of ideas and support.

One of my objectives as Trip Coordinator will be to encourage members who have not lead a trip as yet, to do so. I have to admit, I am also guilty of this but we do tend to rely on the same people to put their hand up to run a trip. So reiter-ating Dave’s comments in his final report: “.... let’s see some new people give it a go like I did and maybe you will find it as rewarding as I have.” And as Dave also experienced, you may impress the club and get to be trip leader, or most prestig-ious of all, club member of the year.

Past Trips

Peter Andruszkiw has done the club proud once again with a very enjoyable and successful trip to Lancelin on Sunday 23rd November. I was there, so have a good first trip to comment on.

There were 10 cars on the trip list and 22 cars on the day including two visitors. Un-phased by the unexpected and great turn out, Peter lead us on to the sand dunes where we split in to a beginners and advanced group, which Peter and Tony Richards lead respectively. It had been raining, so those that wanted the soft boggy sand for the ultimate challenge had to wait a while for the sand to dry out. Luckily the sun did come out along with a fresh breeze. We reconvened at lunch time and it was great to listen to the new members and visitors sounding very enthusiastic about the whole day. So a big thank you goes to Peter for once again leading us on one of our most famed and legendary trips of the year.

Future Trips

Having only just taken up this role, and not having had a committee meeting yet, I do not have much to report on the topic of new trips this month. I do know that Simon‘s epic Simpson Desert trip is definitely going ahead in June 2009 and the number of cars is limited, so if you have not put your name down yet and want to go, please let Simon know, as you may miss out. See trip promo for further info..

By the time the December magazine is distributed the Christmas Party will be high on the social calendar. Thanks go to Simon and Anne for offering their back yard as the contingency venue (see trip promo for details).

So if I don’t see you at the party or the December meeting, have a great Christ-mas and a happy New Year.

Perhaps reflect on next year’s New Year Resolution “To lead a club trip”!

Josan Moss


TRIP PROMOTIONS/INFORMATION

Xmas Party

VENUE CHANGE

Due to the unfortunate accident of Rob and Wendy the venue has been changed to Simon and Annes place

9 Bruning Rd, Manning, less than 2km from Manning Rd Free-way exit

Phone 9450-5953

The starting time of “from 5pm” will remain the same. Please bring along all your food and drinks with either nibbles, salad or a dessert to share. The Barbie will be fired up.

See you there.


BEACH RUN 11 JAN 2009

Our annual beach run is on again second Sunday in January. Again it will be in the area between Tim’s Thicket ( Mandurah end) and Binningup ( Bunbury end). My thought at this point in time is to go down towards the Bunbury end and work our way up.

This run is always a good opportunity to practice some beach sand driving.

Meeting spot: End of Kwinana freeway ( Baldavis Rd) in the vicinity of the service station and Fast food outlets. ( if you are not sure ring me)

Meeting time: 9.00am

What to bring: usual picnic lunch, sun protection gear bathers (if you wish to go for a swim- we will make time for this), tyre gauge and pump ( not needed if you are a visitor or first timer), camera and what ever else you think necessary.

Pets: OK on the beach, but your responsibility.

Difficulty: suitable for everyone, novice upwards.

Finish time : Depends on how much fun we are having, what the weather is like and what you feel like. I would like to be around the Dawesville area by around 3.30pm. If you need to leave early that’s OK too.

Please ring me if you have any queries

Peter ANDRUSZKIW 08 9440 4075


Desert Sands.

Dullsville to Birdsville!

Planning is underway for a crossing of The Simpson Desert, a 30 day trip from May 30th to June 28th next year. This will be a Subaru only trip. If your vehicle is not suitable there will proba-bly be the opportunity to share with someone so don’t hesitate to apply. The plan is as follows.

Perth to Laverton, Anne Beadell Hwy to Coober Pedy, Ood-nadatta, SA. Dalhousie Springs, NT across the Simpson to Birdsville. QLD. Birdsville Track to Marree, SA then through the magnificent Flinders Ranges to Port Augusta and home across the Nullarbor.

A minimum of 6 club trips required including 2 trips of 3 days or more and experience in on the move bush camping ( caravan park camping doesn’t count ) and the ability to get along with people 24 hours a day for 30 days.

A good sense of humor and adventure essential. Organize your holidays or long service leave now and acquire the necessary experience if you don’t have it already. The triplogs are from Explor Oz, you can view the route on the web or loan my file of print outs.

Register your interest ASAP as the closing date is February 2009 to allow time to obtain the necessary permits.

Contact trip leader Simon Newton. 94505953 or

[email protected]


4WD and Outdoor Show Nov 14-16 2008

From the statistics the 2008 was bigger with more people coming through the gates than last year. Given the economic scene the show organisers I am sure must have been very happy. The weather held off making it almost perfect from both an exhibitor and public standpoint.

This year only 6 Clubs were seen in Club ally and given we were tucked into a corner of the allocated space we were wondering how many people would actually wander through. Well lots, the show organisers had a ‘collect the stamp and be in a draw” going with one of the Clubs an official stamper. This ensured that we and a number of small exhibitors were on the path.

Our photo display , 6 large boards , I think was excellent and cer-tainly we were equal to other Club displays. As always lots of peo-ple were interested in where we go and the fact that we can go to lots of 4wd places. Information was freely given out so we know that we have added to the knowledge level of the community. At least one person came to the Lancelin run .

Thanks to those who volunteered to man/woman the tent over the weekend, Carl Carey. Barbara Knott, Joy Unno, Tony Richards, Josan Moss, Gary Gleeson, Keith Wilcox, Reg and Gail Woods, Dawn Chivers, Tom Minto, Simon and Ann Newton, Karl Boeing, David Peck, Keith Lowe, Ray Stewart,

Peter ANDRUSZKIW

TRIP & SOCIAL REPORTS


LANCELIN SAND DUNES REPORT, NOV 23, ‘08

We bought our 3rd Subaru at the beginning of the year and joined the Club with every intention of finding out all the things we’d been told a Subaru could do. Somehow, November came around before we had time to join in any activities, but we made our way to the meeting point at 10th Lighthorse Memorial and were pleased to find we weren’t the only beginners. We found a most welcoming mob of members and were soon underway in our first ever convoy, com-plete with CB radio, another first that we didn’t think to actually turn on!

22 vehicles made up the group and Peter found himself with 10 be-ginners and 10 more advanced drivers, so we divided into 2 con-voys with leaders and after willing experts helped remove plastic protectors underneath the cars of the uninitiated we set off for the dunes.

The dunes looked rather intimidating and we started to regret eating the vanilla slice from the bakery. However, air was released from tyres, yet more questions from us were reassuringly answered and after some more calmly delivered instructions from Peter we set off as CAR NO 2 in the beginners convoy. With Peter in the lead and Martin bringing up the rear we felt safe, but still rather nervous. That is until we’d gone up the first hill, had a look, turned and driven down again and then found ourselves up the same hill and down the other side without time to get in a sweat.

Only one “Don’t do that at the moment, Michael” came crackling out of the CB and the instruction “Michael, would you please hold the convoy” had us really feeling like part of the group!

Judging from the chat at lunch time, everyone enjoyed the day and as we looked up at the big dune we’d negotiated before the break, we felt quite proud of our achievement.

The success of the day was down to Peter’s leadership and his no fuss instructions, combined with the welcoming attitude and practi-cal help from all the regulars, from whom we learnt an awful lot.

Jane Hall


Gallivanting in the Gulf

After a final night in the NT, camped on the high banks of the Calvert River, we headed into Queensland where our first stop was Kingfisher Camp (or KFC for short). In the middle of the worst, drought-affected

area we have seen on our trip, this is a delightful oasis on the banks of a permanent billabong on the Nicholson River about 150 km west of Burketown. The grassy, shaded camping area was a great place to while away a few relaxing days, interspersed with some walks along the billabong and a trip up it in a hired dinghy. It is recom-mended therapy for anyone winding their way through this country.

Just a couple of hours south of KFC is the amazing Boodjamulla (or Lawn Hill) National Park. Here, the perennial Lawn Hill Creek – which is fed from the same limestone area as Mataranka in the NT – has cut a spectacular gorge through the red hills. It was hot while we were there so Jo was pleased that it was croc-safe and she could swim! The highlight was a canoe trip up the gorge – we were lucky enough to be the first canoe out at 8 am in the morning and the re-flections in the undisturbed waters of the gorge were amazing. We also did quite a few walks as well as some relaxing in our three days there.


CLUB CALENDAR

December 2008

S M T W T F S Wed 3 Committee Meeting

Sat 6 Xmas Party CHANGED TO SIMONS PLACE see page 6

Tues 9 General Meeting

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

January 2009


Sun 11th: Beach run. see page 7

Tue 13 General Meeting

24,25,26 LWE Blackwood area

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 28 30 31

February 2009



Sun 15 Day trip

Sat 21 social

Sat 28-2nd LWE camping trip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28


Potential members are most welcome to come along on any Club activities before joining. Please phone the Trip Leader for further information.

Register with the trip leader if you are wanting to join a trip or social. Also contact the trip leader if you have to cancel, as we don’t want to wait for someone who does not turn up!

Some trips are ideas only and may be subject to change. Some of the later trips need trip leaders – volunteers please.

SCHOOL AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

School Holidays: 18th Dec to Feb 2nd

Public holidays: Dec 25,26th Jan 26th, March 2nd, April 10,13th

March 2009



Sun 22 Fiddles and Nibbles at Jim’s (get ready for your Easter trip)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

April 2009



1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30


We kept heading south to have a look at Mt Isa but, on the way, we briefly checked out one of the Riversleigh fossil sites at the southern end of Boodjamulla. This is one of the rich-est fossil sites in the world and, whilst much of it is closed to visi-tors, there is a short loop walk along which you can see quite a

few amazing fossil specimens, each explained by a simple interpretive sign. They are incredibly preserved and provide a tremendous insight into a past age.

We arrived in “the Isa” just a few days before the annual rodeo so camp-ing spots were at a premium, and cowboy hats and boots prolific! Though somewhat prepared for it, we were nevertheless amazed by how the mine is so central to and dominating of the city. There is a great visitor centre there called “Outback at Isa” which is basically in two parts – one highlighting the Riversleigh fossils and what the paleontologists have learned from them. The highlight is an excellent diorama of the animals that wandered the area, mostly around 25 -15 million years ago, including giant birds, early kangaroos, crocs and marsupial carnivores and some strange sheep-like beasts, as well as a plethora of others.

The other part of the visitor centre is about mining, of course, and there was an incredible display of minerals that have come out of the local mines, a 3D representation of the labyrinth of shafts and drives that go down nearly 2 km below the town, and some great interpretive material about the history of the town and the local mines. In contrast to tem-peratures at Boodjamulla, the Isa was being blasted by a wind from the very cool interior so it was easy to spend 2-3 hours at the visitor centre. It is highly recommended.


On leaving the Isa we headed east to Cloncurry where there is an-other excellent museum celebrating Dr John Flynn and the RFDS. We knew a bit about Flynn and the birth of the RFDS but the museum illustrated that, whilst he provided the energy and drive behind the fly-ing doctor idea, he relied very much on a dedicated band of practical people to make it actually work. It was most illuminating.

It was now time to head back towards the Gulf itself and after a night camped by the delightful Gregory River at Gregory Downs – don’t miss it if you are ever nearby – we found ourselves in legendary Burketown. It’s pretty small mind you, and we were able to check out the local visitor centre/museum, see the local sites they recom-mended, and have a few drinks and a meal in the local pub in just a few hours. It was another of those places that had visions of grandeur in the 19th century which circumstances conspired to destroy. In the case of Burketown it started with an epidemic bought in by a visiting ship in 1866 which meant the town had to be evacuated for a few years. The final nail was the 1970 flood which re-routed the Albert River so that the town couldn’t boast a port! Only a hardy but interest-ing few remain.


After a night at Leichhardt Falls to the east of Burketown, we dropped in at Burke and Wills’ Camp 119 on the way to Normanton. This is the site of the explorers’ last camp before a desperate but unsuccess-ful attempt to reach the Gulf coast and then the ill-fated dash back south. There was a lot more to it than we expected with several trees remaining that were blazed by members of the expedition, and a lot of interesting interpretive information. It made it pretty easy to imagine what it would be like for them camped there, hot, hungry and thirsty and completely isolated from assistance. It brought our “adventure” into perspective.

Normanton was more civilised than we had been led to expect, al-though nearly every ute in town had a couple of pig dogs on the back! The gardens at the station – from where “The Gulflander” rail car does its trips – were magnificent, particularly for this climate. For us though, the most striking thing in town was the scale model of “Krys” the biggest crocodile ever recorded, at nearly 9 metres in length, and which was shot near town in 1957. It was difficult (and scary) to


imagine coming across the live version! We also made a quick visit to Karumba on the Gulf coast, which is quite picturesque and very popular with fisherman. A couple of drinks and a meal in the pub as the sun goes down is very pleasant and relaxing.

Saying farewell to Normanton was really the end of the Gulf chapter of our trip but we really enjoyed the beautiful historical village of Croy-den and the “TerrEstrial” display of rocks and minerals at Georgetown on our way across to Atherton to have the truck checked and serviced before tackling Cape York.

Keith Low

——————————————————————————————-

For sale I have a set of Forester front seat “Lambswool Seat Cover Insert - Dark Grey (two pack)” in excellent condition that I’d like to sell. They retail for about $200, Willing to sell for $50?

(my mobile is 0401 693 336) Keith Alderslade

Free Tyres Free 1 x Bridgestone Dueler H/T 205/70R 15(original equipment).

1 plugged puncture, 40% tread remains).

1 x Bridgestone Turanza ER30 215/60R13 (road pattern,

30% tread remains). Subaru size.

Both very good second spare tyres

Phone to collect: - Ian 0419 936 566 Trigg

Wanted Small glass jars with a plastic lid, less than 220gram size.

e.g. Vegemite, Masters Foods.

Please save them for Fiona Wilcox 9344-6830


The Subaru 4WD Club of WA Inc Minutes of November 2008 General meeting & AGM

Held on Tuesday 11th November at The Joan Walters Centre Wembley

Meeting Opened: 19:40

Attendances: 25

Apologies: Geoff Hayden, Les & Helga Hadl, Jim & Christine Wil-cox, Ursula Joensson

Visitors: 0

Previous Minutes: Accepted taken as read

Business Arising: Nil

Correspondence in:

1. Mag - Subaru 4wd Victoria - Oct

2. Mag - Subaru 4wd Queensland - Nov

3. Mag - Toyota Land Cruiser 4wd WA - Oct

4. Mag - ARB 4x4 Action

5. Mag - Subaru 4wd SA - Nov


6. Xmas Closure notification of Wembley community Centre - Does not affect us.

5. Westprint Outback maps and books - price list / catalogue

6. Westpac Stmt - $5215.65

Invoice - Town of Cambridge room hire $48

7. Leaflet on 2009 Coleman Variety 4WD Challenge - Variety charity

8. Expo printing invoice Oct - $154

9. Membership R Launce - Cheque $40

10. Membership Paul Newsome - Cheque $50

11. Membership Razvan & Ioana Vlad - No Cheque

Membership - Phil Trang - Cheque $50

Membership - Jon & Val Hunter - Cheque $40

Membership - Ray & Molly Russell - Cheque $40

12. Request from Murdoch University to attend a meeting in con-nection with research being done on sustainability tourism.

Correspondence out:

Business arising: Nil.

Treasurers report:

Receivables: New memberships. Seven members have paid tonight Accounts for AGM are ready - expenditure over income for year $1000.

Treasurers Report Accepted (Peter Andruzkiw, Ray Stuart)

Merchandise

Tony bought along all the usual gear available for purchase - all polo shirts = $23.00 and jackets = $35.00 and beanies = $11.00. Long sleeve shirts only available with no pocket in blue. These will be dis-cussed at next committee meeting.

Reconciled Balance: $ 5163.85 Add - Petty Cash: $32

TOTAL FUNDS AVAILABLE $5195.65


Editors Report :

Jim is away - all printed OK.

Membership Report:

Currently 24 + 7 life. Plus 1 social, and 1 awaiting money (being fol-lowed up). Additional 7 members paid on night. Trips

Lochada - trip covered in the map. 4wd Show - Peter rallied volunteers for the upcoming 4wd show, par-ticularly for Friday where we have only had 2 volunteers at this point. 1/2 day volunteers are needed. Also needed volunteers to help with getting the tent up on Wednesday (tomorrow). Show is fully booked and larger than previous years, so should be a good show. Open 9 - 6pm. Please wear club shirts if pos-sible. Beech Trip - Meet at 10th high horse lightning trail at 8 AM - Great day for all at Lancelin. Christmas party - to be held at Robert & Wendy's house (address dis-tributed). (Note: this had subsequently had to be cancelled due to Robert & Wendy being in car accident) and moved to Simon’s house. 4WD Association

Tony attended October meeting - Mobile phone motion was defeated. Tony gave his details as the contact person - Association has $40,000 closing cash balance - No land manager report. They still need someone to act as Land Issues Manager and an association nominee to join the off-road Advi-sory Committee for which a sitting fee of $140 is paid. - An agenda is being put together for the next meeting of the National 4wd Council - A number of clubs have arranged for Greg Bremner to give his in-surance presentation - Adventure Activity Standards now open for public comment. All clubs should comment. - Voted down a proposal to publish Club trip sheets


THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE HELD BY

THE SUBARU 4WD CLUB OF W.A. INC.

Please send articles to the Editor by the Thursday before the end of the month (earlier is better). Email: [email protected] in Word format or plain text;

Soft copy articles preferred by email, diskette or CD.

Subaru 4WD Club WA Website: http://www.subaru4wdclubwa.asn.au

- Set another viewing date for the DTP gear - Gavan Parish is running the 4wd show 4wd track - Night Nav was won by All Breeds.

Property

We will be electing a new property officer at tonight's AGM

WEB

Our visitor count continues to increase over previous years. The photo section is the most visited area of the site. Karl has full stats of site usage over the year.

General Business

We have had a request from a lady at WA University regarding re-search into Sustainable tourism. Request is to help with thesis, ideally talking to new 4wd'ers. Simon has full information should anyone be interested. We intend to invite her to attend a club meeting.

Peter has more free passes to the 4wd show available if anyone wants.

Meeting Closed: 20:04

2008-12

Documents

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wd club unopposed

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wd club of western australia

wd association

committee members

wd news meetings

wd club news presidents