THE Bentley Drivers Club of Australia will be in Shepparton this weekend as part of their Silo Art Tour Rallye, coinciding with one of the world’s and Australia’s oldest Bentleys, currently on display at MOVE, turning 100.
The club has toured the delightful sights of Northeast Victoria this week with the final leg including a drive from Echuca to Shepparton through Rochester and Colbinabbin on Friday, a day in Shepparton on Saturday touring MOVE and the 100-year-old Bentley currently on display, a visit to Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), the Australian Botanic Gardens and the Shepparton Golf Club, concluding with a Sunday drive to Avenel. The club will be staying at Parklake Shepparton over those three days.
Currently on display at MOVE is a magnificent Blue Badge three-litre Bentley, a three-seater Cloverleaf Tourer (still original body) by Lawrence Cutter of Ballarat. It arrived in Australia in September 1922 much to the excitement of its original owner, Oswald Syme (son of David Syme, proprietor of Melbourne’s The Age newspaper), at the time.
The new body was completed in time for him to compete in the RACV 1,000-mile Alpine Trial in November 1922. A few weeks later Oswald Syme recorded the fastest time at the Gap Hill Climb – the first competition win for Bentley in Australia.
The rare engine No. 139 four-cylinder chassis No. 142, has been on the road most of its life; covering and estimated more than one million kilometres (725,000 miles).
Don’t miss this historic marvel while it is on display and keep your eyes open this weekend for an array of stunning Bentleys around town.
