After luncheon the convoy set off south towards Cooma. We visited the Southern Cloud memorial, Australia’s first civil airline disaster. Six passengers and two crew died when an Avro of ANA (Kingsford Smith & Ulm’s company) disappeared on a Sydney- Melbourne flight on Saturday afternoon, 21 March 1931. The wreckage was discovered in 1958 near Happy Jack, north of Mt. Kosciuszko. Interestingly there was no route forecast available that day so the pilot took his weather detail from that morning’s Sydney Morning Herald surface analysis. Caught out by a wind shift they say. Soon after, the government introduced compulsory flight forecasts for airliners.

The cars continued south towards our first night stop at Jindabyne’s lakeside motel. Before dinner the Bristolians gathered for an impromptu garden party on the lawn above the lake and news exchange. All that was missing was the tzigane violinist.

First stop next day was the Wildbrumby schnapps distillery for morning tea and an interesting talk on the production method. If the thought of shot of peach schnapps at 11am seems decadent, the raw, bone chilling wind off Mount Kosciuszko soon changed that. Lunch stop was Thredbo village where a chair lift ride was programmed. Alas the lift snaking up to the first stage of Australia’s highest mainland mountain (2,228 m or 7309 ft) disappeared into cloud and the excursion was abandoned.

Saturday afternoon saw the cars departing along misty Alpine Way, the booming Bristol exhausts reverberating off ‘high country’ ravines and cliffs. The cars assembled at “Murray 1” power station for a photo op. We marvelled at the skill and hard work from the (mainly migrant) workers needed for this stupendous Australian infrastructure project, started after the war and still the most complex multipurpose hydroelectric scheme in the world. The 10 turbines in this one station alone were on standby for the night peak demand when water gates would open, spinning up the turbines to power 950,000 houses from Rockhampton to Adelaide. The night stop was at Khancoban where we celebrated the arrival of our Victorian friends at another garden party. Alpine inclemency failed to dampen the good spirits of those present.

Cabramurra, Australia’s highest town (1465m) was our lunch stop and by this time sleet threatened to turn into snow. Breathtaking scenery as the cars roared through stark landscape and many half empty dams, the result of 30 years of drought according to a local guide.

Our run down the north side of the plateau passed the ghost town of Kiandra, a relic of the Australian gold rush era. It’s hard to believe 10,000 people once lived there. Another stop was at Yarrangobilly caves before arriving at our motel at Tumut.

Bristols present ranged from 1948- 1972. The late scratching of the Britannia (retired injured) meant that the most modern Bristol present was Peter’s 411. Peter’s determined innings featured a journey starting and ending in Western Victoria, temporary failure of both radiator fans and wallet withering fuel consumption (9mpg). The car had been off the road and needed a tune. Luckily Sebastian Gross was present to lay on ministering hands. Sebastian’s Kendall, NSW, workshop (02 6556 5455) is becoming the place where discerning Bristolians send their cars for exemplorary attention. All cars ran well, grand examples of a famous marque- “shipshape and Bristol fashion”.

© Keith Milner 2007 bristol@airwebconnect.com.au