100th Kenilworth Show to re-enact vintage car journey

By Richard Bruinsm

A 1920 journey of 10 “useful machines” – including a Studebaker and Chevrolet – that drove from Nambour, along rough rutted roads, to the Kenilworth Show, will be re-enacted for the 100th show to be held in September.
With cars still a relative curiosity in 1920, the journey to the back blocks that was Kenilworth was a major attraction that caught the wide-eyed attention of local show-goers of the time.
Lenore Meldrum, of the Kenilworth Show Society, said the trip was done with the good intentions of the era – to help promote and support a fledgling country show.
“Having cars on the road at the time was a fairly rare event and, particularly, to have the new modern cars - and there were two or three that were only made the year before,” Ms Meldrum explained.
“Of course, people oohed and ahhed over them and wanted to see how they worked, to look at the motors and things like that, so it was a pretty rare event to have a lot of cars turn up at the show.”
It’s hoped the re-enactment this year also gets an enthusiastic response.
The initial 28-mile journey, that took some three hours due to difficult roads, washouts and fallen trees, included a journalist as a passenger. He subsequently recorded his experiences in a thorough and entertaining news article of the time.
Among his early observations of the unusual trip were the breakdowns of some of the cars just part-way through the journey, the dissatisfaction of some would-be passengers who missed out on a seat and, of course, the troublesome roads.
“…it was no easy task for the driver, whose constant attention was compulsory; on such roads as this shire boasts (?), it is only by continuous brake and gear changing that one makes progress with a car, and it is a physical strain not lightly to be undertaken,” the journalist wrote.
The convoy rounded a fallen tree, passed a man on horseback and a team of bullocks, possibly driven by a returned digger just years after World War I. The journalist also observed the improved nature of the pastures, one year after drought that plagued the Kenilworth Show’s inaugural year.
“All the teams looked fine, as did all the stock seen along the whole route, in striking contrast to their wretched general condition a year before, when instead of the bright green aspect so pleasing to the eye on this occasion, everything had a dull yellow to brown look, and cattle were hanging round the spots where the anxious owners cut down brushwood in the hope that they might pull through.”
For Ms Meldrum, the account of the 1920s car journey provides a fascinating and valuable record.
“It’s very much a historic article because it talks about the difference in the countryside from 1919, when there was a big drought, and 1920, when it was lovely and green, and so forth,” she explained.
“It’s just interesting that you can actually validate that there was drought at the time of the first show.”
On arrival at the Kenilworth Showgrounds, the journalist’s story noted the various displays of vegetables, fruits, preserves, jams, cakes, lollies and flowers, as well as needlework displays. There was also a machinery display that included just one “Auster” engine – made in Brisbane.
He also observed a notable shortage of entries in the cattle and poultry exhibits… for various reasons.
“…most owners seemed to prefer to keep them where the people passing by could admire them in the paddocks; and a good many said there was a better cattle show in the paddocks than on the ground.”
On the poultry numbers, he again didn’t miss the opportunity to take a swipe at the council for the poor roads.
“The poultry were few (roads again, it would take India-rubber eggs to stand them).”
The news report highlights the big concern of the time in the district.
“The roads were a big issue for the early settlers here, and they were forever complaining to council – in one report, they said the road looked like it had shell holes all over it,” Ms Meldrum said.
The journalist couldn’t help but notice one other thing about the show… a fact that reflected the views of the residents of the time towards alcohol.
“The show managed without a publican’s booth very well and we heard no complaints except from a few who fancied a taste of intoxicants and got some from private ‘ammunition bags’, but not enough to make it noticeable.”
Thankfully, the roads to Kenilworth are today well-sealed and smooth, and without washouts and fallen trees – ideal for this year’s vintage car journey re-enactment.
“It’s just to show that this sort of thing happened a hundred years ago, and it’s to honour those people - those intrepid travellers - who did it back then, and they did it to help Kenilworth Show,” Ms Meldrum said.
“It’s also to promote the show, in the hope that people will venture out, and possibly even follow the cars out, on the Saturday, the 21st of September.”
Among the cars lined up for the re-enactment will be an 1926 Essex owned by Nambour car enthusiast David Buckton and a 1927 Essex owned by Former Member for Nicklin Peter Wellington. At least one journalist is confirmed to be along for the re-enacted ride (yours truly) - and it’s hoped there will be more.
Around 300 patrons attended the 1920 show. Ms Meldrum is today inviting all Sunshine Coasters to make the trek to Kenilworth this year to again enjoy the traditional country event.
“It is a show that, 100 years later, is still run by volunteers, we have no paid staff,” she said.
“All the work, all the preparation, everything, is done on a voluntary basis and, I think, for a community to have continued on for that 100 years and still have a show to display for the community, is no mean feat really.
“This is, I think, pretty remarkable.”
And while you’re at the Kenilworth Show, remember to check out the convoy of restored vintage cars. One hundred years on, they still deserve plenty of “oohs and ahhs”.