Car collector has a fondness for Citroens

Serge Doumergue and his 1929 Citroen Six a one-tonne utility truck ... “the only one ever made in Australia”.

Montville Real Estate agent Serge Doumergue is a collector. He doesn’t collect stamps or coins. He collects cars and clocks. And decades later he has sheds brimming with 40 classic cars and trucks as well as five vintage caravans. The walls and shelves of his house are filled with intricate clocks.

“I’ve bought cars around the world,” he said. “When I was 17 — being French and loving Citroens — I found an old bomb Citroen in Mackay which I repaired and put back on the road. And it’s never stopped since. Now I have 24 Citroens. “I’ve got cars in three states and four locations and I love to drive them all.”

So which is his favourite?

“If I had to pick one I’d have to pick the 1986 Citroen 2CV. It’s just the most adorable, endearing car you will ever drive. It’s problem free, it’s amazing and it makes people laugh all the time.”

In his Montville sheds he alo has a Citroen “Bijou”, which means jewell in France. “It’s a one-off in Australia,” he said.

Serge showed me a cream 1974 Citroen DS Special and a 1972 Citroen Series Maserati which comes with a 2.7 litre Maserati V6 engine.

His 1929 Citroen Six, pictured, is a one-tonne utility truck ... “the only one ever made in Australia”.

“It was bodied in Australia by TJ Richards as a King of the Road body,” Serge explained.

“It was a right-hand drive chasis and engine that came from England and then Australia had to build the bodies. This was the only one that was ever ordered as a utility truck.”

One of his favourites is a 1973 Leyland P76 prototype, pre-production. Released in 1973 and packed with advanced features for its time, the P76 should have taken the Aussie car market by storm. Instead, it became famous for being an automotive disaster. “I only know of one other pre-production prototype left,” said Serge.

Serge is a member of the Blackall Range Horseless Carriage Club. “We meet every Wednesday at our club house and normally have 20 cars there. We do show and shines regularly and also by request, as well as regularly going to nursing homes taking people for a drive.”

If you want to see Serge’s cars he has one on display on Montville Market Days (second Saturday of each month) outside Mountain Bean Cafe.