MG Car Club grows from small beginnings

Gurney Clamp, founding co-ordinator of the MG Car Club of Qld Capricorn Chapter.

Well I must say that I was quite chuffed when asked to contribute a column in this exciting new local paper on behalf of our little club, The MG Car Club of Qld Capricorn Chapter.

As this is to be monthly series of columns, I thought it appropriate to start with how the local chapter was formed.

Firstly, a little about the MG Car Club of Queensland. Formed in Brisbane in November 1954 by a group of MG enthusiasts, the club has grown to have the highest membership of any motoring club in Queensland barring the RACQ. The current patron is Dick Johnson and the club owns and operates the Mt Cotton Hillclimb track in Brisbane. With the resurgence of classic car ownership from the early 1990s to now, several chapters throughout Queensland have been formed.

The Capricorn Chapter came about when local CQ junior golf dignitary, Gurney T. Clamp bought himself an MGB back in 2008. It was after he started driving it around Yeppoon that he noticed several other MGs getting around and so he toyed with the idea of forming a club for MG car owners in CQ. Gurney proceeded to follow the other MGs around until they stopped somewhere and asked the owner if they would be interested in such a club. Long story short, the MG Club of Queensland was contacted and a new Chapter was born, The “Capricorn Chapter of the MG Car Club of Queensland”. Gurney held the position of co-ordinator for 10 years afterwards, resigning on the 10th anniversary of the chapter.

This year with the Covid-19 restrictions, our calendar has been messed up a bit, but the chapter usually meets on the first Friday night of each month for a meal, and the third Sunday for a predetermined run, some short, some not so short.

If you own an MG or something similar, we welcome new prospective members to join us. It is not mandatory that you own an MG as other than MGs we have an Austin Healey, Daimler Dart, Volvo P1800 and even Chevy Corvette that are regular attendees.

Next month, I will touch on the MG marque and the different varieties in our neck of the woods.