Australian Corvette Show - Distant Thunder

The Bella Vista Corvette Show 'N' Shine Brings Out Aussie Vette Nuts Of Every Stripe

From the June, 2010 issue of Vette

Photography by Tony Rabbitte

The Australian Corvette Community is composed of a very wide cross section of personalities. Enthusiasts come from all walks of life and social backgrounds, from corporate high flyers to working-class families to small-business operators. In this way, the Corvette is directly responsible for bringing together types of people who would otherwise rarely cross paths. This melting pot of Corvette owners brings with it its own unique flavor of comradeship.

Recently, Sydney's Bella Vista Homemaker Centre played host to the 8th Annual NSW Corvettes Unlimited Car Club Show 'n' Shine, much to the delight of the resident business proprietors.

"The event showcased over 75 Corvettes for judging, and 88 cars entered on the day," reported event organizer Bob Lynn. "I had a lot of support from the Centre management, Julie and Amy." Centre officials sponsored the event with more than $40,000 worth of promotions and prize money, including a $1,000 gift voucher for the Manager's Choice winner. Shop owners within the complex reported the biggest trading day of the year, thanks to the Corvette show held in their parking lot.

The quality of the cars on display was outstanding. They ranged from a '57 fuelie owned by Scott Munter to an '05 convertible. A '75 Greenwood Sportswagon (see "Wagon: The Tale," VETTE April '10) that was recently imported by one of the club members attracted a lot of interest from spectators. (This year the event was opened to non-club members for the first time.) "Our main attraction featured two Corvette drag cars: Greg Morris' Corvette Funny Car and Maurice Zammitt's '64 Corvette drag car, which he fired up for the crowd," Lynn told us.

Former VETTE feature cars were well represented at the show. Charlie Spiteri's '63 coupe featuring a worked LS7 powerplant was a crowd favorite, with its striking looks and attention to detail. Car of the Show, meanwhile, went to Bob Evans' '74 coupe, as did First Place in the '73-'77 Modified section. The Centre Manager's Choice and $1,000 gift voucher went to a '57 red-and-white roadster owned by Anthony Thomas.

The club has two major car shows each year, of which Bella Vista is one. The other, held on Pyrmont Bridge in Sydney, usually takes place concurrently with the Sydney International Motor Show. "In addition, each year our car club joins with interstate Corvette clubs for track days, super sprints, and more," Lynn said.

In 1980 two cousins went on a cruise and decided to form a Corvette car club. The cousins were Maurei Mouyat, who is still active in the club as a lifetime member, and Joe Maite. In 1982 they formed a constitution and named it NSW Corvettes Unlimited Car Club. At that time they just had 50 members, but today the club boasts approximately 230 financial members. It seems the powerful allure of the Corvette knows no geographic bounds.