Dear members,
Apologies for this report being so late but April and May are so jammed packed and I have just been so busy with work, club stuff and life in general.
What a beautiful month we have just had though, with amazing Autumn weather throughout April, you just wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, would you? And with so many events to choose from there is something for everyone.
2 April, was our International Women’s Day at Broadford, supported by Makulu Vehicle Storage who donated an encouragement award, which went to Stephen Wesson for Most Improved on the day. This event, like all our come and try days, was well supported with officials from VFT and BMWDCM and we had a fabulous turn out of new and more experience drivers. Thank you to all the volunteers who make these days work so well and also to all the instructors who spent the day helping our new inexperienced drivers get so much out of their day.
On 6 April we had 20 BMWs bump into the Australian Grand Prix Display, which was so great to be able to do this after 2 years of lockdown. We had a fantastic cross section of age and class of cars, giving the public a really great display to admire. We were placed next to E30 Racing, so with 10 of their cars, this really did make a great exhibit. We had so many people come and talk to us about both clubs and had a few new members join from seeing us there, so welcome to those new members.
Jo and I also attended the BMW Clubs Australia AGM in Melbourne so we were busy trying to be present at both events. Unfortunately Sunday’s meeting ran late so we were unable to get to the track to watch the race but we did have a large TV screen available to watch it on.
Being an Official BMW Club means we are a part of the largest manufacturer supported club network in the world. This means that you are all members of not just our club, but you are a member of the world-wide BMW Club network. One of the benefits of this is that you have reciprocal membership with every Official BMW Club in the world too and this can mean lots of benefits if you like traveling and going to events or meeting people from other clubs and countries. Because it is all supported and run by BMW in Munich you also have access to special things from BMW if you are ever in Munich. So if you are planning on going to Munich or anywhere else for that matter, let us know and we can put you in touch with BMW Classic for a tour or even a loan car, if available, or hook you up with a club where ever you are heading to. We have already had a member drop in to BMW Classic in Munich and meet Eva and see our name up on the Honour Wall for being awarded the Best BMW Club in 2021.
If you have any questions about what it means to be an Official BMW Club, or the International BMW Club network, just drop me a line and I can answer all your questions.
On 12 April was our April members meeting, which we held at one of our members private collections. This was a real honour to be able to share Malcolm's eclectic collection with our members - thank you Malcolm, all who attended really enjoyed the night.
On 15 April, Good Friday, we had our Royal children’s Hospital Coffee & Cars meet in Beaumaris where we supported Christopher George, the owner of Flavours Patisserie who opened for us to enjoy his wonderful treats on the day. We had over 70 cars turn up and some of the locals even went home and washed their BMW’s and brought them along, what a fun morning with families bringing their children along to support what has become an annual event for us and one we are very passionate about. We raised over $1600 which is brilliant for a coffee and cars morning. Thank you to all who gave so generously, with all proceeds going to the Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal.
On 17 April, Easter Sunday, was another annual event we all love to support. That is Flinders Motoring Heritage Display and again we were not disappointed with our display with a great selection of cars showing of the years. This event is run by the Flinders Lyons Club in support of Peninsula Health and other local charities. This year we helped them raise in excess of $40,000. Another very proud moment and thank you again to all who attended and gave so generously.
23-25 April was our Anzac weekend away in Lakes Entrance. The weather was just amazing and what a brilliant weekend was had by all who attended. As we drove past the Sale Airforce Base, our Jo had arranged for a fly over from the roulettes, which was just stunning. Even if it’s a bit hard to drive the back roads and watch them do aerobatics… They followed us for about 30 minutes darting from side to side and at one stage heading straight for us. Just amazing.
Jo also arranged some brilliant activities for us all to do, Sunday we all explored the Buchan Caves and there were some furry friends in the picnic ground, to the delight of all young and older members.
On Anzac morning, most of our members attended the dawn service which was very moving. Then at 10.30am we all boarded a private boat cruise which took us through the lakes to Metung for lunch. Again we were treated to a spot of dolphin watching, with approximately 12 dolphins just frolicking Infront of our boat. There was an amazing display of bird life too and after our wonderful lunch at Metung we also got to see a Crested Eagle and a few seals sunning themselves on the rocks. These events are so good for new and older members to get to know other members and it was so lovely to have lots of children attending and enjoying this weekend away.
We feel so honoured that families bring their children on our trips away, we also had a learner driver who did a brilliant job of keeping up with the convoys through the countryside. As always, a huge thank you to Peter Williams, our Drive Co-ordinator that finds these amazing roads for us to explore and enjoy.
On 27 April I had an extremely proud dad moment, with my daughter Jess, our Editor and webmaster being admitted to the Supreme Court. This has been a long hard 8 years for Jess but still she has helped us with producing our wonderful magazine each year, as well as looking after the website and all the back end that makes us look so good. There are not enough words for me to express how proud I am of you, Jess, you are just amazing.
29 April was our monthly catch up with BMW Munich, but unfortunately last month there was a miscommunication with the timing of the event with clocks being changed both here and in Munich, most of us all logged in too late. We will make sure we have the time correct for the May catch up.
30 April our last event for the month was our Presentation Dinner. This was held at the Park Royal in Monash, which is only a few years old and a brilliant venue for events like this. Our theme for the night was famous people from the past or the silver screen and we had some absolutely amazing costumes on the night. We held a raffle with some brilliant prizes, generously donated from Sonax, Sirene Sea Pearls, German Auto Haus, Celebration Cellars, Waverley BMW, Revolution Racegear and Bell Motorsport. We also raised $640 for The Smith family on raffle ticket sales. Well done everyone who gave so generously and also well done to all the award winners on the night. We had some very worthy winners.
May is another jammed packed month, check out our calendar here for more details:
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7 May - Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship – Rnd 3 at Sandown
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10 May - Adex Detailing Members Meeting
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12-16 May - Bathurst 12 hour
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13-15 May - E30 Racing at Phillip Island
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15 May - National Motoring Heritage Day/E30 Racing Drive to Phillip Island
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15 May - Maling Road – Autoclassico
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22 May - Otway Fly One Day Drive
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28-29 May - Winton Historics Display
Other events to put in your calendar so as not miss out on are:
- 11-13 June - Queens Birthday Weekend Away – Port Fairy – Whale Watching Long Weekend
- 19 June - Come and Try/Driver Training at Sandown
- 9-10 July - Christmas in July with a difference this year - Sovereign Hill – Winter Wonderlights.
- 25-30 October - Tasmania Driving Tour
As with all our events, unless specified, all are welcome, members and non-members and we even allow non-BMWs to attend most of our events. There are only a few selected events through the year that we ask for either members only or BMW’s only, but these are spelt out in the event notice. Otherwise, we are a very inclusive club, we love you coming along, no matter what you drive or who you bring, and this is one of the things that makes this club so successful.
Above, you would have seen our Driver Training Day at Sandown. We will need volunteers for this to make the day successful, if you are interested in helping out in any form, please email Meg at officials@bmwdcm.com.au and let her know what area you will be happy to help out in. We encourage all our volunteers to go to the Motorsport Australia website and complete and general officials course and obtain a Working With Children’s Check too.
Jo and I will be taking a well-earned break for the last week of May. From the 20 May until 1 June. We will be out of the country, soaking up some South Pacific Sunshine and recharging our batteries. So any Club Plate renewals will need to be sent to Lawrence via our new renewals email address: cpsrenewals@bmwdcm.com.au and any other club related questions will also need to be answered by Lawrence while we are away either by email to secretary@bmwdcm.com.au or phone on 0414 563 290.
We will have our phones with us and our computers, but they will be off most of the day and we will only turn them on if we are feeling like doing some work in the evenings. Please make sure all your club stuff is done before the 19 May if you want to see either Jo or I.
Remember your committee are just volunteers and we can only do so much, so please be patient with email and phone calls, as we all have lives too, well some of us do. LOL. Also, if you are wanting to help out in any way, we would love to hear from you and remember that at our next AGM you have the opportunity to come on board and make this club even better than it is by joining the Committee.
As always, drive safe and I look forward to seeing you at an event somewhere soon.
Graeme Bell | President
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne Inc.
P.O. Box 81, TYABB VIC 3913
Incorporated in Victoria #A0102695G
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne Inc is a member of: BMW Clubs Australia and the BMW Clubs International Council
Motorsport Australia Affiliated Motorsport Club
