1 March 2020
Sunday was a fantastic day out with a great bunch of people for the beginning of another very busy month for DCM. It was an early start for the run around the bay to be at the start point at Lara for 8:30am.
It was made very pleasant though, by the loan of a new X3 M40i from Mornington BMW to try out and show the members. It's a beautiful car and quite amazing the tech and gadgets packed into the X3!
It was great to meet some new members as well as some prospective new members coming on the drive and enjoying the day with us. The best way to find out what a fantastic bunch of people we have in the club is to come to an event. You don't have to be a member to attend most of our events.
After a quick coffee and breakfast we hit the road on another of Peter Williams’ amazing drives. It never ceases to amaze how he comes up with these routes, no matter where we want to go Peter comes up with a very interesting way to get there! Thanks, as always Peter.
Once we arrived at Queenscliff, we were treated to a delicious lunch at 360q. It was very nice and relaxed lunch with a beautiful outlook and great bunch of people on a perfect day. Like a lot of the places we go, the thanks should go to Jo. She works tirelessly to find amazing places to go, things to see, places to eat, organises everyone and everything with the precision of a military operation! You really are a treasure!
Having a great drive and a delicious lunch would have been enough, but after lunch we drove to the old Fort for a private tour.
When we arrived we all put our membership cards in the barrel and a couple of our lovely guests drew out cards. A few lucky Members won some very nice gifts donated by Mornington BMW.
Anyone that has been through Queenscliff would have seen the fort up on the hill, and like us, have probably driven by dozens of times and thought, we should go there one day.
Well, Sunday was the one day, and boy was it worth the visit!
We are blessed with so many interesting places to visit close to Melbourne, and a private tour of the Queenscliff Fort is one of those that should be on your list. So much history right on our doorstep and who would have known it is still, not only an important navigational installation, but also an active defence base!
This meant that we all had to sign in and be escorted around the fort by a guide. Margaret, our guide, had a wealth of information on everything from the history of everything in the fort but also of the different roles the fort has played throughout the years in protecting us from threats from seaward as well as its other roles. It was very informative indeed and as it is now the home for the defence archives, a very important ongoing role for defence and all of us.
If you get the chance, stop in and do a tour! It's very worth it, plus if you have ever had any family in the armed forces, they will have their records there. From experience, it is very much worth finding information about your family as I found out when I looked up my own father’s war history, finding out things I never knew. Like a lot of people that enlist, my dad never talked about his service. I wish he had. I'm so very proud of what I found.
Anyway, that was just the first day of March and we have an awful busy month to follow.
Tuesday evening we are being welcomed to new club sponsors, Melbourne BMW Southbank, for the members meeting. Looks to be another very interesting night and looking forward to checking out the dealership and seeing what they have to show us.
Make sure you bring your membership card with you, if you come, as we will have some lovely gifts from Melbourne BMW to give away on the night.
Then next weekend we are off to Phillip Island for the Historics displays.
Make sure you check out the calendar and come along to something soon. Lots of different events coming up!
Graeme Bell | Member #1
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
