ALL FORD DAY GEELONG
A RECORD 1400 CARS AND OVER 7000 BLUE OVAL ENTHUSIASTS MADE THE ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TO GEELONG’S DEAKIN UNIVERSITY GROUNDS FOR
7000 blue-bloods get together in Geelong to enjoy some of Henry’s best and brightest...
FOR me and my mates, Geelong All Ford Day 2018 started off just like the previous ones: looking for a predawn injection of caffeine before completing the trek to Ford Australia’s spiritual home. Boots had been packed with carefully chosen car-care products, folding chairs, sunblock and jumpers. Jumpers in February? Well yeah; last year the event was almost washed away and people had icicles hanging from their eyebrows. Conversely, the year before that everyone got cooked extra-crispy by the sun reflecting off all the chrome in 38-degree heat. Yeah, thanks Geelong.
The cruise down to AFD is almost as important as the show itself. People travel in groups, ranging from a single car with two occupants, to whole car clubs decorating the bitumen with 20 or so lovingly prepared examples of Henry’s finest sheet metal. Stop at any main-road servo within a hundred clicks of Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus before 9am on All Ford Day and I can guarantee you’ll find a bunch of like-minded travellers refuelling themselves and their beloved Blue Oval conveyances. Unfortunately the trip can be a cruel bastard too, as evidenced by the three entrants we passed parked on the side of the road with their bonnets up.
The line of cars queuing to enter All Ford Day stretched all the way back to the Waurn Ponds exit – 1.5km of Fords! The show is held on the lawns of the Waurn Ponds Estate, nestled amongst the bush and dotted with small lakes. A veritable sea of Fords of all shapes, sizes and colours stretched away from us as we arrived and headed for our club display. Friends were greeted, boots were unpacked and cars given a quick touch-up, and then it was time to start perusing the acres of Blue Oval badges.
FRIENDS WERE GREETED, BOOTS WERE UNPACKED AND CARS GIVEN A QUICK TOUCH-UP, AND THEN IT WAS TIME TO START PERUSING THE ACRES OF BLUE-OVAL BADGES