Sunbeam Rally
Sunbeams in Oz 10th Annual Rally • 7-9 May, 2021 – Kiama, NSW
Having been postponed from November 2020 due to Covid restrictions, the 10th Annual Sunbeams in Oz Rally was finally held at the beautiful seaside town of Kiama and some 28 bikes from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland had registered for the event. Host David Downing and his wife Kathryn had worked tirelessly to prepare for the COVID safe event with an action packed weekend planned. Even heavy rain could not dampen the enthusiasm as it had been 19 months since the last Sunbeam rally in Shepparton, Victoria. Most of the participants arrived throughout the day on Thursday while heavy rain persisted throughout the night and continued the next day. The consensus was that the weather was not conducive with riding old bikes down the highway to Nowra. With the forecast looking promising for the weekend proper, it was decided that we would drive down to the Air Fleet Museum for the tour of the facilities rather than take the risk. The Navy
Fleet Air Museum tour was extremely informative and covers the full flying history of the Australian Navy from its infancy through to the modern day.
The tour concluded with lunch and we all then made our way back to rally HQ via Nowra.
Saturday saw the sun come out and the bikes roar into action. After a quick riders’ briefing, we were on our way northward. Twenty five Sunbeams (and a few other classic makes) wound through Kiama’s main street and out through the rolling hills of Terragon and Jamberoo and then through the Shellharbour suburbs of Mount Terry and Albion Park en route to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) museum. We were well received and escorted along the runway to park under the wing of the Qantas 747 – City of Canberra. We were treated to an interactive guided tour of the facilities by the wonderful volunteer staff. It is not everyday that you get to climb into the cockpit of an F111, or walk through the first class area of a 747. A wonderful lunch capped off the visit and we all saddled up for the ride down to Shoalhaven Bay, and then back to rally HQ in time for a rinse and catch the courtesy bus to the Kiama Leagues Club for the Saturday night dinner.
As the Wollongong local government area had been declared a Covid hotspot that weekend, our Sunday plans were modified to head South rather than enter the Wollongong area. We rode down through Gerringiong, Gerroa, Bomaderry and Nowra Hill to the bayside town of Huskisson. Over the years there have been numerous issues that have plagued the post war Sunbeams, and this year was no different with several bikes hitching a ride on the backup trailer. Being a beautiful sunny Mother’s Day, it seemed that most of
Sydney had descended on Huskisson for the afternoon. We all had lunch overlooking the picturesque Jervis Bay before saddling up for the return trip back to Kiama. It was then time for many to pack up and say their goodbyes before heading home. As always, these rallies cannot happen without the efforts of many people. A big thank you to this year’s hosts David and Kathryn Downing and their grandson Kenneth, along with John Jennings for his assistance with organising the rides. Our backup driver Bruce Palmer should also receive our thanks as well as Bryan Dawes for helping herd the cats. Already plans are underway for the 2021 Sunbeams in Oz rally to be held in Grafton NSW on the 12th – 14th November 2021. We hope to see you all there.