The National Motor Museum, formerly also known as The Old Mill and Birdwood Mill after its initial location, is an

automobile museum An automotive museum is a museum that explores the history of automotive-related transportation. * Bold – Automotive museums owned by automotive manufacturers * ''Italics'' – no longer open to public access, excludes private or invitation on ...

in the Adelaide Hills in the township of

Birdwood, South Australia Birdwood is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the local government areas of the Adelaide Hills Council and the Mid Murray Council. History Origin of the name Birdwood was originally named ''Blumberg'', by Prussian set ...

History

The museum was started by Jack Kaines and Len Vigar in 1964, and, as the Birdwood Mill Pioneer, Art and Motor Museum, sold to a private company led by Gavin Sandford-Morgan in 1970. It was purchased by the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

in 1976, and from 1982 came under the auspices of History SA. In 1980 the Federation of Vintage Car Clubs (SA) approached Donald Chisholm , then general manager of the museum, to participate in the inaugural

Bay to Birdwood The Bay to Birdwood is a motoring event of citizen-collected vehicles that takes place annually in South Australia, formerly consisting of the Bay to Birdwood Run (for pre-1956 vehicles) and the Bay to Birdwood Classic (for 1957-1997 vehicles) ...

classic car run. Chisholm agreed to be co-organiser, and suggested and agreed to provide a perpetual

trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...

for the "Concours d'Elegance", with its design based on the Shearer Steam Car, which would remain on display at (as it was then often called) Birdwood Mill.

Description and uses

The National Motor Museum is Australia's largest motor museum, with close to 400 vehicles on display . It holds a large and historically important collection of cars,

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s and

commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. The United States defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to ...

s. It is housed in a modern complex adjacent to its original home, "The Old Mill" on Shannon Street, Birdwood. The museum is the endpoint of the annual

run, in which

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

and

classic car A classic car is an older car, typically 25 years or older, though definitions vary.While other languages, such as German and Dutch, may refer to classic cars as "oldtimers", this usage is unknown in English, where "old-timer" refers to an elder ...

s and other road vehicles are driven by their owners from the foreshore area of Adelaide through to the Adelaide Hills to finish at the museum, where a festival is held and trophies awarded.

Exhibits

The following is a non-exhaustive list of motor vehicles on display: *1897 Peugeot Type 17 chassis *1899 Shearer Steam Carriage *1900 De Dion-Bouton Type E Vis-à-vis *1904 Ohlmeyer 'Jigger' Tourer *1907

Rover 6 The Rover 6 was a small two-seater 6-horsepower car and only the second car model made by the British Rover car company. Announced in January 1905 a 6-horsepower car remained available from Rover until 1912. Engine The engine was a 780 cc ...

hp *1908 Talbot *1909 Merryweather Fire Engine *1910 Daimler Landaulette *1913 Newton Bennett 12 hp Tourer *1913 Renault Two Seater *1914 Dixi R12 Tourer *1919 Lincoln Six Tourer *1920 Palm Tourer *1921

Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

*1924 Summit Tourer *1925 Straker Squire *1925 Rolls-Royce 20 hp coupe with Carrosserie Vanvooren body *1925 Hudson Super Six Phaeton *1926 Graham Brothers truck *1926 Garford flat top truck *1927 Packard 5.26 sedan *1928 Erskine Model 50 Coupe *1928 Dodge Series 128 'Fast Four' *1928 Ford Model A Tourer *1929 Essex Challenger sedan *1929

Austin 7 The Austin 7 is an economy car that was produced from 1923 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by Austin. It was nicknamed the "Baby Austin" and was at that time one of the most popular cars produced for the British market and sold well abroad. ...

Tourer *1934 Ford V8 coupe utility (unrestored) *1935 Chevrolet delivery van *1936 Dodge LE 30 Drapers van *1936 Leyland Badger *1937 Chevrolet Standard sedan *1937 Morris 8/40 Series II sedan *1939 Willys Overland Model 77 sedan *1939 Diamond T Bus *1941 Ford One Tonne Utility *1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster *1948 Hartnett prototype *1949

Hillman Minx The Hillman Minx was a mid-sized family car that British car maker Hillman produced from 1931 to 1970. There were many versions of the Minx over that period, as well as badge-engineered variants sold by Humber, Singer, and Sunbeam. From the m ...

*1952 Vanguard Overland custom rebodied off-roader *1952 Edith 197cc Villiers (unrestored shell) *1956 Land Rover Series 1 LWB Station Wagon (one of two driven by the

Leyland brothers Michael James Leyland, MBE (4 September 1941–14 September 2009) and Malcolm Rex Leyland, MBE (born 2 October 1944), jointly known as the Leyland brothers, were Australian explorers and documentary filmmakers, best known for their popular tel ...

in the film ''Wheels Across a Wilderness'') *1956 Rover Model 75 *1958 Holden FC Special Station Sedan *1958 Land Rover Series 1 short wheelbase off-roader *1959

Chevrolet Bel Air The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1975 model years. Initially, only the two-door hardtops in the Chevrolet model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950 to 1952. With the 1953 model year, ...

sedan *1959 Chrysler Royal AP2 *1961

Toyota Tiara The is an automobile manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota across eleven generations between 1957 and 2001. On launch, the Corona was Toyota's next to highest product in their range, just below the Crown. The Corona was marketed ...

RT20 sedan *1962

Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...

105E *1963 Zeta Runabout *1963 Lightburn Zeta Sports *1963 Lightburn Station sedan *1965 Zeta Sports *1966

Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...

500 sedan *1968

Holden Brougham The Holden Brougham is a large, luxury automobile that was produced by Holden in Australia between July 1968 and 1971. It was based on the mainstream Holden Premier of the same years, but with a lengthened rear body. The boot was simply exte ...

*1969 Holden Panel Van 'Midnight Express' *1971 Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T38 coupe racer *1972 Kenworth W902 truck *1974

Holden Kingswood The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was manufactured in Australia by GM Holden, from the beginning of the HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the WB series in 1984. Prior to 1968, the full-size Holden range of family cars ...

*1974 Datsun 260Z *1974

Holden Torana The Holden Torana is a mid-sized car that was manufactured by Holden from 1967 to 1980. The name apparently comes from an word meaning "to fly" in an unconfirmed Aboriginal Australian language. The original HB series Torana was released in 19 ...

supercharged drag car *1976

Holden Sandman The Holden Sandman is a sports coupé utility produced between 1974 and 1980 by General Motors' Australian subsidiary Holden and became known throughout the 1970s as "Shaggin' Wagons", given their popularity amongst teenage couples, identified ...

*1976 Datsun 120Y sedan *1976 Rover 3500 P6B *1977 Holden Torana A9X hatchback *1977 Leyland Mini Moke *1978 Leyland Mini 1275 LS *1978 Leyland Mini panel van *1980 HDT Commodore Brock Group A *1980

Telecom Australia Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...

Phone Car *1982

Mitsubishi L300 The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

people mover van *1983

Mitsubishi Magna The Mitsubishi Magna is a mid-size car that was produced over three generations between 1985 and 2005 by Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL). Developed as a replacement for the Mitsubishi Sigma, each Magna generation derived from Japane ...

sedan prototype *1983

Toyota Land Cruiser The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...

FJ45 wagon *1986 Holden Piazza Turbo coupe *1991

Holden Caprice The Holden Caprice is a full-sized car which was produced by Holden in Australia from 1990 to October 2017. The similar Holden Statesman, which was also introduced in 1990 as a model below the Caprice, was discontinued in September 2010. Betwe ...

*1996 Mitsubishi Verada wagon test mule *1998

Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan, it has been produced only as ...

sedan *2000

Chevrolet Lumina The Chevrolet Lumina is a mid-size car that was produced and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1989 until 2001. __TOC__ Background The first generation of the Lumina replaced the Chevrolet Celebrity and Chevrolet Mon ...

sedan (based on

Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is a full-size car that was sold by Holden from 1978 to 2020. It was manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia endin ...

) *2000 Holden ECOmmodore sedan (VX) concept car *2000 Toyota WiLL Vi *2004

Pontiac GTO The Pontiac GTO is an automobile that was manufactured by American automaker Pontiac from 1963 to 1974 for the 1964 to 1974 model years, and by GM's subsidiary Holden in Australia for the 2004 to 2006 model years. The first generation of the G ...

(based on

Holden Monaro The Holden Monaro ( ) is a rear-wheel drive coupé manufactured by General Motors Holden in Australia from 1968 to 1975 and later reintroduced from 2001 to 2005. It was also manufactured as a 4-door sedan from 1973 to 1977. Three generations of ...

) *2008

Mitsubishi 380 The Mitsubishi 380 is a mid-size car that was produced between 2005 and 2008 by Mitsubishi Motors Australia. Available only as a sedan, it marked the end of Australian production by the Japanese manufacturer. The 380, given the model designatio ...

Series III Premier sedan The following is a non-exhaustive list of motorbikes display: *1904 Minerva *1910 Matchless *1918 Favourite *1920 Harley Davidson Sport Twin *1923 Matchless H-2 with side chair *1923 Waratah *1927 Indian Scout *1930 BSA S30 *1936 Brough-Superior Model SS80 *1948 Vincent Series B Rapide *1949 Velocette Mk8 KTT *1960 Mazda Three Wheeler *1964 Honda Monkey CZ100 *1966 BMW R60/2 *1969 Benelli 250cc racer *1972 Honda CB 750 *1981 Kawasaki KLX250B *1983 KMZ Dnepr Custom Cruzer replica

References

External links

Driven Media: Birdwood National Motor Museum
– recorded interview with Marianne Norman, Director of the Museum

– official site * {{authority control Adelaide Hills Automobile museums in Australia Museums in South Australia 1964 establishments in Australia Museums established in 1964 History museums in Australia

History

Description and uses

Exhibits

See also

References

External links