Land Rovers hit Cooma this Easter

Land Rover lovers from across Australia are flocking to the NSW town of Cooma this Easter for the 75th anniversary of the marque and its involvement in the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme, with multiple activities and events planned.

The Cooma Car Club is co-ordinating the celebration, which is fitting given Cooma is the spiritual home of the brand in Australia and where the Land Rover journey really started. The vehicle was launched in 1948 and the Snowy scheme started construction a year later.

Management of the Snowy Mountains Authority had initially tested ex-army Jeeps for the gruelling work, but the new British imports soon proved up to the task. Ultimately, more than 700 would make their way to the remote high country, making up one-third of the total Snowy Mountains Authority fleet.

While Australia’s largest and most complex hydro-electric scheme helped establish the Land Rover brand and reputation in Australia, it wasn’t the end of the story. As the Series 1 gave way to the Series 2, the brand popped up in service all over the place – literally. From the army to the Rural Fire Service, to Aussie farmers across the country who needed a workhorse.

“They took their part in various aspects of Australian life and won a lot of hearts,” says Cooma Car Club president, Rogan Corbett. “As a result, our festival will show off almost every variation of this mighty machine, from renovated to restored, rare conversions, military derivatives and more.”

Corbett adds that some British ‘royalty’ are making the trek down under for the celebrations. Guests of honour include Mike Bishop from Jaguar Land Rover Classic UK, noted international motorsport photojournalist Nick Dimbleby and Bob Ives, the winner of the 1989 Camel Trophy Amazon Jungle event for Team UK.

“We will also be marking the launch of the Australian National Land Rover awards, along with the ‘Mike Bishop Award’, named for one of our special guests. This award is made to individuals, groups, companies, clubs or other entries that have made significant contributions to the preservation of Land Rover history and heritage here in Australia.”

Aside from the notable Australian-based vehicles, Cooma will also welcome ‘Oxford’; one of the most famous Land Rovers in the world. Back in 1955, a pair of Series 1 Land Rovers took part in the historic Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern (first) Expedition and ‘Oxford’ was one of them (‘Cambridge’ the other).

Back then, a young BBC producer named David Attenborough commissioned a TV series from a team of six university graduates who planned to become the first people to drive from London to Singapore. Their six-month epic journey became the stuff of legend. The car was also the star of the recent four-part TV series The Last Overland, Singapore to London, filmed in 2019 and seen on SBS earlier this year.

The Cooma Car Club’s clubhouse (11 Bolaro Street, just up the road from the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre) will be the hub of the administrative aspect of the event, which properly gets underway on Good Friday (April 7) following check-in and registration the day prior.

There is a full weekend’s program of navigation trials, off-road trials, tag-along tours to visit local sites of interest, live music and a gala dinner.

Once everyone has registered, the heart of the action is ‘Land Rover Central’ at the Cooma Showground, which will host most of the events, including swap meets, interviews and book signings with the international guests and the ‘show and shine’. Organisers are confident the 2018 record of more than 700 Land Rovers in one location will be broken.

On Easter Sunday (April 9), Cooma’s main street will come alive with the grand parade. All the vehicles registered for the event will take part in the convoy down Sharp Street before heading back to the showground for a final display and judging of the Land Rover national awards.

The final event of the weekend is a farewell breakfast at the showground from 7.30am on Monday, April 10. No doubt all involved will be planning to reunite in Cooma in five years’ time, for the 80th anniversary celebrations.

For the full event program and more details, click HERE.