Five car collections worth a visit

Checking out the fascinating displays is perfect justification to jump in your own set of wheels and set course for a motoring museum near – or not-so-near. Selling the idea to the spouse and family might be more difficult, but truth be told, the best car museums are about history and learning as much as the metal itself. In other words, entertainment and education. Tempted? Here are our fave five country collections.

More than just cars, this museum is a snapshot of Australia’s 20th Century heritage thanks to its vast collection of memorabilia. Early telephones and typewriters feature, along with a beautifully preserved 1950s caravan called Bonnie Gem, and it’s all in the Illawarra region near Wollongong about 90 minutes from Sydney. There are plenty of cars too, of course, chosen from the museum’s collection of many hundreds. And the best way to get there from the North is the scenic route through the Royal National Park – in which case there’s more history to absorb as you’ll pass Stanwell Tops where aviation pioneer Sir Lawrence Hargraves test-flew his box kites (the views of the Illawarra Escarpment alone are worth the trip).

Launceston’s motor museum is a treasure trove of cars and motorcycles and, while there’s naturally an emphasis on Australian-made examples (such as a Peter Brock A9X Torana or John Goss Special Falcon two-door), there are also Ferraris, DeTomasos, Rolls-Royces: you can almost take your pick. What you see may depend on what has been wheeled out from the permanent collection, and there are four themed displays each year; currently it’s called Japan Rising, The New Classics. Doesn’t matter if you’re from Tassie or the mainland, you have to see this one.

It’s only a two hour drive north of Melbourne to Shepparton and while there’s plenty else to do in the capital of the Goulburn Valley fruit growing area, anyone with even a passing interest in cars will want to drop in on the town’s motor museum. Established by passionate locals, the focus of the 100-car collection is on muscle cars and Australian classics – and obviously a combination of both – plus there’s lots of older stuff, including motorcycles and trucks.

Australia’s historic motoring HQ couldn’t be in a more picturesque spot: Birdwood is in the gorgeous Adelaide Hills and the museum is behind the 19th century sandstone mill which was the collection’s home until 1998. As well as a mind-boggling collection of Australian and overseas metal, there are themed exhibitions such as life in the 1950s, and a journey through the local manufacturing history. It’s all family-friendly, very professional and the drive out to Birdwood is lovely.

When avid car collector Peter Briggs decided to open a motoring museum in 1979 he chose York, WA’s oldest inland town. The setting was perfect with its quaint Victorian and Federation streetscape, and since then the museum has grown to house around 50 cars, rotating from a collection of 100. It has three main display areas including a motorsport section with some great Bathurst-mobiles. Add heaps of memorabilia and it makes for an excellent day out around 90 minutes east of Perth.

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