An almost century-old car, with a long-standing history in the Inverell region, has been sold and shipped to its new owner in the Czech Republic.
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Previous owner Ron Thorpe said a hard goodbye to the 1922 model S.G Roadster Turcat-Mery, a once prized item in his collection of vintage vehicles.
It was picked up from Inverell last week on route to Brisbane. Scheduled then to be shipped over to the United Kingdom and delivered to its new owner.
Ron said it was fitting the Turcat-Mery would end up in the same part of the world where it was very first manufactured.
“This rare, vintage car was purchased new by the Nesbitt family and was brought to Inverell from Sydney 97 years ago. It was then passed through the hands of several owners locally and was once used for the Inverell-Emmaville mail run.”
The car was first restored by the Burge brothers. Its present body was built by Ted Pollard, of Brisbane, before being sold to Harry Cape.
Around 35 years ago, Harry approached Ron to buy the vehicle, affectionately known as “Old Turkey”.
“Knowing the car’s history, Harry hoped it would return to Inverell. I knew Harry well and decided to buy it because of its connection to town and I thought it was a sporty looking car for its age,” he said.
The Turcat-Mery was involved in a few major rallies whilst owned by Ron. The biggest, possibly in 1988 when it completed a return trip from Inverell to Brisbane through to Canberra.
Ron said it was a bicentennial rally where vintage car owners of that era converged on Canberra travelling on various routes.
“The car was about 65 years old at the time, and I thought the trip was quite a feat. It ran well and gave us no trouble,” he said.
Locally the car has been in many parades and even featured at the transport museum for a number of years when it first opened.
Ron believes, through his own research, there are only five Turcat-Mery cars in Australia; three of which are unrestored.
As the years go by, Ron’s collection of vintage vehicles has begun to shrink.
“It was a sad day to see the Turcat-Mery go but things are getting harder as I get older so it’s time for me to pass it on to someone who’ll be able to appreciate it more,” Ron said.