I'll be going past that way tomorrow, is it worth dropping in ? if it is how much time should I allow?
Been many years since I last visited, but then was well worth the trip. I could have spent a full day there, but the missus only let me have halfd a
day 
Not sure if it's changed in size etc since then.
Its a small place, but you can get right up close to a lovely & original split window beetle, there is also some vw engines & transmissions that have been dissected to show the workings, well worth the look, I think i spent 2 hours in there
GRRR York! I got lost there.... tiny little confusing one way streets!
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This is the webpage: http://www.yorkwa.com.au/Motor.Museum/
Their 1946 Beetle is the famous Therese Hanael Beetle, the first privately-owned Volkswagen to ever come to Australia. She had bought it from a
British Officer of the Occupational Forces in Germany, and shipped it with her when she emigrated to Australia with her son in 1951. She was joining
her husband Ted, who had been interned in Australia during the war. The Hanaels used the car for daily transportation for the next 10 years. In 1961
it was the result of a 4-month search by Volkswagen Australasia Ltd, when they were looking for the oldest VW in Australia to celebrate the 100,000th
Australian VW.
In a ceremony at the Clayton factory, the then premier of Victoria, Henry Bolte, presented Mr and Mrs Hanael with the brand new 100,000th VW - in
exchange for their '46. VW used the black '46 in advertising and promotion for a while, then the car was placed in the admin foyer at Clayton for a
number of years. Later it was shipped to Sydney when LNC Industries took over the VW franchise. It went on a few display tours and sat in the North
Ryde head office for a while as well as the showroom at Lanock Motors St Leonards (where I remember seeing it in the late '70s). At one stage it was
damaged, so LNC took the opportunity to 'renovate' it and they resprayed it from black to a light grey/blue.
It was moved to Green's Motorcade Museum at Leppington in the early '80s when LNC sold it, where it sat alongside one of the last Clayton '76
Beetles. When that museum closed it went up to Gilltrap's Museum on the Gold Coast and it sat beside one of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang film cars and
Genevieve (from the 1950s British film). It was sold to Peter Briggs in the mid-'80s and moved to his mueum in York, where I saw it again in 1987.
For a while he had a 'branch' museum at Fremantle and the '46 was moved there, but it closed a few years ago and the '46 has been back at York
since.
It's probably the most historic VW in Australia. I believe a few VW enthusiasts have tried to buy it from Peter Briggs, but he is aware of its
history and won't sell.
Well that's today taken care of I'd say, thanks fellas.
He, he, sorry wrong york....
you can get so close to the 1946 beetle that someone has souvenired the oil bath air cleaner...
Was there several months ago, pretty horrified to see the roof plumbing was leaking and splashing all over the back of the car when it rained.
Otherwise a very interesting museum and worth a few hours if you are in the area.
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Great show, the old dub looks a bit run down and the pan with the cut away engine and gearbox had been relegated to an obscure back corner, a Toyota
Corpna has also been labeled with the wrong year model I'm prety sure but still an impressive display, neat little town where I filled in a good part
of the day
yeah, beautiful place if your not trying to navigate a car around it..... I miss the uk, I'd love to go there again.
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Originally
posted by Kazandmyrtle
York in the UK by any chance? I went to uni there....spent many an evening wandering around those one way streets (sounds dodgier than its meant!) |
That 100,000th VW that was swapped for the 46 model now sits in Geelong at Wolfsburg Automotive