Taylah Eastwell
Gembrook is known for being the last stop along the iconic Puffing Billy Railway. But hidden behind the steam clouds of the historic train lies vintage car museum The Motorist, a one of a kind experience that is bound to get your heart (and mind) racing.
With its rustic shopfront, walls plastered with signs and posters reminiscent of the last century and a vintage car in every nook and cranny, the museum is jam-packed with passion for hobby motoring.
And that’s exactly what owner David Peck intended The Motorist to be – a place for the general public to visit and learn, in hopes that it may spark an interest in joining the hobby car scene.
“I open as a gesture to the movement of hobby motoring so that people can learn about cars, and also as an asset to Gembrook,” Mr Peck said.
Mr Peck has owned The Motorist for about 20 years, and rather than using the space to show off his impressive collection of over 20 classic cars, he has opted to include educational displays throughout the museum. Visitors can see how an engine, clutch and gearbox work inside a car by turning a handle on a real engine and witnessing how things move. They can also see how a vehicle’s tailshaft and differential work mechanically to allow wheels to turn, with Mr Peck more than willing to explain the concepts to those interested.
“My displays allow me to show people who have no mechanical knowledge at all how an engine works,” Mr Peck said.
The shelves that line the side wall of the museum hold a range of antique car parts with explanation sheets on each, allowing visitors to learn how a starter motor starts an engine, how petrol is mixed with air to power a car and how wooden spoke wheels were made and pieced together.
The Motorist is intended to be a display of vehicles before, during and after restoration as well as a place of learning, and has come a long way from its origins as an old service station in the 1920’s.
Pointing to a framed black and white newspaper cut out, Mr Peck explains that the original building burnt down in a devastating fire in 1950. As a tribute to the former site, Mr Peck has recreated the original shopfront at the rear of the museum, which is a hit amongst groups that book the museum and enjoy the back yard area for lunch.
On closer examination of the newspaper articles, it becomes clear that the cars burnt in the newspaper photographs of the original 1920’s garage are of the same era as those now housed in The Motorist’s collection.
In addition to the Chevrolet bus, London Taxi, Roll’s Royces, the 1960s Royal Enfield motorcycle and Mr Peck’s 1970s “daily” motorcycle parked out the front, the centrepiece of the collection is the world’s only 1925 Studebaker Special Six limousine with a polished brass body.
“They made lots of 1925 Special Sixes but what makes this totally unique is the body. It has extra seats in the back and a glass division between the driver and the rear so it is a chauffeur driven car. The whole body is made out of solid brass. I restored it 35 years ago,” Mr Peck explained.
As he flicks through a thick binded folder full of photographs of vintage cars he has personally owned, Mr Peck explains that The Motorist is not a business to him, but more of a “hobby gone crazy”. Reminiscing of himself as a 16 year old boy in London, Mr Peck explains that his passion for quality English cars blossomed when he was helping a friend wash the cars of the wealthy as a schoolboy who could only dream of owning one.
“The only people in those days who could afford to get their car washed had nice cars. So the sorts of cars I now own are the sorts of cars I was washing,” he laughs.
It’s this passion for hobby motoring that inspired The Motorist to be the museum it is today, giving visitors the chance to learn firsthand how cars actually work and the opportunity to spark their own interest in the heritage motoring movement.
The Motorist is open Thursday to Sunday from 11am until 3pm. Entry is through the lolly and ice cream shop out the front.
Mr Peck also takes visitors and groups on tours of the museum by appointment, which should be made in advance to ensure he is not out motoring. Call 0411 465 098.
