Part 2. 1968 Whisky a Go-Go surf trip.
City Beach Surf Riders club members Phil Henderson, Bruce ‘Lumpy’ King and Kevin ‘Mumbles’ Rumble recall joining Brian ‘Browneyes’ Mawby-Brown on a 1968 overland surf trip to the Eastern States.
The boys travelled in a brightly painted FJ Holden promoting the Club’s sponsor Whisky a Go-Go nightclub. As befitting four young blokes travelling in an orange coloured FJ Holden the boys got up to a fair bit of mischief. Coincidently they left Perth on the same day as competitors in the inaugural London to Sydney Marathon Car Rally. Spectators cheered the boys & their sponsored FJ through Perth and WA country towns assuming they were part of the rally. All went well until the FJ broke down for the first time in Merredin. Head mechanic Mumbles fixed the FJ overnight and the boys continued their trip across the Nullarbor. There were few fuel stops on route and one night they got lucky, pulled in fueled up then went looking for someone to pay and couldn’t find anybody, front , back or inside so lucky them, they drove off into the night.
The car had broken down so many times they had become quite proficient as a team at pulling the car apart and putting it back together again. One notable time somewhere out near Whyalla in South Australia the car stripped a timing gear, they pulled into the nearest petrol station to be told they had the parts, but couldn’t fix it for a couple of days. That’s all right they said “we’ll fix it”, so they proceeded to pull it apart as they each had their own job where Phil and Lumpy would open up the front, pulling out the grill, radiator and everything in the way for Mumbles and Browneyes to do their mechanical thing. The casual way this was done got the locals convinced that the boys had no idea and the car would never go again. Once repairs had been finished the car was re-assembled and all the spare tyres and surfboards packed on top without trying to start it. The locals couldn’t help themselves, so a bet was conceived that it wouldn’t go (they thought our boys were dumb and didn’t know how to line up the timing dotes). The boys accepted it on the proviso that the car would be push started and it would go first time. It did start and the boys drove straight around to the main entrance of the gas station put their hand out, got the money and got the hell out of there.
They went on to surf good waves in South Australia & Victoria. While at Phillip Island (Vic) they re-painted (with a brush) the orange car a less conspicuous light blue colour. As no masking tape was available the tyres and accessories were painted too. The repaint come unstuck when a fresh afternoon breeze came up and coated the car in grass seeds, dirt and insects (very Harry Butler).
After several more repairs on the trip from Phillip Island to Sydney the FJ was nursed onto Ulladulla in NSW where it expired for the final time. The boys travelled onto Manly in Sydney and surfed up and down the east coast before making their own way back to Perth.
1968 the Whisky a Go-Go sponsored FJ Holden on the Floreat groyne prior to the boys’ departure. Photo credit Bruce King.
The photos below are (left) 1965 Browneyes and the boys in front of City Beach Tea Rooms. (standing) L-R. Kevin O’Dwyer, Jim King, Phil Henderson, Browneyes, Bruce King & Alan Cleaver. (sitting) Dave Kennedy. Photo credit Norm Bateman. (right) 1967 Browneyes, Rob Halliday and Peter ‘Dribbles’ Collett in beach car park at Mandurah. Photo credit Jim King.
Part 2. 1968 Whisky a Go-Go surf trip.
City Beach Surf Riders club members Phil Henderson, Bruce ‘Lumpy’ King and Kevin ‘Mumbles’ Rumble recall joining Brian ‘Browneyes’ Mawby-Brown on a 1968 overland surf trip to the Eastern States.
The boys travelled in a brightly painted FJ Holden promoting the Club’s sponsor Whisky a Go-Go nightclub. As befitting four young blokes travelling in an orange coloured FJ Holden the boys got up to a fair bit of mischief. Coincidently they left Perth on the same day as competitors in the inaugural London to Sydney Marathon Car Rally. Spectators cheered the boys & their sponsored FJ through Perth and WA country towns assuming they were part of the rally. All went well until the FJ broke down for the first time in Merredin. Head mechanic Mumbles fixed the FJ overnight and the boys continued their trip across the Nullarbor. There were few fuel stops on route and one night they got lucky, pulled in fueled up then went looking for someone to pay and couldn’t find anybody, front , back or inside so lucky them, they drove off into the night.
The car had broken down so many times they had become quite proficient as a team at pulling the car apart and putting it back together again. One notable time somewhere out near Whyalla in South Australia the car stripped a timing gear, they pulled into the nearest petrol station to be told they had the parts, but couldn’t fix it for a couple of days. That’s all right they said “we’ll fix it”, so they proceeded to pull it apart as they each had their own job where Phil and Lumpy would open up the front, pulling out the grill, radiator and everything in the way for Mumbles and Browneyes to do their mechanical thing. The casual way this was done got the locals convinced that the boys had no idea and the car would never go again. Once repairs had been finished the car was re-assembled and all the spare tyres and surfboards packed on top without trying to start it. The locals couldn’t help themselves, so a bet was conceived that it wouldn’t go (they thought our boys were dumb and didn’t know how to line up the timing dotes). The boys accepted it on the proviso that the car would be push started and it would go first time. It did start and the boys drove straight around to the main entrance of the gas station put their hand out, got the money and got the hell out of there.
They went on to surf good waves in South Australia & Victoria. While at Phillip Island (Vic) they re-painted (with a brush) the orange car a less conspicuous light blue colour. As no masking tape was available the tyres and accessories were painted too. The repaint come unstuck when a fresh afternoon breeze came up and coated the car in grass seeds, dirt and insects (very Harry Butler).
After several more repairs on the trip from Phillip Island to Sydney the FJ was nursed onto Ulladulla in NSW where it expired for the final time. The boys travelled onto Manly in Sydney and surfed up and down the east coast before making their own way back to Perth.
1968 the Whisky a Go-Go sponsored FJ Holden on the Floreat groyne prior to the boys’ departure. Photo credit Bruce King.
The photos below are (left) 1965 Browneyes and the boys in front of City Beach Tea Rooms. (standing) L-R. Kevin O’Dwyer, Jim King, Phil Henderson, Browneyes, Bruce King & Alan Cleaver. (sitting) Dave Kennedy. Photo credit Norm Bateman. (right) 1967 Browneyes, Rob Halliday and Peter ‘Dribbles’ Collett in beach car park at Mandurah. Photo credit Jim King.
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