Collie’s trip back in time to the Holden Kingswood era has shown enduring enthusiasm for the Aussie icon and sparked plans for a “bigger and better” event in 2019 that could put the village on the map.
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Almost 30 of the classic cars rolled up in response to an invitation to gather at the pub on the Oxley Highway, 80 kilometres north-west of Dubbo.
Sedans, utes and wagons, some of which had rarely left the shed of recent times, made an outdoor showroom for the day.
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The response from Kingswood fans has Collie Hotel owners Tom Hancock and Emily Taylor working on plans to make it an annual event.
The couple took on the business in August 2016, immersing themselves into life as country publicans.
The idea for the cars gathering in November grew rapidly.
“It came about when a group of friends who are all Kingswood fanatics, they were going to have their convoy out to the pub and have lunch and have a few beers,” Mr Hancock said.
“Then we ended up thinking there’s already five or so Kingswoods coming, with short notice we thought we might as well make a day of it.”
The publican was aware there were “a lot of old cars sitting in sheds that never get to go out and get seen”.
“So we thought we might as well get as many of those people who own old cars, both young and old, to get their pride and joy out so everybody can enjoy it,” Mr Hancock said.
“With only two weeks notice we had 27 Kingswoods turn up, and then I reckon throughout the next year or two it’s going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.”
Some of the Holden enthusiasts travelled from Orange and Bathurst, with the majority coming from the Collie, Dubbo and Warren areas.
The mass display attracted interest from other motorists who stopped to see what it was all about.
Mr Hancock suggests the Kingswood continues to reign in many hearts because it’s “an Australian iconic thing”.
“There’s the opera house, the harbour bridge, and then there’s the Aussie Kingswood,” he said.
“The old Holdens are just something that now the younger generations are finding these old cars and doing them up and they’re turning a $2000 rust bucket into something that could be worth 30-odd thousand dollars.”
A former owner of a “Kinga”, Mr Hancock suggested there might be a “Collie Hotel Kingswood” in the future.
The next gathering is likely to be held in the second half of 2019.
“There’s a few different events we’ve been putting on that hopefully puts not only us, but the little community on the map,” Mr Hancock said.
The couple is also about to embark on hotel renovations with child play equipment among the improvements.
“So doing things like that to try to make it bigger and better and give people more of a reason to travel to get to a little country pub,” Mr Hancock said.