General News
15 August, 2022
Gathering of Holden enthusiasts more than an anniversary event for Pilgrim family
The rumble of eight cylinder engines will be heard across the district this weekend as classic Holdens roll into town, but beyond being a dream come true for car enthusiasts, this weekend also holds special meaning for the Pilgrim family. It’s...
The rumble of eight cylinder engines will be heard across the district this weekend as classic Holdens roll into town, but beyond being a dream come true for car enthusiasts, this weekend also holds special meaning for the Pilgrim family.
It’s been 50 years since the first V8 HQ SS rolled off the Holden assembly line at Fishermans Bend and to mark the milestone, some 50 of the vehicles will be cruising into the district.
Organised by Avoca stalwart Marg Pilgrim, the event is in honour of her late husband Hayden, a lover of all things Holden who sadly passed away in February this year.
Hayden’s love for Holdens started early when he managed to get his hands on one of the elusive trial run SS vehicles, something Marg said quickly became his pride and joy.
“As a youngster, Hayden was a car fanatic and a Holden man but of course could never afford to buy a new car,” she said.
“One of Hayden’s neighbours worked at the Holden factory in Fishermans Bend and said ‘Hayden, you need to get a V8’, which Hayden said he’d love but couldn’t afford.
“His neighbour turned around and said he could buy one from the Holden board, a perk of being an employee, and sell it to Hayden.
“I think Hayden was planning on going overseas but the car stepped in and he took it — it was actually the press test car for Victoria and he was delighted with it, it was his pride and joy.”
The SS was Holden’s trial run to see whether a four-door Monaro would be popular and released with a price tag of $3295 or $3500 on-road and in three colours, including Ultra Violet like the Pilgrim’s, the vehicles sold like hotcakes.
Just 1600 of the vehicles were made in August 1972 but demand was so high an additional 1200 were badged and plated the following year.
Marg said it was appealing having a V8, but this didn’t always marry up with using it as the family car.
“The possibility of travelling around in a brand new V8 Holden was really inspiring for Hayden and the SS became our family car until the kids got a bit bigger,” she said.
“I can remember as a young bloke Hayden put these wide wheels on it because that’s what young guys do and with a V8 in it, it was a bit of fun.
“For me though, trying to get into a car park in Chadstone or wherever else to get the groceries was a nightmare, the car didn’t have power steering and the wide wheels didn’t help.”
Hayden and Marg had been the driving forces behind organising the 40th anniversary of the HQ SS to take place in Avoca in 2012, at a time when SS owners were largely isolated and had little to do with one another.
The 40th event saw guest speakers talk about their days with Holden and the development of the HQ SS and Marg said it was hailed a resounding success.
“When we realised the 40th was coming up we knew very few SS owners at that stage, we tracked a few more down and spread the word and those people took a leap of faith and came to Avoca to meet other SS owners,” she said.
“It was just like one big family and a core group vowed then to meet every second year in August, the weekend was put aside and there’d be about 20 cars with 30 or 40 people.”
The SS owners grew into a friendship group for Hayden and Marg, who said the 50th anniversary would be bittersweet.
“It was a big friendship group and it will be nice to catch up with everyone who’s been so supportive of Hayden and me as well over the journey,” he said.
“It will be a tough weekend but it’s in Hayden’s honour as much as anyone’s because without him, it never would have happened.
“My legacy is to carry that on for everyone else now and this event is good for the people involved but it’s also good for the town — it’s bringing an influx of people and benefits businesses and community groups too.”
There will be registration and a meet and greet at the Avoca Hotel on Friday evening and again on Saturday morning at the Avoca Public Park where breakfast will be provided by the Avoca CWA.
A group photo of the SS vehicles will be taken at 11.30 am and after lunch, the group will visit local car museums, including David and Dorothy Beer’s private museum.
The Beer’s property showcases a bit of everything, ranging from old farm machinery, historic tractors, automobiles, aeroplanes and much more.
David said interest for the museum opening and overall 50th anniversary weekend is growing.
“The museum is pretty well known in certain circles and we’ve got people coming down from Nowra in New South Wales to check it out,” he said.
“There’s no easy way to describe the collection, other than to say there’s a lot of historic machinery and tools from the late 1800s.
“I’m always picking things up as I go and I enjoy it, we purposefully built our property so we could have everything here and it’s great.
“I think what we do is pretty interesting and to open up and support Marg and the 50th anniversary is pretty great too.”
David and Dorothy’s museum will open this Saturday, August 20 from 10 am until 3 pm and is located at 608 Maryborough-St Arnaud Road, Alma.
The main display of the HQ SS vehicles will be this Sunday, August 21 at the Avoca Public Park and car enthusiasts and historic vehicle clubs are invited to join the event.
Food trucks will provide catering and there will be displays and memorabilia of the SS’s history.
