From the Editor’s Desk

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since I was editor of this magazine and I must admit, I am happy to be back.

Who am I? Peter Stapley.

An unashamed Porsche 928 aficionado.

Like every young boy I grew up dreaming of owning a Porsche. For that matter so did my dad but sadly they were not within our economic reach.

That was until I went car shopping for my soon to be licenced son. I had already picked out a nice little Nissan but thought a tour of car yards to show him how to identify repairs and cover ups would broaden his knowledge.

All was going well until one car yard, down the back, dirty and unloved, sat a Porsche!

Not just any Porsche mind you. This one had a V8 engine. I served my apprenticeship at GMH as did my father and brother. Front engine and cylinders were every boy’s dream.

This one had just been traded. Broken windscreen, interior looked as though the chooks had been in there, but it ran, it drove, and they said they’d roadworthy it. I could have it for 10K. Done Deal!

Sorry son, we’ve got a Porsche. Deposit paid. Over the next few days the dealer replaced the windscreen but then someone decided that after a wash and clean it may not be as bad as it looked.

The dealer reneged on the roadworthy and offered the deposit back. I said no, I will do the roadworthy. A few days later the boss had decided to deregister it and remove the plates. I can have my deposit back. Another no. Eventually the Porsche was ours, a few little jobs and it was registered and lived in Cairns with dodgy aircon that was really only an issue when it rained. The rest of the time the windows could be down. All was good.

Australia has some great roads but two that come to mind are the Great Ocean Road in Victoria and the

Captain Cook Highway that connects Cairns to Port Douglas road in north Queensland. Every Porsche driver should have them on their to do list.

My mate came along on his Harley to Port Douglas and insisted on being leader.

For the return journey we led. He held us up too much in the corners.

I’m up to number 4, 928 now although I often dream of getting that 1979, 928 back again. It was such a forgiving car that was used to collect timber from Bunnings or attend a cocktail function.

I’m retired now and I’m thinking it will take just a little more than the $39 pension increase to add another Porsche.

The last couple of years have been tumultuous for many of us and this impacts heavily on voluntary organisations such as ours.

A lot of people have committed many hours into maintaining our club and to keep it growing and to them we must offer our appreciation.

Most clubs rely on volunteers to keep them going and we are no exception. If you think that you can help please contact our President who I’m sure will welcome you with open arms.

This magazine is very much a catch up issue and hopefully will bring you all up to date on some of the amazing activities that have been happening within your club - and it is your club because without you it doesn’t exist.

For our magazine to grow we need your input. Have you a favourite project? A classic restoration you would like to tell us about. Please send in your contributions for inclusion in our next edition. Our Social Director continues to work hard to provide us with many interesting and sometimes challenging drives. The Motorsport Director mustn’t rest, such is the number and variety of opportunities to enjoy your Porsche on the track and after all, isn’t that why you have a Porsche? There are many opportunities for you to try your Porsche out on a closed track and you may even be able to request a mentor for your first couple of laps just to point you in the right direction.