Hundreds of members and friends of the MG Car Club of Newcastle packed out Club Macquarie in July to celebrate 70 Years since the club’s inception in 1955.

The event provided attendees with the chance to reflect on the club’s memories over the years and pay tribute to those who played pivotal roles in the club’s development over the decades.

Leading the evening’s proceedings, MG Car Club President Bryn Baverstock said it was an event he will look fondly back on.

“We were very pleased with the night. The club’s still going strong after 70 years,” Baverstock said.

“We’ve got close to 600 members these days. It all started off by a guy in an MG showroom who thought his customers should have an MG club to join.

“We’ve always been open to all other marques and makes and that’s, I think, a big reason for our continued success as a club which has continued to grow.”

The club came from humble beginnings attracting just a few motorsport fans when it was conceived in the mid-1950s. In 1966, Abingdon granted the club full MG Centre status.

Competitive motorsport in other marques around Australia and overseas was prevalent for the next couple of decades, before interest increased the club’s MG ownership and dominance reach new levels in the 1980s.

It was in 1998, under the leadership of President Dennis Tynan, that the club purchased a former boy scouts hall opposite Birmingham Gardens and renovated it into the permanent clubrooms that still stand to this day.

In addition to monthly social events and committee meetings, most club runs are started from this venue. It is also the base of one of the MG Club’s most cherished accolades, “The Nuffield Trophy” for Oceania, won at the 1998 National Meeting which sits inside the clubrooms.

This victory is one of a few competitive high points in the club’s 70-year history.

In 2014, the club ran the Motorsport Australia Hill Climb Championship at the vastly upgraded Ringwood Park Complex and in 2022, the club ran the MG National Meeting based around Club Macquarie, Speers Point Park, Ringwood Motorsport Complex and Catalina Park Rathmines.

In October 2023, it ran the Motorsport Australia Hill Climb Championship for the second time at the Ringwood Motorsport Complex to round out some of the club’s largest hosted events.

Baverstock and his wife, Helen, joined the club nearly 30 years ago, with Bryn first serving as President in 2012 for four years. He then began his second term as President in 2023.

Both however could not praise the community the club hosts in a high enough regard.

“It’s almost a family-like atmosphere at the club,” Baverstock added.

“Once you get involved to that degree, going to events, becoming an official, going to the national meetings, the camaraderie you get with all the people around you is terrific.

“As I say, we’ve got 600 members, so there’s plenty of opportunities to interact with others in the club and it’s always just a welcoming place to be with so many people eager to help out where they can.”

MG Car Club of Newcastle continues to attract a broad associate membership of race and rally enthusiasts. It also maintains its ability to stage State Championship-level events annually in Hillclimb, Rallycross and Navigation Rallying.

For more information on how to join this historic club, head to mgcarclub.com.au/contact/.