It was only fitting members of the past, present and future congregated at The Abbey at Chesters Winery in Henley Brook for the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Light Car Club of WA.

The celebration, which took place last month, invited close to 70 guests and recounted the club’s memories dating back to 1965 when the club took its first steps in Australian motorsport.

Former Club President and Life Member Wendy Walker praised the club for hosting the event, which provided an opportunity for guests to look back on fond memories and take pride in previous achievements.

“It was really good to see a celebration of the club, we did a few speeches and had a chat about how the club was founded and continues to grow to this day,” Walker said.

“People came together and enjoyed a very good afternoon. It was really good to see, and after years and years, to pay respect to those members that had actually been responsible for building the clubrooms and the club from the start was fabulous.

“It was really symbolic of the family-like approach we go about running this club and it’s a community I’m really grateful to be a part of.”

Walker has also served as the Western Australia State Council Chair since 2022 and will continue to do so until at least 2027.

Prior to being named the Light Car Club of WA, it was formerly known as the Austin-Healey Owners Car Club, which featured only Healeys and Sprites, before the Club starting introducing new car makes such as Cortinas, Anglias and the Mini Cooper S.

Calls then followed to expand the club, transforming the club into the Light Car Club of WA, led by the Club’s first president Jeff Dunkerton.

The Light Car Club of WA remains based out of its rooms at 22 Moojebing Street, Bayswater.

Some members have been at the club since its formation 60 years ago, while others play a crucial role in actively participating in motorsport events.

Walker also touched on the need for the club to continue building its succession plan, as its younger members play an ever-increasing role in maintaining the club’s success.

“It’s really good to see our ex-rally drivers are now bringing their sons or their daughters along to khanacrosses and helping out,” Walker added.

“I don’t know what the fix is for all of us regarding succession planning, but I think the club has always been doing the grassroots stuff as well as state rallies, but grassroots is where I think we build our community and build our numbers. We’ve done a really big drive in the last few years to encourage junior members to join our club.

“A measure we’ve taken is we don’t charge the juniors an entry fee. We subsidise that and we’ve grown to about 25 juniors in the last two years. So we’re really focused on our succession and our future and I’m really keen to keep growing that.”

Among the special guests at last month’s event included WA State Council Director John Gibbons and WA Rally Panel Chair Julian Wright.

In 2026, the Light Car Club of WA will also celebrate its largest annual event, the Safari Rally, which forms part of the West Australian Rally Championship, turning 60 years old – making it one of the country’s oldest rally events.