Like most people of my age, my first contact with a Humpy was as a youth when my father purchased an FJ ex-taxi as a family car.

It was the first sedan my father had purchased and it replaced the family Austin A40 utility. That was in either 1959 or 1960. The FJ was very modestly priced, had a reasonable body, new light blue paintwork to disguise its previous life, but the engine had seen better days.

Our neighbour was a mechanic who volunteered to rebuild the engine, and this work was duly done in the home garage at night over a period of a week or so. Dad had a camping seat installed and so began a love affair with a car that doubled as a daily driver and a holiday vehicle for the next four or five years. The redoubtable FJ was a willing and reliable workhorse that covered thousands of miles cover the huge expanse of Northern NSW and Southern Queensland many time over. It was also the car on which I learned to drive.

In 1964, Dad traded the FJ on a new EH standard sedan.

My interest in Humpies never waned, but was pushed in to the background over the next thirty or so years because of family and business commitments. By that time my family and I were living in Sydney’s southern suburbs where I also ran a business.

Out of nowhere my son, Troy rang me one day to say that a customer of the dealership that he worked for in Rockdale, NSW had traded an FJ sedan and it looked pretty good and that I should have a look at it. It was straight, no rust, and ran reasonably well. An offer was made to the dealer and so that Humpy became a joint project for Troy and I. The fascination with Humpies was well and truly rekindled and Troy’s love of the marque began.

The car was a 1954 FJ-226 Special, cockatoo cream in colour, had been partially restored and was particularly straight and rust free, and it was very original. As it had been traded, we did not have a history and its past still remains a mystery. On the road, it showed a few shortcomings, mainly in tuning, giving it a distinct lack of power. At the time, Troy was an apprentice mechanic, and so over a period of time he succeeded in giving the FJ a great degree of reliability. It is now an excellent club car.

Apart from minor mechanical work and a bit of cosmetics the car remains as purchased. We have owned the car for about 9 years and have regularly participated in club events, covering many thousands of miles mostly trouble free throughout NSW and Victoria.

My interest in the first two models that Holden produced, the 48-215 and the FJ-225 together with the commercial derivatives has intensified over the years. The aim of this club and therefore my aim is to try to retain as many Humpies as possible in an unmodified condition. Troy has followed suit.

Due to the membership of this club all having the same interest i.e. catering to unmodified cars, we are naturally a small (and some say old fashioned) club but our social life and runs are unbeatable and our mateship strong.

Today I am still a Committee Member of the club, have retired and live in the Central Tablelands of NSW, whilst Troy currently lives in the North Western Suburbs of Sydney.