About Us
For all Members - New and Old
The Morris Car Club dates from 1978 when a group of ten people with a keen interest in older cars formed the Club for Morris cars of all ages and series. A newspaper article inviting Morris owners to meet on 19 October 1978, resulted in a good roll up and at the end of the first year, membership had grown to 86. The Morris Minor attracted much attention and has always made up a large percentage of the Club cars with the remainder being vehicles such as the Morris Eight, Morris Ten, Morris 1100 and Mini. Related vehicles such as MGs, Austins and Wolseleys have always been welcome in the Club.
In 1983, the committee, under the presidency of Ray Marks, could see a need to form a second club within the existing club, so in early April, the Morris Minor Car Club of South Australia Inc. was formed to give each state of Australia a Morris Minor Club.
The Club became highly respected amongst all Car Clubs in South Australia and nationally, and had reached over 200 members by 1984, with members as far afield as England and Western Australia. This number of members has remained fairly constant over the years. Today, the age range is from teenagers to members in their nineties. Some members have young children and runs and Club events are planned to cater for both young and old, who mix wonderfully and have a bond of pride and companionship in their Club and their cars.
Monthly Meetings: Monthly meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month at 7.30 p.m. and all members are asked to
• Wear a name tag so everyone knows who is who
• Sign the attendance book
• Talk to other members about your car
• Bring a plate of supper.
Soft drinks are available from the fridge on a pay as you take honesty system. Coffee and tea is provided.
Club Runs: Club runs are usually held on the fourth Sunday of the month and all members are asked to
• Meet at the designated assembly point
• Feel free to drive any make or model, old or modern
• Arrive on time
• Wear a name tag
• Sign the attendance book.
• Maintain a minimum of 100 metres spacing when travelling in convoy giving way to faster traffic.
Besides official club runs, members can take part in "Weekday Runs" held approximately once every two months. These provide the opportunity to socialise and visit places normally not accessible on weekends.
Magazine: The Club publishes a monthly magazine called the Bulletin which records the activities of the Club and articles of interest, to which members are asked to contribute.
National Morris Minor Rally: This event is conducted every two years on the Easter Weekend, hosted by a club somewhere in Australia. Trophies are awarded in various categories, including original, restored and modified vehicles. Owners with other Morris cars are also included and there is an award for the best non-Minor on display.
Library: The Club library contains a range of Morris-related books, videos, workshop manuals and magazines. There are some books for sale. The Club has memberships with the Morris Minor Owners Club and the Minor Light Commercial Vehicle Register in the UK. The magazines from each of these clubs is kept in the library and can be borrowed on a monthly basis for a small fee.
Regalia: The Club maintains a small supply of regalia items such as lapel badges, key fobs, cloth badges, hats, metal grille badges and window stickers. These items are .available for purchase at Club meetings.
Clubmanship Points: Each year a perpetual trophy is awarded as the Clubmanship Award. The award is made on the basis of the best attendances as recorded in the Club Captain's attendance books, made available at meetings and club runs. In the event of a tie, other factors such as the most consistent use of a Morris will determine the result.
Conditional Registration
For Club members who do not wish to use their vehicles for normal day to day running, there is a system of Conditional Registration. For a minimum administration and third party insurance fee, you can use you car up to 90 days per annum by keeping details of travel in a log book which must be signed prior to your vehicle entering a public road on each day of use. The fee is generally one quarter of the full scheduled fee which applies to your car.
To have a vehicle on the Conditional Registration System, the registered owner MUST be a financial member of a recognised car club. If the vehicle is registered in more than one name, all must be financial members of the nominated club. Vehicles are now allowed to be modified, however it is up to the individual club to make this decision on modifications.
The Morris Car Club wants a vehicle to be inspected every 3 years.
The log book must be stamped before 31 October every year by a club’s Authorising officer as proof that your vehicle is legally on the system.
ON LOG BOOK DAY the following are required;
1. Receipt proving financial club membership.
2. The current registration papers (original - not photocopy).
3. Vehicle’s logbook.
You MUST renew your club membership by Oct 31st of each year otherwise you are deemed non-financial and your vehicle non-compliant, and should NOT be driven! If you cannot attend Logbook Day you can take your;
1. Receipt proving financial club membership.
2. The current registration papers (original - (not photocopy).
3. Vehicles’ logbook to one of the Clubs Authorizing Officers for Authorization before October 31. The Authorization Officers phone numbers can be found on page 2 of the Bulletin.
If you have not complied with the checklist above by the end of October in any Club year, the Club is bound by the conditions of historic registration to inform the Department of Registration that you and your vehicle are no longer eligible for conditions registration.
If you cannot attend Log Book Day you can take your vehicle to one of the Club members currently authorized to inspect vehicles. The phone number for the Club's Historic Registrar can be found on page 2 of the Bulletin each month.
New members wishing to place their cars on Historic Registration should do likewise at the time of joining. Members with cars on Conditional Historic Registration are encouraged to attend meetings and outings but we understand that in some cases this is not practical.
Heritage Certificates: You can obtain a heritage certificate for your vehicle from the Heritage Motor Centre, in the UK. Visit the website at heritage-motor-centre.co.uk At the site you will find all the details and how you can order your certificate. Prices vary depending on the type of certificate. Samples are shown at the site.
Membership: On joining the Morris Car Club of South Australia Inc., you also become a member of the Morris Minor Car Club of South Australia Inc. although you are primarily, a member of the first mentioned club. We share club rooms with several other historic vehicle clubs all of whom form the Combined Car Clubs group. The C.C.C. is responsible for the management of the club rooms on behalf of all the clubs; and each club is responsible for providing a representative to attend C.C.C. meetings held every two months. The C.C.C. holds a run every two years, organised by one of the clubs.
Constitutions: Both of the above clubs have separate constitutions (included in this booklet) which are worded such that the business conducted at each monthly meeting is sufficient to fulfil the requirements of the two clubs simultaneously. Each Club must, however, maintain separate bank accounts.
Special Events: As well as our own Club events and the National Morris Minor Rally, mentioned above, members may also participate in other events such as the Bay to Birdwood Run, the Bay to Birdwood Classic, the All British Day and the biennial Morris Minor Touring Club's tour. Besides these regular events, from time to time the Club may be invited to runs hosted by other car clubs or we may ourselves invite other clubs to our events. In recent years, an annual joint outing with the Morris Register has been organised by the clubs' respective presidents.
Finally: The main objects of the Club are to encourage the preservation, restoration and exhibition of Morris vehicles and to foster fellowship amongst its members.