ON THE ROCKS

THE COOLY ROCKS ON FESTIVAL CEMENTS ITS PLACE AS A HIGH POINT OF NOSTALGIA CELEBRATION WITH CARS AT ITS CORE

- IAIN CURRY

It's not a bad day's work, stood between a chopped Ford Model A Coupe hot rod and '63 Mercury Monterey, face in the winter sun, listening to Elvis belt out Suspicious Minds. If I've any criticism of Coolangatta's Cooly Rocks On Festival, it's that stepping back into this Fifties and Sixties fantasyland for a few days makes modern life feel far less colourful and fun.

This is Australia's largest nostalgia fest, held annually on the NSW/QLD border along one of our most spectacular stretches of coastline. It's the backdrop for more than 900 head-turning cars vintage, classic, custom, hot rods, street, muscle, ratrods, gassers, bombs, bagged... yep, whatever your car kink, you're catered for.

Small wonder around 160,000 folk turn out for Cooly across five days, the event now having such a following that attendees come from all over Australia (many with cars in tow), plus international visitors lured in by a truly authentic Aussie nostalgia festival.

This year's picture-perfect weather helped no end, but festival director Mark Duckworth explained Cooly's enduring appeal.

"It's about simpler times and simpler memories," he said. "We all want to embrace what it was like in the 1950s and 60s along the coastline of the Gold Coast, and that's what this festival does.

It just transports you back to a beautiful time." This isn't hyperbole. As I head out early on Saturday morning, camera in hand, my first scene is two black hot rods - a'48 Chevy Pickup and '29 Model A - out front of The Pink Hotel. Think Old Vegas hues, tall palm trees and deep blue sky, framed with white wall tyres and the distant sound of Elvis warming up his pipes.

The latter's a constant.

Dozens of the world's best Elvis tribute artists are on rotation at the Elvis Stage, giving Cooly Rocks On a permanent soundtrack. It's cheese-free, too.