A MOVING EXPERIENCE

THE NEW BRISBANE MOTOR MUSEUM FEATURES THEMED EXHIBITS THAT ARE CHANGED REGULARLY TO OFFER SOMETHING FOR ALL CAR ENTHUSIASTS

- CHRIS BEATTIE

Eclectic, unusual, full of surprises and a delightful place to feed the passion for automobiles of the past, present and future, is one way I’d describe the Brisbane Motor Museum, which only opened its doors to the public barely a year ago.

Located in the Brisbane semiindustrial suburb of Banyo, not far from the airport, the museum was hosting its fantastic Seen On The Screen themed exhibition at the time of my visit, with a brilliant selection of cars and motorbikes from movies, the silver screen and also many featured on a few well-known TV shows.

My personal favourite was the ornately decorated and outrageously replica of the car featured on both The Munsters TV show and movies. The original was designed and built by the famous auto stylist and movie car specialist, George Barris, and the replica is powered by a 350 cu in Chev and is in driveable condition – although good luck running it through your local motor rego branch.

Host for my introduction to the exhibition and museum was the director, Jackson Smith, who is actually the grandson of the museum’s founder, Collin Galley. Himself an avid car enthusiast and collector, Collin decided he wanted somewhere to exhibit his own car collection and those of others, which is how the concept of the Brisbane Motor Museum germinated and grew in to the excellent multipurpose facility that is displayed on these pages.

Now 85, Collin is a self-confessed lover of English cars, mostly Jaguars, and he has been collecting them since the 1980s. Some of his cars are exhibited from time to time so other lovers of classic Pom bespoke motoring can see and enjoy them.

Jackson said his own passion for cars was sowed early when he was 15. Collin paid him to clean and detail his cars, while Jackson's dad is a car salesman, so cars and car collecting are ingrained in the family.