Bay to Birdwood to hit the road and bring generations together
The Bay to Birdwood will showcase South Australia’s finest selection of historical vehicles when it rolls up to the Adelaide Hills next month.
Founded in 1980, the annual Bay to Birdwood sees vintage cars dating back to the early 1900s make the journey from West Beach up to the National Motor Museum in Birdwood.
Mechanical engineer Brodie Bishop has been a frequent attendee of the event since he was a kid, learning from his grandparents and father about vintage cars.
“Back in the 90s, when you could have people in the back of a truck, [dad] used to take myself and my sister in the back with our family and friends and, you know, just bean bags, bottles of wine, that kind of thing,” he told InDaily.
Bishop said his grandfather had owned a 1925 Bullnose Morris, and his dad a 1925 Chevrolet truck, and he now follows in his family’s footsteps.
Bishop began restoring his own vehicles at 15, when he came into possession of a 1923 Fiat 501.
“I sort of taught myself how to work on it, with dad’s help and a lot of YouTube, a lot of Google – just trial and error,” he said.
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Fast forward to 2023, Bishop brought his friends along to attend the Bay to Birdwood, ready to show off his Fiat and look at some vintage cars. In a cruel turn of events, the Fiat’s engine blew up on the way.
“I had all my friends lined up, and they were all awake at the crack of dawn ready to go, and then I had to message them and say, sorry guys.”
Bishop said this year he will instead be taking out his restored 1925 Vauxhall 14/40 Convertible Tourer to join more than 1500 vintage vehicles.
“The vintage cars are something you don’t truly understand until you go for a drive in one and then it seems to click,” he said.
“It’s just about getting exposure to the community and getting people involved.”
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Bay to Birdwood Chair Michael Neale said the event was one of a kind.
“We regularly get 90,000 people lining the route between West Beach and the National Motor Museum in Birdwood – that’s about seven per cent of the population of Adelaide, enough to fill Adelaide Oval twice over,” he said.
“South Australians are immensely proud of the Bay to Birdwood and multiple generations return year-after-year to watch the historic cars and bikes wind their way through the city and up the rolling Adelaide Hills,” Neale said.
In addition to the parade, awards are given to vehicles that excel in various categories: Concours d’Elegance, Preservation and EV Conversion.
Event director Dane Wilden said a unique feature of the awards are the points given to period-correct clothing, attire and accoutrements.
“Over the years, this has created a cosplay-like element to the whole event with many people dressing up regardless of whether they are in the awards or not and it influences the whole event,” Wilden said.
The Bay to Birdwood is on Sunday 20 October, with the drivers beginning in West Beach at 8am, before continuing through to the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, finishing from 10am onwards.
Tickets are available for the Finish Festival, on the grounds of the National Motor Museum, which will see food stalls and a best period-dress competition.
