Bathurst Van Meet - 3rd November 2012
...same venue and attractions as the postponed March meet, but without the flooding.
Well the year is almost into its last four months and after the success of the Pinjarra (WA) Van Nationals, the Albury Van In, the "Down Unders" trek to the 40th US Van Nationals, plus another 30 vans at the country's largest Holden display, we now look forward to warmer weather and an excuse to get the van out of the shed.
The Bathurst Van Meet is intended to be an informal, laidback gathering of van enthusiasts and their vans (show vans to pub vans). While a timetable for the meet is yet to be finalised between various vanning groups, there are plenty of activities to go with the pre-arranged cheap camping deal at the Showground. Track Cruise, Motoring Museum, Winery, plus a Twilight Park and Display so we can all see what you've been doiing to your van over the winter months. With the first weekend in November being a long weekend in Victoria, we have already had plenty of interest from south of the border. There is also a few enthusiasts from Queensland who took their vans over to WA for the Van Nats who now consider Bathurst to be "a short drive".
While the inland city has long been a popular location within a few hours drive of the Sydney/Newcastle/Wollongong region, it is also central to a concept that is being developed to hold a Van Nationals in Bathurst. In recent years, the event has been held at the furthest extremes in its history - Phillip Island to the south, Pinjarra to the west and beyond Brisbane to the north. An event in the central, and iconic, location of Bathurst, has the potential to exceed entrant numbers of Geelong 2009, or possibly Wodonga 1984.
The annual vanning pilgrimage every Easter is usually organised over an 18 month period, but an international event to celebrate the 40th Australian Van Nationals at Bathurst in 2015 requires a little more forward planning. The Bathurst Showground Trust has the event pencilled in and will be requiring a substantial deposit after Easter 2013 if the concept goes ahead. Vanning memorabilia is planned to be on sale at the upcoming meet to help cover this cost. The Bathurst 2015 concept also had a full page advertisement in the program of the recent 40th US Van Nationals that had entrants from all parts of the US, plus Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Central Europe, Scandinavia and Australia. Many enquiries were received including one couple from Chicago who can't wait and want more info on the 2013 event in Caboolture, QLD.
For the Bathurst 2015 concept to progress to a proposal, many attributes need to fall in to place. The most important of those is venue and enthusiasm. The Bathurst Van Meet will determine if the venue is suitable and your desire to be part of a laidback time with a few vanning mates this November will greatly assist in transforming a concept into reality.
Registration for the meet and more information can be found on:
www.SouthernCrossVans.com (http://www.SouthernCrossVans.com)
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