Australian Motorlife Museum
Driving the past into the future
Tucked away in a rural setting near Wollongong, less than 2kms from the freeway north to Sydney is a neat grey building, home to one of the best car and automobilia collections in Australia.
The Australian Motorlife Museum came about because of the efforts of a dedicated few volunteers, who had managed to erect a smaller brick building to house what was then a collection of signs, petrol pumps, tools and other artefacts, later augmented by a dozen or so cars and motorcycles. Named the Illawarra Motoring Museum, it pretty soon outgrew these premises.
Meanwhile, Paul Butler a keen collector from Sydney was planning to open a museum, when he passed away suddenly, leaving his premises in some disarray. The named beneficiary, albeit with some heavyweight conditions, was a national heritage organisation. The Executors of the Butler estate, in early 1993, encouraged IMM to apply to become a beneficiary.
Coincidentally there were plans to erect a larger building at Wollongong, which would provide a home for the existing exhibits, plus the Paul Butler collection. A process began to secure a site and Wollongong City Council purchased a 50 acre site to serve as a community recreation park, and several community based clubs have now established headquarters there, including Motorlife.
To cut a long and rocky story short, the now renamed Australian Motorlife Museum opened to the public on this site in August 2008. The Butler matter was dragging through the Supreme Court, but was finally resolved in Motorlife’s favour in March 2009.
The Museum now has a 3200 sq.m space which includes a storage and conservation area, and the Brabham function room. In June 2010, Sir Jack along with Lady Brabham and Ron Tauranac, attended the opening of the function room named in his honour.
The Australian Motorlife Museum came about because of the efforts of a dedicated few volunteers, who had managed to erect a smaller brick building to house what was then a collection of signs, petrol pumps, tools and other artefacts, later augmented by a dozen or so cars and motorcycles. Named the Illawarra Motoring Museum, it pretty soon outgrew these premises.
Meanwhile, Paul Butler a keen collector from Sydney was planning to open a museum, when he passed away suddenly, leaving his premises in some disarray. The named beneficiary, albeit with some heavyweight conditions, was a national heritage organisation. The Executors of the Butler estate, in early 1993, encouraged IMM to apply to become a beneficiary.
Coincidentally there were plans to erect a larger building at Wollongong, which would provide a home for the existing exhibits, plus the Paul Butler collection. A process began to secure a site and Wollongong City Council purchased a 50 acre site to serve as a community recreation park, and several community based clubs have now established headquarters there, including Motorlife.
To cut a long and rocky story short, the now renamed Australian Motorlife Museum opened to the public on this site in August 2008. The Butler matter was dragging through the Supreme Court, but was finally resolved in Motorlife’s favour in March 2009.
The Museum now has a 3200 sq.m space which includes a storage and conservation area, and the Brabham function room. In June 2010, Sir Jack along with Lady Brabham and Ron Tauranac, attended the opening of the function room named in his honour.
Exhibits relating to the earliest Australian pioneers include parts of the 1902 McIntosh (William McIntosh is believed to have built his first car in 1893), and the efforts of Alfred Swinnerton, who built at least two cars in 1907 and 1915 which were of monocoque construction long before the Lancia Lambda appeared. Other Australian built cars including a Summit and a Lightburn Zeta are parked nearby. It is hoped this display will continue to grow with further research and acquisitions.
The earliest running exhibit is the 1904 Innes, the only known survivor of the few built by George Innes in Sydney. Owend by the Arnott family it, along with another larger Innes completed the Sydney to Melbourne Dunlop Reliabilty Trial in 1905 and is now restored and running well.
A 1919 Republic truck has been restored by volunteers and now runs and is on display, but a rare Sunbeam Salmons Sunshine saloon is still progressing. Many other smaller items such as petrol pumps, typewriters, (back to 1880’s) gramophones, mechanical scales and more are exhibited at the Motorlife Museum. The philosophy here is that these items developed in a technological sense in much the same timeframe as the motor vehicle, and all had an impact on the way we live our lives. These displays do much to provide perspective.
Enamel signs are a feature, with hundreds on display, alongside other automobilia but the majority of space is occupied by the motor vehicles.
Motorlife is entirely volunteer run, and is open six days every week, closing on some public holidays. Curator Wendy Muddell lead the team designing and building the facility and although she is now retired her work is continued now by a Curatorial Committee overseeing the ever growing collection.
The catering facilities and surrounding parkland make this site a popular destination for organised runs and rallies; recent visiting groups included Mini, Rolls-Royce, Armstrong Siddeley and Datsun Z car clubs.
The earliest running exhibit is the 1904 Innes, the only known survivor of the few built by George Innes in Sydney. Owend by the Arnott family it, along with another larger Innes completed the Sydney to Melbourne Dunlop Reliabilty Trial in 1905 and is now restored and running well.
A 1919 Republic truck has been restored by volunteers and now runs and is on display, but a rare Sunbeam Salmons Sunshine saloon is still progressing. Many other smaller items such as petrol pumps, typewriters, (back to 1880’s) gramophones, mechanical scales and more are exhibited at the Motorlife Museum. The philosophy here is that these items developed in a technological sense in much the same timeframe as the motor vehicle, and all had an impact on the way we live our lives. These displays do much to provide perspective.
Enamel signs are a feature, with hundreds on display, alongside other automobilia but the majority of space is occupied by the motor vehicles.
Motorlife is entirely volunteer run, and is open six days every week, closing on some public holidays. Curator Wendy Muddell lead the team designing and building the facility and although she is now retired her work is continued now by a Curatorial Committee overseeing the ever growing collection.
The catering facilities and surrounding parkland make this site a popular destination for organised runs and rallies; recent visiting groups included Mini, Rolls-Royce, Armstrong Siddeley and Datsun Z car clubs.
Links, fees and facilities
Phone: 02 42 614 100 [email protected]
www.australianmotorlifemuseum.com www.facebook.com/TheAustralianMotorMuseum
Admission fees per person: Adult: $17.50, Child: 6-16 yrs: $6.00, Concession: $15.00.
Group bookings: $15.00 by Appointment, to have adequate volunteers to look after you.
Address: Motorlife Museum, Integral Energy Recreation Park, 94 Darkes Road, Kembla Grange 2526 N.S.W
Other facilities include: The Members Room can be hired for functions with a fully equipped industrial kitchen and bar area. There are also seating nooks in our café area for morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea (bookings required) other facilities include seating on the veranda to enjoy your packed lunch. They are easy walking distance from a BBQ picnic area with full playground all set in a beautiful parkland.
The Motorlife Museum members (currently over 100) are a group of people interested in heritage motoring and also parallel advancements in technology during the same period that saw the evolution of the motor vehicle.
The Museum offers several different types of membership. Membership with full voting rights, Membership plus Partner with full voting rights for both. Applicants who are not known by Members will be offered membership as Friends of AMM (without voting rights) for 12 months when upon agreement of both parties membership can be transferred to Full Membership. There are also approximately 60 volunteers that support the museum.
The Museum is managed by an annually elected committee and our membership takes a keen interest in the life of the Museum by attending meetings, events and by volunteering their time to assist in the running of the Museum in some way and aim to use their skills and some time to help the Museum achieve its goals.
Note: Photos and content provided by the Australian Motorlife Museum in May 2020.
Phone: 02 42 614 100 [email protected]
www.australianmotorlifemuseum.com www.facebook.com/TheAustralianMotorMuseum
Admission fees per person: Adult: $17.50, Child: 6-16 yrs: $6.00, Concession: $15.00.
Group bookings: $15.00 by Appointment, to have adequate volunteers to look after you.
Address: Motorlife Museum, Integral Energy Recreation Park, 94 Darkes Road, Kembla Grange 2526 N.S.W
Other facilities include: The Members Room can be hired for functions with a fully equipped industrial kitchen and bar area. There are also seating nooks in our café area for morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea (bookings required) other facilities include seating on the veranda to enjoy your packed lunch. They are easy walking distance from a BBQ picnic area with full playground all set in a beautiful parkland.
The Motorlife Museum members (currently over 100) are a group of people interested in heritage motoring and also parallel advancements in technology during the same period that saw the evolution of the motor vehicle.
The Museum offers several different types of membership. Membership with full voting rights, Membership plus Partner with full voting rights for both. Applicants who are not known by Members will be offered membership as Friends of AMM (without voting rights) for 12 months when upon agreement of both parties membership can be transferred to Full Membership. There are also approximately 60 volunteers that support the museum.
The Museum is managed by an annually elected committee and our membership takes a keen interest in the life of the Museum by attending meetings, events and by volunteering their time to assist in the running of the Museum in some way and aim to use their skills and some time to help the Museum achieve its goals.
Note: Photos and content provided by the Australian Motorlife Museum in May 2020.