Any history of any event or time is, or should be anyway, a summary of what took place from the perspectives of those who were a part of it, coupled with the observations and conclusions of the writer himself. Oft-times they are one and the same, and this whole website and indeed, Project 30 itself it just that.
With that in mind, this brief history of Corowa is presented in three parts. The first is a synopsis of the event as a whole written by Jan Thompson herself in anticipation of the 2008 event; the second is a letter released by the organisers of the orginal event prior to its taking place; and the third is a personal, modern-day look back at Corowa from its inception to present, by Ian Grieve. Together they paint a rich picture of this unique event and the people who have made it what it is today.
History of the GPA Swim-In and Military Vehicle Rally by Jan Thompson
Annually, a group of ex-military vehicle collectors gather at Ball Park Caravan Park at Corowa on the beautiful Murray River, to display their lovingly-restored military vehicles, conduct a parade, hold a swap meet and have a 'swim-in' with amphibious vehicles. The event attracts enthusiasts from throughout Australia and around the world, and there are also participating clubs from each state throughout the Commonwealth of Australia.
March 2008 represents the beginning of the 29th year of the gathering at Corowa, with this year's theme the Year of the Tracked Vehicle. We also encourage ex-military vehicle owners with other makes and models of vehicles to attend the event, where they can exchange information and parts and just generally enjoy the festivities. It will be the 30th year of this event commencing in 2009 and we will be hosting Year of the Amphibian and Year of the Blitz together; 2010 (the actual 30th Anniversary Show) will see Year of the Jeep, while 2011 will be Year of British and European Vehicles.
The first event, in 1980, was initially organised by Ian Grieve [Qld] and Alan Newton [SA] and was supposed to be for Amphibious Jeeps (Ford Model G.P.A. ¼ -Ton 4X4 Amphibian), but with so much interest amongst other military vehicle enthusiasts it became a large-scale gathering not only with GPA's but also other historic military vehicles.
People have asked "Why was Corowa chosen as the venue of this event?" Corowa, on the Murray River just west of Albury, is a fairly central location; it has fresh water with easy river access and is a historic town. The collectors enjoy the wrecking yards and disposal stores in Albury and Wodonga, and there are a variety of shops, wineries and antique shops to make this a family-oriented event. The townsfolk of Corowa have always welcomed our presence and we look forward to returning each year to enjoy their hospitality and support.
The majority of vehicles attending are of World War 2 vintage. They include many Jeeps, Blitz's, Dodge Weapons Carriers, Studebakers, GMC trucks, White Scout Cars, Chev trucks, Ford trucks, Bren Gun Carriers, Harley Davidson Motorcycles, Amphibious Jeeps, DUKWs and many more. The event also attracts members with post-WW2 vehicles including Landrovers, Saracen Armoured Cars, Ferret Scout Cars, Humvees (Hummers), ACCO Internationals and many others.
In 1999 we achieved recognition by the Guinness Book of World Records for "the largest gathering of Ford GPA amphibious vehicles since the Second World War"; this number was 16, including the famous Amphibious Jeep Half-Safe which circumnavigated the world during the 1950s and has been since donated to the Guildford Grammar School in Perth. In March 2002 we achieved recognition by the Guinness Book of World Records for "the greatest gathering of privately owned Ford and Chev Blitz trucks since 1945". In 2003 the theme was to get as many WW2 Studebaker trucks as possible together; we had 21. In 2004 the Theme was Year of the Dodge - we had 34 Dodges and a total of 120 ex-military vehicles in attendance. For 2005 our theme was WW2 Pattern Carriers ('YOTC'); we had 21 Carriers, with nearly 140 ex-military vehicles total in attendance. The theme for 2006 was Armoured Cars and we saw a variety of rare vehicles; 2007 saw the dual theme of Year of the Cycle and Year of the Staff Car and the total number of vehicles was 166. We had a number of vehicles in each theme category and we were really impressed with the large number of motorcycles in particular.
Editor's Note: ...and so Jan goes on, to introduce Corowa to those perhaps unfamiliar with the event. She continues on to provide details for Corowa '08, but we instead will now take a look backwards, to the very beginning and a letter written and released by Alan Newton, one of the two original 'founders' of Corowa...
GPA SWIM-IN by Alan Newton
All the SEEP owners I've been in contact with are just sweating on next March coming around when we can all get together for a few days of relaxation and compare and swap notes on the histories of our machines. It'll be a culmination of all the letter writing, phone calls and stories of other amphibious Jeeps, and a chance for a get-together which may never happen again. About 6 of us from South Australia, with our families and crews will be at Corowa for the full 10 days as part of our annual holidays, but some may only be able to manage a few days, or just the weekend of the 22nd-23rd.
This rally was initially for GPA's only (with the families and crews) but there has been so much interest shown that it would be unfair not to welcome MV people who are interested in the event. A large-scale gathering, which the SWIM-IN promises to turn into, may become a bit difficult to handle, but I'm sure those attending will be aware of the usual organization problems of such an event and not get in one another's way. There will be a contingent from the NSW club, with probably 8 vehicles.
This event is being organized by Ian Grieve, VMVC/MJCQ, and myself, and has been progressing over the last 18 months when Ian visited me in Adelaide. Since that time, I have been in contact with, and visited, nearly all Seep owners. Of the 30 odd GPAs I've tracked down or heard of reliable sources over the last 6 years, there will be at least 10, possibly 14 GPA's attending the rally. There is the possibility of 2 DUKWs attending as a bonus, but this hasn't been verified yet. The high cost of fuel is a factor which may affect the attendance.
People have asked why Corowa was picked as the venue for this event, as well as queries about accommodation, itinerary, facilities, etc.
Corowa, on the Murray River, just west of Albury, is a fairly central location - except for the Queenslanders - and not so far from Melbourne where most the GPA's live. Also, the Murray, being fresh water, will cause minimum depreciation to the craft. The township contains a large wrecking yard in which there lies the remains of many military vehicles, including at least 25 amphibious tracked Buffalo and Alligator assault craft, many of which still bear American markings and are almost complete. There are also the remains of many Grant tanks and some Matilda's - and a complete day could be utilised inspecting the place. I have spoken to the owner, who is expecting an invasion next March; you never know what will turn up. Last visit I found a jerrycan holder which cost me $2!
Accommodation… is at the Ball Park Caravan Park, situated right by the Murray with at least 3 separate launching sites and a separate peninsular of land (part of the Caravan Park) for basic camping which could accommodate well over 100 people. This is right next to the Caravan Park proper which has the normal facilities… O'night vans, cabins, well appointed ablutions and washing machines, shop, phone, swimming pool.
Corowa township is a regional centre with supermarkets and all necessary shops and facilities. It's also the centre of an interesting wine growing district and much time and samples could be consumed in your spare time.
Permission of local authorities has been approved and negotiations for a public display are proceeding.
The main attraction will be the weekend of the 22nd, and 23rd March when a mass launching of the GPAs, a barbeque evening and wind-up will take place.
All enquiries, please contact the organizers: Ian Grieve, Qld Alan Newton, SA
Editor's Note: Thus began the first 'Corowa Swim-In' in 1980, an event so successful that it was repeated immediately the following year, then again, and again... right now, Ian Grieve, the co-founder of Corowa, gives us his unique perspective of not only the original gathering, but how it developed from there...
COROWA HISTORY by Ian Grieve
It was mid-1978 and I was on a month trip South from the Sunshine Coast to see as many military vehicle enthusiasts, particularly GPA folk, as I was able. My destination was to be Adelaide to visit Alan Newton. Alan was a name familiar to me, however I had not had the pleasure of meeting him. He was a fellow GPA owner. Like any trip for me, it was Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, with research, museums and people along the way. I got to meet Cameron Smith at Yass with his $53 GPA, John Belfield and Eddie Bourke in Melbourne, then Alan at Valley View in Adelaide. I visited Don Wilson in Mildura on the way home. These were all GPA guys. There may have been others along the way.
Alan was, and still is, a great guy. I arrived at his home in the morning to be quickly escorted to the backyard to see a GPA, DUKW, ½ ton Command Car, Jeep and much other gear. That was heaven, all in a small suburban backyard. It was then a trip into town to visit the NOS spare parts men of old. Alan and I spoke about pulling GPA owners together from all across the country for a National get-together, a Swim-In. This was very exciting. Alan said he would muster up all the guys (and girls) from the South and I undertook to stir enthusiasm with the boys in the North. There were very few GPA's in the North in those days, let alone any running. It was decided that March 1980 would be the most suitable time for the first meeting as a number of guys had their GPA's in various stages of restoration and that they would have approximately 20 months to prepare.
Alan suggested Corowa on the mighty Murray River as a great meeting place. I travelled home via Corowa to check it out. It was perfect, the river looked great, Ball Park Caravan Park looked great, the town people were great, all was great. That was the humble beginning of a great event to follow. On arriving home I immediately started work on a GPA hull and chassis I had found in the Quilpie area of Queensland. Things progressed well until a major operation all but stopped me during 1979. The GPA work was forced to stop as well. What I was able to do was prepare a 40 page history of the GPA from information I had available at the time, draw up and screen print two large flags and smaller banners for the meet, and try to encourage Queenslanders to the event. I kept news of the booklet and the flags a secret until I reached Corowa. They were to be a surprise. Queenslanders were hard to encourage as distance was their excuse. I recall I was the only Queenslander at that first event.
Seven GPA's arrived in 1980, the first being Peter Short from Sydney followed by Reg Butler, Roger Ross, Cameron Smith, Eddie Bourke, Bob Nicol and Alan Newton (possibly not in that order). Eddie arrived with his GPA on the back of a beautiful 2 ½ ton, 6x6, GMC. Alan arrived with his GPA on a trailer, not yet seaworthy, but with a determination to have it in the water. All vehicles swam by the weeks end. Trailers were towed in the water, trailers were negotiated across the backwater with paddles. Each sank by intent. It was all great fun. Other MV's arrived from Sydney, Melbourne and everywhere in between. It proved to be a brilliant inaugural meeting.
Eight GPA's arrived in 1981 and five in 1983. I was not able to attend in 1982. The additional vehicle was that of Tony Van De Ven. All eight vehicles swam. Corowa was a great place to be each March.
The early years were barely organized, but rather just happened. They were very informal, but great fun. Enthusiasts would turn up for up to a week and many yarns were exchanged under a tree or on the water. The street parade took place from the very first year. I think the town people wondered what was happening. The local newspaper highlighted photos and articles. Parts were also swapped on an informal basis. It was mandatory that visitors made the pilgrimage to the RAOC Museum at Bandiana, Plumb and Creighton's scrap metal yard at Wodonga and Upton's yard at Corowa. Other treasure houses were also visited. It was asked if the event should take place each two years, however, popular opinion was that it had to happen annually. Annually won the day, and it has continued that way ever since.
The Queenslanders became aroused after the success of the first couple of years. Slowly they caught the vision and took GPA's and other MV's to Corowa. Distance became of lesser importance.
My next visit was 1999 for the twenty year anniversary. It had been a long drought for me. It was exciting, amazing, to see sixteen GPA's in a row, including "Half-Safe", even after several vehicles had gone overseas some years earlier. In hindsight, it is great to see these overseas vehicles have fallen into very good and thankful homes in Europe. I know other GPA's have visited Corowa in the years since 1999.
It has been exciting to see Corowa go on from strength to strength over 28 years. The gathering has become probably the biggest MV event in Australia today, and attracted visitors from all around the globe. I thank Alan for all he did in pulling Corowa together in those early years, and to Jan Thompson and committee for carrying on the hard work of organization and planning. I remember Jan was a very young school girl at that 1980 meet and just loved to be around those great trucks.
The historical side of the GPA is a passion of mine and I am particularly looking forward to 2009 for the 30 year anniversary for what will be another brilliant event.
Ian Grieve Flaxton, QLD 26 October 2007
Editor's Note: Our humble thanks go to both Ian and Alan for allowing us the privilege of reproducing their work here on Corowa30, and indeed, for setting the example leading to the finest ex-military vehicle event in the Southern Hemisphere!
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