Ballarat hosts National Humber Rally

IT HAS taken almost five years for Kelvin Hughes to get his rare 1965 Humber in a condition to drive.But the result was ‘‘smooth as glass,’’ he said.Mr Hughes of Elsternwick was one of more than 40 drivers taking part in the 2010 National Humber Rallyin Ballarat at the weekend.His ‘‘storm grey’’ Super Snipe was among the rows ofHumbers attracting the crowds at the BallaratBotanical Gardens on Saturday morning.With an immaculate red vinyl interior and shiny fold-down trays for the back seat, the car remains in pristinecondition.Mr Hughes said Humbers had always been popular in hisfamily.‘‘My Dad used to buy them,’’ Mr Hughes said.‘‘He never used to trade them in — he’d give them to a family member.‘‘He used to say you could never wear the engine out.’’Mr Hughes’ passion for Humbers was shared by more than100 people involved in the weekend rally.Organising committee member Merv Sherlock said peoplehad travelled from as far away as Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania to take part.He said the event was held bi-annually at differentlocations around Australia.Activities were spread across the long weekend and included a mystery run yesterday followed by a presentation dinner.A second car club rally was also held in the region over the long weekend.The Austin Healey Owners Club held their national rally in Creswick and Ballarat. More than 350 people tookpart in the rally with more than 130 Austin Healeys.A Display Day for the Austin Healey Owners Club was held at Ballarat Botanical Gardens yesterday.