Honda XL125
My first vehicle was a near new Honda XL 125cc motorcycle I purchased from a yard in Wollongong for $400 during 1975, my first year at university. It was similar to the one in the picture on the left, though my recollection is of a more bronze coloured tank and no rack. I did not have it for long - only about a month, I think - as I needed a car with a boot to help lug guitar speakers around and get me to classes. Because I had the bike for such a short time I cannot remember much about it, apart from the fact that it had an orange-brown tank and I wore a daggy white helmut. I can barely even remember riding it, though it was a nice little bike. I didn't have another motorbike until about 20 years later. I remember in primary school a friend of mine - John Feneley - had a small motorbike which we used to ride. I think I went for a motorbike first up out of school because it was the cheapest option at the time. However I quickly realised that I needed a car. I was able to do almost a straight swap for a car.

Sold: 1976

Holden HR 1967 white
My first car was a white Holden HR which I purchased from Bulli Motor Village, trading in my Honda XL125. It was similar to the one pictured on the left. I needed a car to drive myself and friends around and, as I was in a small band at the time, we also used its caverous boot to transport speaker boxes, including Oscar's Marshall cabinet. Eventually rust and collapsing rear springs meant the end of the HR, though it served me well for almost 4 years. It was a lovely car in may ways - roomy, enough power in the straight six 186, handling not too sloppy and nice lines for a Holden from that era. Unfortunately the HR as a model was susceptible to rust, and my white one was no exception. I remember spending a lot of time cutting rust out, patching it up and covering it with cheap paint jobs. It had blue trim, but was very basic. It did not even have a heater and I remember when I drove it down to the Snowy once that it iced up on the inside of the windscreen - it was that cold!

Sold: 1978

Holden HR 1967 - brown
For some reason, which I can no longer recall, I brought a second HR in 1976. I can remember the two cars sitting on my front lawn at 6 Westmacott Parade, Bulli, but I must have only had it for a couple of months before getting rid of it. Perhaps I didn't like to colour, and I vaguely recall it may have been an automatic, though it is more likely that I could not afford the two and decided to stick with whitey.

Sold: 1976

Holden HQ 1974 station wagon
I purchased this car out of the Trading Post for about $2500 when the HR died. I travelled out to western Sydney to pick it up and remember that when I arrived there I could not take it because the owner had lent the wheels to a mate to help pass rego! The wagon was a basic white though it had lovely blue panes sprayed on the sides and bonnet. It had been done up a bit, including removal of the column shift to be replaced by a floor shifter, which used to get stuck, and the inclusion of a Statesman grill at the front. I think I only had it for less than a year before getting a Torana.

Sold: 1978

Holden Torana SLR 1975 - orange
I purchased this car off my girlfriend's father - I traded in the HQ and gave him some money for this hot little Aussie sports car. The Torana was a V8 - 4.2 litre - with a bit of power and nice to drive, especially after the mechanical troubles with the HQ and the sloppy old HRs. It was a dark orange - basically similar to the one in the picture on the left, though with square headlights and a small upper black stripe. It had black trim and I put some deep red-purple velvet inserts in the front seats. The Torana was a nice car, though the clutch was stiff, as was the gear box, and I had to spend a lot of money on things such as tuning. At the time I was very interested in touring cars - this was the era of Brock, Moffit and Grice - and I was an avid fan, especially of the Holden brigade.

Sold: 1980

Holden Torana A9X 1977 - yellow
Once I had the SLR Torana I starting to develop an interest in this make, collecting magazines and articles that featured it. When I was working full time at the Thirroul brickworks I started to look into an upgrade and trading it in on a better car. Naturally I was a big fan of the Torana A9X released at the end of 1977, and I remember during 1979-80 regularly looking in the classifieds for any for sale. I happened across a car listed as a Torana SLR5000 in a north Sydney sale yard and when I checked it out I realised it was an A9X, on sale for $6500. It had been through the wars - it had been used to pull a horse float and had horse hair throughout; it also had an aftermarket air-conditioner and a sunroof. The paint job was also worn. Nevertheless I didn't hesitate in trading in the orange SLR for this pale yellow and black A9X. It had a basic 5litre V8 and could do over 80kmp in 1st gear. The front scope on the car sucked fumes into the airvents so the car showed its racing heritage. In hindsight I would have liked to have had the time and money to keep it and restore it, but as it was I drove it and the cost of petrol, insurance and maintenance was a bit much for me, especially when I started university again in 1981. I remember driving out of Lithgow on my birthday in that year and a cop pulling me over, saying I was speeding - I wasn't - and checking the tyres on the car. Everything was fine, but it just showed how that car was a magnet for such trouble. I eventually sold it through the Trading Post to someone from the western suburbs and often wonder where it is today.

Sold: 1982

Ford Escort RS2000 (copy) - brown
Having sold the A9X I purchased a 2 litre Escort - it was in an old Aussie twin cam shell, with an updated 2 litre moter and was a real change after the big V8 - similar to the car on the left, though with black stripes. I enjoyed owning the Escort, though it had its own problems - the brakes were an issue. Jeanette and I used this car when we joined the Volvo Car Club and did a bit of timed track racing and a few hill climbs. I had the Escort for a long time and it serve me well until I had to get a bigger car when the kids - Andrew and Kyle - can along.

Sold: 1990

Ford Escort - Lotus - blue
With my money from the A9X I also purchased a cute blue Lotus Escort. It looked great, but was mechanically a real problem and I had to spend a lot of money on it before eventually selling it after about a year. We did a few races in it, though as I said the engine was fragile. It was an amazing vehicle in that the Lotus pulled like a V8.

Sold: 1984

Holden Camira station wagon - green
Andrew was born in 1991 and there was a need for a bigger car than the brown Escort, which by this time was getting run down. I sold it and got a Camira for about $5K. It was roomy and ran ok, with not a lot of problems, though it was relatively slow after the racing cars I had been driving.

Sold: 1997

Toyota Seca - white
When the Camira died we purchased a Seca off of Jeanette's niece. It was a great little car, with a nice body and motor and not too expensive to run. Jeanette mainly used it for work etc., and I moved over to using a motorbike.

Sold: 2005

Yamaha Virago 250
I loved this bike and rode it practically non-stop for a decade, including atrip around Tasmania in 2005. I purchased it for travelling to and from work, and it was great to have a low cost vehicle for once - pertrol was only about $10 a week max, and other costs were very low, so it worked out fine. Plus I also loved riding it - it was like a miny Harley, where you just sit back and relax and enjoy the view, though it was a bit small. I never much went over 80kph on it, and for this reason it lasted a long time.

Sold: 2008

Ford Falcon - purple
This car was provided to me when I was elected to the Federal parliament in October 2002. It was a big Falcon - the first I had ever really driven - and I did not like it much. I was booked in it coming home from delivering my first speech in parliament and was glad to get rid of it. I was able to request a vehicle and chose a Holden, which arrived early in 2003.

Replaced: 2003

Holden Commodore - silver
This was a lovely car to drive and served me well during my two years as Federal member for Cunningham. I did a lot of driving in it, especially between Wollongong and Canberra and Wollongong and Sydney. It was the first new car I had ever had, though I had to give it back when I lost my seat in October 2004.

Replaced: 2004

Holden Vectra - white
What a dog of a car - always playing up and needing a lot of money spent on maintenance. I think I purchased it for about $5000. The Vectra was made in Germany as a left-hand drive car and everything swapped around for Australia. It was mechanically temperamental and this cost me money. Apart from that is was a lovely car - nice design with the mags I had; comfortable and well fitted out. But let down by mechanical issues such as tuning and electrics. I eventually traded it in on a Viva, a Holden branded Korean vehicle.

Sold: 2008

Holden Viva - black
The first new car I had ever owned. I was so sick and tired of the constant paying out of money for used cars that I decided to purchase a new car and hopefully have many years where maintenance wasn't an issue. And this was the case with the Viva. For $100 a week over 5 years I got a new car which was very low maintenance. The only problems - it was black and subject to dings in car parks, plus it was an automatic - the first I had ever owned - and these use up tyres and brakes more than the ordinary manual. Apart from that it was a great little car. I would have liked one with a bit more performance, but it was fine.