Cooma '98 (3)

The Gala Dinner was packed out and organised like clockwork. After dinner, Noel Gough, Anne Beadell and James Taylor each gave interesting talks, but first the mayor of Cooma (left) welcomed the visitors, Connie Sue Beadell cut the 50th birthday cake (right), and prizes were awarded.

The number one 50th anniversary commemorative key-ring was also auctioned off by Owen Peake of Rover Australia (right) - for $1000 which was donated to Tread Lightly.

Noel Gough was an engineer on the Snowy Scheme and has written a book, Mud Sweat and Snow which is strongly recommended for those with an interest in the post-war history of Australia, the SMHEA, Land Rovers or all of the above. Life on the scheme was obviously "pretty rough" but is fondly remembered by the participants. Incidentally, 1999 is the 50th Anniversary of the SMHEA, and they are hoping for a good turn out in Cooma for that event.

Anne Beadell (left) is Len Beadell's widow. Len was a speaker at the 40th Anniversary. He was also the leader of the Gunbarrel Highway Construction team which built the tracks for the Woomera rocket range and the British atomic-bomb tests, tracks which opened up the interior of Australia and are now the routes of classic four wheel drive adventures. Len was the author of several well known and much loved books and was also a gifted raconnteur. Well Anne acquitted herself well too, telling how she and Len took their (then) new baby Connie Sue on the "road", which became named the Connie Sue Highway, of course. And Anne is still travelling, now in a Discovery rather than a series Land Rover.

James Taylor (above right) is a well known Land Rover historian, and author of several books on Land Rovers and other four wheel drives. This talk was for the true gonzo. Here you could learn that the name Land-Rover was coined when Spencer Wilkes was grouse-shooting in the Hebrides with a nephew: He was going to authorise the construction of a new four wheel drive but a name had not yet been chosen. The Roverlander was suggested but dismissed as being too close to Willys Overland (Jeep). So why not call it Land-Rover? And that was that.

- /4WD.html