MAFFRA-Sale Motorcycle Club is preparing to celebrate its 75th anniversary with a weekend of activities next month.
The weekend is being planned and promoted by Darren Kennedy, son of life members and club legends Ian and Jan Kennedy.
“I’ve got an older brother who rode sidecars with dad; and then my sister and then me, being the youngest, grew up here – helped build the clubrooms, paint, all the sorts of things you did as kids when you were dragged along with your parents,” Mr Kennedy said.
Having spent much of his youth around the organisation, Mr Kennedy has himself been instilled with a passion for motorbikes.
He is now tasked with arranging the club’s social events – a responsibility which once fell to his father, who would organise wine nights and barbecues in years gone by.
For Mr Kennedy, the event will be bittersweet, as it also marks the fifth anniversary of his parents’ deaths.
During the 70th anniversary celebrations of the club in 2017, Ian and Jan were riding out to an event at the Newry Motocross Track when they were involved in an accident at a nearby crossroad.
Mr Kennedy’s parents will be honoured as part of the 75th anniversary, in recognition of their passion and lifelong commitment to the Club.
The weekend will begin with a meet at the Morison St clubrooms, Maffra at 8am on Saturday, November 5, followed by a ride to the Maffra Cemetery for a brief service.
The service will be followed by a bush-ride and a bitumen-bound ride-and-drive with the Gippsland Vehicle Collection – of which Ian Kennedy was a founding member – proceeded by a barbecue lunch.
On the Saturday evening, a reunion dinner will be held for past and present members of the club, the venue for which is yet to be decided.
Anniversary celebrations conclude on Sunday morning with a breakfast, again held in the Morison St clubrooms.
Maffra-Sale Motorcycle Club was officially founded on October 24, 1947 after much discussion between the region’s two motorcycle dealers – Jack Templeton and Ron Emmens.
It has held numerous events in the years since, such as motorsport weekends and the renowned Harold Parsons Memorial Ride, honouring the motorcyclist who set an endurance record in the region in 1920.
Among its more famous members is International Enduro Champion Shane Watts, who was honoured with life membership in 1997.
Coincidentally, Watts celebrates his 50th birthday the Monday following the anniversary weekend.
Mr Kennedy puts the longevity of the club down to multiple factors, including the universal appeal of motorsport, the Harold Parsons Memorial Ride, the surrounding bushland, and the “very good touring roads” in the area.
“And having an actual clubroom has helped heaps – not too many clubs, unless they’re a one percenter (outlaw) club, have their own clubrooms,” Mr Kennedy said.
“Most people have a pub or a hall or something like that, and they share it with someone else.
“I don’t know of too many other clubs, if any, that have their own actual clubrooms…”
He also insists that the club has never shared the stigma of other “bikie clubs”.
“We’re not patched-up people like that,” he laughs.
“We’re not all tattooed and bald and things like that.”
For more information about the 75th anniversary celebrations, phone Darren Kennedy on 0493 222 323.
Maffra-Sale Motorcycle Club can also be found online via their official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/maffrasalemc/
