Until
now there has been no united voice to express caravanners’ views
- but that’s about to change with the recent formation of the
‘Australian Caravan Club’ a new organization set up by a
small band of dedicated and visionary caravanning enthusiasts.
Already
the new club has produced the first edition of a quarterly
publication called ‘The Nomad’ to keep members informed of
developments in the world of caravanning and the activities of their
club.
Membership
is not limited to caravanners – most camper-trailers qualify
under the clubs definition of an eligible unit. The wording for the
qualifying unit is defined as -"a registered caravan or similar unit of
mobile accommodation with inbuilt facilities for sleeping and food
preparation, which is designed to be towed by a powered vehicle upon
Australian roads"
No Conflict
The
new club will not be in conflict with existing Caravan Clubs and
Associations as it sees it role as something quite different to the
mainly social role of most caravan clubs. In fact there is a real
expectation that members of clubs will be among the first to realise
that caravanners need a strong, united presence to make their views
known to all levels of Government and that the Australian Caravan Club
can provide the way to achieve this.
An
example of this can be seen in the UK where two major clubs – The
Caravan Club and The Camping and Caravanning Club have hundreds of
thousands of members between them and offer huge member benefits
including chains of club owned caravan parks, discounts on a large
range of products, route planning assistance, etc. A sizeable number of
people belong to both clubs.
Although
it will be a while before the Australian counterpart can operate on
that scale, the groundwork has already been put in place for rapid
membership growth and provision of benefits.
Solid Basis
A
great deal of work went into the drawing up of the eighteen pages
Constitution that covers every aspect of the club’s operation as
a Limited Company. This includes having a Board of a Chairman and five
Directors including the Secretary and Treasurer.
I
am the
Chairman of the Board. I've been caravanning off and on for more than
fifty years both in Australia and in the UK. Besides running this
website, I write a monthly column called 'On the Wallaby' in Caravan World, Australia's most popular RV magazine.
Much
of the workload of running an organization falls on the shoulders of
the Secretary and the club is fortunate to have Mr Grant Stable in this
position. Grant is a qualified Accountant and has held a top managerial
post of a company with two hundred employees. Grant, and partner Julie
Baldwin, are both keen caravanners and live at Caloundra on
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Julie – also a qualified
accountant, is the club’s Treasurer.
The
remaining Board member is experienced caravanner, Rob Tudor, who
lives in Melbourne and is our Webmaster. www.australiancaravanclub.com.au
The Sky’s the Limit
Although
only in the fledgling stage at the moment, there is a huge potential
for the club to grow into a force to be reckoned with once it has a
solid base of members enjoying many benefits including discounts,
technical advice, social gatherings, and much, much more.
For more information or to download a Membership Application Form go to:
*********************************************** For more media information contact: Lionel Mussell
Chairperson
and Publicity Officer, Australian Caravan Club
National Voice for Caravanners