Until recently there was no united voice to express caravanners’ views
- but that’s changed with the formation of the
‘Australian Caravan Club’ an organization set up by a
small band of dedicated and visionary caravanning enthusiasts.
The club produces a quarterly
colour publication called ‘The Nomad’ to keep members informed of
developments in the world of caravanning and the activities of their
club and distributes a Newsletter between publication of TheNomad. We also have a website and members forum at: www.australiancaravanclub.com.au
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 club is not 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 provides the way to achieve this.
An
example of the potential for growth 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 our 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 page
Constitution that covers every aspect of the club’s operation as
a Limited Company. This includes having a Board consisting 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 nearly
sixty 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 Alan Lazarus in this
position. Another Board member is experienced caravanner, Rob Tudor, who
lives in Melbourne and is our Treasurer and Webmaster. (www.australiancaravanclub.com.au) Rob has worked in IT with a major bank and has extensive financial experience. Completing the management team are NSW Grazier, Tom Smith and Queenslanders Craig Humphry and Jenny Beausang.
The Sky’s the Limit
With branches
already operating in Queensland, New South Wales. Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia,
the club caters for members who like to get together to enjoy
themselves with like-minded people who share their chosen lifestyle -
although there is no obligation for members to join branches. Although only four years old the club already has more than 2,000 keen
caravanners involved and is growing rapidly.There is a huge potential
for the club to continue expanding into a force to be reckoned with
once we have a much larger base of members enjoying many benefits
including
a top insurance scheme, discounts,
technical advice, social gatherings, and much, much more. Through our
presence at major caravan shows the club is becoming recognised by the
RV Industry as a worthwhile and increasingly influential RV
organisation.
For more information or to download a Membership Application Form go to:
A National Voice for Caravanners
