The Haywoods have a story or two to tell about travelling in classic cars

Most people wouldn’t dream of driving a car from 1934 across Adelaide while towing a caravan, let alone interstate. But that is exactly the kind of holiday Gilbert and Heather Haywood dream about. 

Their most recent trip was up to Maryborough in Queensland to join a national Ford Model A rally featuring more than 150 cars. 

With plenty of stops along the way to visit friends and family, the total trip was more than 6,000 kms. 

Luckily, the car held up really well - although that could be more due to Gilbert’s skills as a mechanic and a restorer than luck.

They lost a petrol cap and a horn cap, and made one stop to replace a tyre 20 km out of Forbes - not bad for a car that is older than Gilbert himself! 

Heather said as a passenger the comfort of the car wasn’t an issue either. 

“You’re too busy looking at what's going on to notice, and keeping everything going right, and if we came across something that we really wanted to see we would stop and have a look,” she said.

Although the Haywoods travelled a long way to get to the rally, five drivers from Perth took out the title of furthest distance travelled.

Road trips have always been a favourite holiday for the couple and it’s not the first of these rallies Gilbert and Heather have attended with a car that Gilbert has restored, but it is the furthest they have travelled so far. 

Over the years Gilbert has restored 14 Fords of varying models, several of which are now in museums. 

His love of restoring cars comes from his dream of being a mechanic as a young man. 

“When I wanted to go and learn at high school I wasn't allowed to go because I had to stay home and help run the dairy farm and milk cows,” Gilbert said. 

Eventually doing an apprenticeship in windmill mechanics, Gilbert turned his practical skills to a career in fixing windmills. 

His interest in cars remained and he gradually learned about restoration through trial and error.

 “I’m a practical man, I’m not afraid to learn,” Gilbert explained. 

Heather was a farmer’s wife, practical and self-sufficient, and held a job as a cook at the local hospital for a while because the hospital appreciated her passion for cooking good meals. 

Gilbert and Heather met at an old time dance in 2004 and after they married they travelled around Australia in a motor home together, using their practical skills for work on a station near Broome in Western Australia when they needed a top-up of funds. 

While at home, Gilbert and Heather now receive a small amount of support through home care to continue living independently in their home in Strathalbyn.

 Their meals are delivered and the garden is looked after, plus Heather receives some community respite. 

Gilbert continues to restore cars of course, and planning for the next road trip is well underway. 

For more information about Southern Cross Care’s Home Care services, click here.