A world-class collection of rare MG vehicles will be open to the public following the launch of a private museum this weekend.
The MG Car Club Geelong, the museum in Curtis Street, Belmont will hold a club event on Sunday, March 30 to exhibit 37 MGs manufactured between 1914 and 2000.
The collection is owned by Ray and John Abikhair, began gathering the cars seven years ago when Ray joined the Geelong club.
Ray said his love affair with MGs, though only recently reignited, went back to his younger days.
“MG’s were the cheap man’s sports car; I’m now 88 years old, and like most of the people in the club, I had an MG in my early days,” he said.
“When I was 22 years old… I had a garage, and one of the guys that worked in the garage is a life member of our club, Ted Heriot. I joined the club in 2018 so that I’d see more of Ted.
“He had a car on the market and I thought well, I’d better get an MG if I’m going to join the club. But I think I overdid it a bit.”
Club permit officer Lawrie Ulph said the collection was possibly the largest and most comprehensive collection of MGs in the world.
“There are a lot of motoring museums around the UK museums that have a range of different manufacturers,” he said.
“This is unique. It’s specifically MG and that’s why it’s called the Museum of the Marque..”
After the launch on Sunday the museum will be open to the public every Friday, with 50 per cent of admission prices being donated to local charities.
Matt Hewson
