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RIVIERA LAKES CAR CLUB

Riviera Lakes Car Club Inc. (A0042428J)

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noel bedford

At the June meeting we were priviledged to have a talk by Noel Bedford  (Mr Monaro)  on his time working for Holden, this spanning most of his working life.

His experiences were most interesting and culminated with him naming the new (HK) two door coupe as the Monaro.

This is a part of Noels talk which explains the history.

In October 1967 I took some leave and with my wife, / Anne, / toured up into the Australian alps through Cooma and the A.C.T.

 While in the township of Cooma, / I noticed the name on the council shire offices - ‘Monaro’ County Council’ in a western style lettering that reminded me of the Marlboro Country cigarette advertisements.  

It struck me that the word ‘Monaro’ was like ‘Camaro’ and ‘Marlboro’- both success stories in their own right. 

On returning to work I submitted the name ‘Monaro’ and the word was checked for copyright and dialect meaning.  

There were a few meanings, / but the only one I liked and remember was ‘high plain’. 

An impromptu meeting of the Board of Directors including Max Wilson – (the Managing Director), / John Bagshaw – (Director of Sales) and Joe Schemansky – (Styling Director).

 It took them only a few minutes to discuss and approve the name. 

After a rush to design and release the name plates for production, / the Monaro range was introduced in July 1968.

The rest is history and the Monaro has been most successful and are appreciating in value.

Noel went on to tell us a bit about his hobbies in woodworking, building his first sports car.