Welcome to the final President’s update for 2025. As we head into the festive season the hot weather dictates that it’s probably advisable not to bring out the older Z’s as the potential for both owners and vehicles unexpectedly expiring increases dramatically. So it is that time when we start to wind down our scheduled runs and activities until around February in the new year. Having said that, there is a push from some owners of later model (and some earlier model) Z’s equipped with air conditioning to arrange some ad hoc outings and gatherings during December and early in the new year. The club is happy to facilitate the communication of these events – we just need some people to step up and do the organizing.

Personally, I’ll “be on leave” from the middle of December through to the middle of January taking in the sights and attractions of the Nullabor and some of the towns in regional Victoria and Canberra, catching up with family and friends. Something different this Christmas/New Year.

Club Update

Our club year runs from January to December which means come the new year we will conduct our AGM, recognize the efforts of a number of members, hold elections for office bearers and present our financials to our members. The committee will be making a number of decisions with regards timing of the AGM in the next week and we’ll be posting all the details shortly.

Speaking of the committee, what a team this has been this year. We’ve run a number of events including Z Fest West, Whoop Ass Wednesday, our ever popular Mid Week Meanders, the Weekend Wanderings, Datsuns in the Park and the Monthly General Meetings all of which have required a strong team approach to make them happen. It’s been a privilege to work with these groups and I extend my sincere thanks to everyone involved. And to the members who just chipped in to make things happen as they needed to, thanks as well.  

This year the committee decided that we would return a significant portion of the membership fees we collect at the start of the year back into the activities of the club. As a result, some events were subsidized in the form of lunches provided to attendees, Datsuns in the Park was a free entry event and a light dinner is provided at each General Meeting for attendees.

While we have a need to retain a certain level of funding to cover the costs of running the club and for some contingent purposes, the focus for this past year, and I hope for future years will be to return as much as possible to our membership base in the form of subsidies and incentives to get involved with the events and activities we conduct.

Speaking of finances, our Treasurer, Leanne has done a fabulous job of managing this part of the club. We are in a strong position as we round out the current year and will start the new year with a healthy bank balance which will be boosted by the payment of membership fees, invoices for which will start to hit your email accounts during December. At this stage, there is no intention to increase our standard $60 per year membership fee.

Events

For a number of reasons, I didn’t provide a report last month, so I’ll quickly run through the events we’ve held during October and to this point in November.

We kicked off with a Weekend Wandering on 5^th October which incorporated the York Motor Show and started with the group gathering for a pre-trip coffee in Mount Helena. Following an enjoyable chat and catchup we ventured out onto the highway for the 45 – 60 minute run to York. It seemed that every weekend during this period was wet and this was not exception, although we managed to avoid the rain for the entire event and run both ways. Our numbers were down, most likely as a result of the threatening weather, but those of us who made the journey had an enjoyable time.

It was our first opportunity to unfurl our new banners (thanks to Marco Natoli) and we created a lot of interest and had lot of comments about the club and cars. We enjoyed a lunch on the club before packing up and heading home.

Datsuns in the Park on the 19^th October was an outstanding success. The committee decided to make this a free event to showcase the Datsun marque and to allow club members with later model Z’s to attend. We had no less that 71 vehicles and a fabulous mix of old and new. The club conducts this event on behalf of the Perth Datsun group and it has become a feature of our event calendar. It was wonderful to see the range of models which turned out for the morning even though once again the weather tried its best to rain on our parade. Fortunately, there was only one brief (but heavy shower) but that didn’t interfere with the presentations or the event generally.

The support from the Datsun fraternity and the feedback from the day was outstanding and will ensure it remains on the calendar for future years.  

October’s Mid Week Meander, on 29^th October started at Jandakot with the usual coffee and chat and headed to the old railway yards and barracks in Pinjarra. Our inaugural President, Vaughan, organized the event and used his local knowledge to lead the group on some good back roads to some points of interest. Lunch was held at the Ravenswood Hotel and everyone headed off in the early afternoon.

Our November General Meeting (and last for the year) will be held at the Belmont Sports and Recreation Club, 400 Abernathy Belmont on 19^th November, which is probably today for some of you – if I can get this out in time. Feel free to come and join us for a chat and a bite to eat put on by the club and find out what else has been happening and what is proposed for the rest of the year.

A big plug for our last event for the year, our Christmas Lunch to be held on Sunday 30^th November. The final venue is to be agreed on the 19^th Committee Meeting and details will be distributed immediately after that. So put it in your diary and we look forward to catching up with you on the day. 

Membership

We’ve topped the 100 mark and are currently sitting at 102 members with an additional 3 pending. That’s around 30% growth since the start of the year and is a reflection of our decision to open the club up to all Z’s including later model Nissan variants. It is in line with our strategy of retaining the focus of the Z and maintaining our membership at a level we can manage and support.

Well, that’s a wrap from me. As I said earlier, I’ll be away from mid December, so I’ll take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

Catchya in 2026.

Regards

Paul Maisey