The National Automobile Museum of Tasmania is much more than a superbly curated showroom of vintage cars, muscle cars, race cars, motorbikes and other transport legends.
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It’s an important collection that consistently rates in the top five tourist attractions in Launceston and number one as a paid attraction.
Since it was originally established by Launceston motoring identity Geoff Smedley in 1987 at the Waverley Woollen Mills complex, and even more so after it moved to Cimitiere St and became a trust-run, not-for-profit foundation, it has been strongly supported by The Examiner Newspaper.
“We have a partnership with The Examiner that allows a journalist to cover Targa from the inside,” said NAMT manager Phil Costello.
“Together we run a car in the touring section and a reporter can have a drive and follow the action, giving readers a first-hand account of this exciting event.
“Over the years we’ve fronted up in a Porche 356, I was co-driver one year in a HT 350 GTS Monaro, and one year we even had the rarely seen Alvis TE21 - we always try to pick a car that stands out from the rest.”
Further connections with the newspaper is The Examiner’s sponsorship of the NAMT community awareness weekend and the production of quality special publications such as Wheel Nuts magazine and a book on the Tasmanian Motorsport Hall of Fame, which is housed at the museum.
While the future of the museum in regards to its location is up in the air as the University of Tasmania’s relocation to Inveresk gains momentum, one thing is definite as far as Phil Costello is concerned.
“We will always have a prominent position in Launceston because not only is this a vital attraction for the area, but the history of our motoring past must be preserved.”