Right now, the Monaro Nationals are being held in Tasmania for the first time since the inaugural event in Victoria attracted lots of interest back in 1998.

As you read this, the entrants are having their cars looked at closely by judges today, and you can see those machines for yourself at two special events in Launceston tomorrow (Saturday December 1).

The first is a traditional show and shine during the day until 4pm, so get yourself to the Windsor Park precinct and have a look at all the great cars out on display.

As the name of the nationals suggests, the cars have come from all around Australia, and president of the organising club – The Monaro & GM Club of Tasmania – Terry Johnson told us they even have enthusiasts coming over from New Zealand.

The second event where you can see all the cars on Saturday December 1 is the Launceston Street Party from 5.30pm.

Launceston City Council and Cityprom are closing four major streets of the CBD so come along and see over 200 Monaros and GTS sedans take the centre stage.

2018 Monaro Nationals

CLASSIC CARS ARE LIKE ANY OTHER NOSTALGIA TRIGGER

Nostalgia is a recognised field of study within neuroscience, and any place, person, object, sight, sound or story could be the memory trigger for some pleasant nostalgic feelings.

In the case of objects, there are many ways for these to be preserved and shared, from antique shops to museums and events, as well as publications, websites and TV shows that are dedicated to a special-interest topic.

When we narrow that list of objects (as well as sounds and stories) right down to cars, we can find examples that have been preserved or restored as they were when new, or the owner might have built the car they dreamed of when they were younger but couldn’t afford to build at the time.

One iconic Australian example from the motoring world is Holden’s Monaro (and vehicles derived from it), and we have been able to enjoy their influence on our lives for the past 50 years.

The HK model appeared in showrooms in July 1968 and their pillarless fastback coupe body had an immediate impact on the population’s vehicular desires. It even triggered competing local automakers Ford to reintroduce a big coupe a few years later, and Chrysler to make the shape of their next big local hardtop sleeker.

The Monaros are also associated with providing some great V8 engine sounds, firstly with the Chevrolet small block and soon after, the introduction of Holden’s own V8 that would be around for 30 years. Later we got the popular LS V8 engine note.

We’ve seen Monaros dominate periods in motor racing, such as the Bathurst 500 in 1968 and 1969, as well as the later model 427ci monster in the Bathurst 24 Hour of 2002 and 2003.

We’ve seen Monaros on TV shows and in movies, be they police dramas, references in comedies, or driven by the bad guy in dystopian fiction.

They’ve made the news for a variety of reasons, whether someone has done something novel like turn their GTS into a remote control car in 1976 or nearly fallen off a damaged bridge (Tasman disaster of January 1975).

www.monarogmclubtasmania.com

Other media coverage shows they’ve been one of our manufactured exports, with parts sent to South Africa for assembly around 1969-70, and complete cars shipped to places like the USA, UK and Middle East in the ’00s.

The point is, when a type of car becomes such a big part of our lives – whether we owned one or just saw and felt it’s influence on our culture – it is worth preserving and it is worth celebrating.