Vale, Vern Pailthorpe
It is with sadness that we have news that Vern Pailthorpe died in late January, 2020, after a long illness.
Vern and his wife Val, joined the Club in July 2000 and they were the proud owners of a 1955 A50 Cambridge Sedan, often referred to as Tinka Bell which they had bought a couple of months before. Vern was one of the quieter members, but he volunteered to be the Club’s Publicity Officer - one of the most difficult and demanding positions in any club. His tenacity with those who ran local newspapers was amazing, as every now and again, he would turn up with an article with a photograph or two publicising an Austin event somewhere around Brisbane. These papers are almost impossible to get any sort of attention, so it must have been his considerable charm that got their attention and results.
He and Val came to many of the Club outings and monthly meetings - if not in the A50, it would be his yellow Torana or more lately a Falcon Station Wagon. He drove the A50 to many of the AOAs, the first being Queanbeyan in 2001, Ballarat in 2003, Warwick in 2005, Canberra 2007, Perth 2009, Forbes 2011, Bendigo 2013 and Ipswich in 2017. Not a bad effort for an A50 to cross the Nullarbor, and apparently had no real problems with any of the AOAs except the first where a wrong coil was fitted. Trouble with his car never stopped him, as some of us witnessed in Warwick in 2016 when were all leaving for Stanthorpe. He was up to his elbows in grease removing the distributor, but he assured us all was well. Half an hour later he was on the road again with the car running sweetly, as it should.
He was always cheerful and I don’t think anyone ever heard him complain about his health or any other issues. He loved a joke and when we took photos of him in Pittsworth (he had unwittingly parked outside a massage and body piercing shop), he thought it was hugely funny and he took it all in good spirit.
Vale, Vern - our sympathies go to Val and family and we will miss him.
Vern and his A50 at a car show
