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A Rolls Royce, a small dog and a big trip driving a Maitland idea

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A vintage gent and his pooch named Hector are planning to drive more than 16,000km on an epic road trip from Maitland to the UK in a 1926 Rolls Royce – and you could join him.

Provided you’ve “had your COVID shots, are a good whiskey drinker and poker player (bridge players need not apply) and dog-friendly”, Bob Roberts is offering a “chance of a lifetime”.

There’s just one catch – your spot on the red leather upholstery will cost $2,000 for every 200km you ride.

The journey itself is a fundraiser, as Mr Roberts is hoping to raise $200,000 to build a regional museum for the City of Maitland.

Disgruntled after little was done in 2017 to mark the bicentenary of his beloved city, the property valuer decided to take matters into his own hands.

The well-known identity will drive his vintage car from Maitland to Lincolnshire raising funds along the way for what he says “rightly belongs to Maitland”.

“The first lot of European settlement in Maitland was more than 200 years ago but the council didn’t even acknowledge it,” Mr Roberts says.

“We’d been meeting with the council numerous times before 2017 and asking them ‘what are we going to do to celebrate?’, and nothing was done.

“The straw that broke the camel’s back for us was when we were invited to attend the bicentenary of Morpeth.

“That was an insult.”

The “we” Mr Roberts refers to is the Museum for Maitland committee, the Maitland and District Historical Society, Maitland’s Australian Museum of Clothing and Textiles (AMCAT) and the Maitland and District Genealogical Society.

“Morpeth, the village of 1,000 has a museum, but Maitland, the city of 70,000 people, does not have a museum and this is where we’re at,” he said.

“We thought it’d be ideal for our bicentennial but nothing was done, so here we go.”

Mr Roberts will drive his prized 20-horse power, 1926 Rolls Royce named “Old Marjorie” from Maitland to Burghley Castle where he plans to show her off in an event that attracts more than 350 of the world’s best cars each year.

“We’re very sane people, we’re not fruitloops,” he says.

“I am doing this to get a bit of attention back to the issue.

“I’ve been a councillor myself, I know how you get things done, but you have to want to get it done.”

Old Marjorie is one of just 2,000 of her vintage left in the world. 

The vehicle was recently judged Australia’s overall winner and grand champion in the Rolls Royce car in the 2021 Concours event.

During the drive to the northern hemisphere, it is expected to travel at speeds up to 90km/hr.

“It’ll go faster but the motor’s happy there at 45 miles/hour,” he said.

Mr Roberts, Hector and Old Marjorie will depart Maitland mid-September 2021 to arrive before the July 2022 event.

He is hoping to collect his first paying passengers in Sydney.

“It’s a no-frills thing,” he said.

“I’ve got a tent in the back and a swag I’ll stay in overnight.

“We’ll pull up, someone will hop in and come for a ride for 150 or 200 miles.

“If they want to stay for a few days, that’s not a problem either, just pack a swag, this is no 5-star event.”

Mr Roberts says the route will take him via USA, with the car being shipped across oceans.

Two years in the making and already four years past its bicentennial year, Mr Roberts says he is hoping that together with generous sponsors he will raise the necessary funds.

Businesses are welcome to pay to brand the outside of the vehicle too.

“Some of it will have to go back into the petrol tank because it’s going to be a hell of a trip, but 90% of it will go straight back into our building fund.”

It doesn’t have to be a purpose-built structure either, Mr Roberts adds.

“We don’t care if we end up with a tin shed. As long as it’s ours, and ours alone.”

* Potential sponsors will need to contact Bob Roberts by 15 August 2021: The Overlander, PO Box 99, East Maitland NSW 2323

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