The Museum is a no-profit-to-members company which reports annually to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

Founded as the Illawarra Motoring Museum which opened its doors in 1992, the Museum is now moving into a new phase of its life. The original building was on land which was owned by the Company, and this has now been sold. With much paperwork behind us, a brand new, purpose built building is nearing completion.

It is on a Regional Park being established by Wollongong City Council, on a 50 acre (22.6 ha) site, in a scenic, spacious and appealing location at Kembla Grange.
No government funding has been received by this Museum over its existence, and Members are working very hard to fulfil their ideal of preserving Australia’s motoring history. Where would Australia, with its vast distances, be without the motor vehicle?

A Statement of Purpose is included for your information, as a guide to some of our goals.
We invite your support of this ideal, by becoming a Member, or a Friend. Either will bring you the Motorlife News each two months, with news of vehicles, swaps, and major events. As the Shop develops, you will be offered exciting opportunities to purchase on line.

Vehicles which have been donated to Motorlife for safe-keeping include a 1927 Flint, owned formerly by Tom Moffitt and then his daughter Betty. Flint will be a proud display at the new location. We also will have something of a Rover corner, with a 1933 Pilot and a 1947 16 saloon. Each have come to us from their restorers, so they can still have a life, and be respected and looked after in their “old age”.

Two caravans have been donated to us in recent times. One is a very good example of a Propert folding caravan, which has itself been around Australia twice — once behind a Morris 1100, and then behind a Subaru wagon. The other is a Swallow brand, built in Sydney, and was purchased new to attend the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, and has been equipped with many period extras for the comfort of the family who used it. We will have some photos to show once these items are out of storage. Other vehicles owned by the Museum include a 1913 Metz, an FJ Holden with 50 000 miles on the clock, a 1951 Morris truck (very useful) and more.

We are always very happy to discuss future safeguarding of vehicles, should you wish to embark on that line of thought.
The storage of the items owned by the Museum has been quite a task, as we closed the doors some time ago, following some real estate advice. All of the traumas are now behind us, we hope, and everyone is looking forward to the unpacking phase of setting up the new Museum’s exhibits. It will probably be a little like Christmas!

The location of the building is inviting to clubs for an event, and includes barbecue facilities, shelter, the amenity of the Museum, and lots more. Easy access from the F6 freeway or the ‘old’ Princes Highway makes for a very easy run, from Sydney or from the south.

Desirable for any Museum is a dedicated storage area/warehouse and somewhere to undertake detailing of exhibits. To this end we are embarking on a project to raise the necessary funds to build Stage 2 of our already approved complex, which is a 40m x I 2m addition to the completed Stage 1, the Museum itself. Your enquiries are welcome — by phone at this stage on (02) 4228.7048, or 0408211 844.

Donations to the Museum are Gift Tax Deductible — any gifts of $2 and over are deductible from your income for tax purposes.

Input is welcomed from Friends or from Members, the Motorlife News is sent to both, and benefits are in addition to the knowledge that you are directly helping to preserve Australian Motoring Heritage.

At this time the Museum is entirely managed by people who are not paid a wage. In due course it is expected that at least several paid positions will be created to take care of the administration side of things.

The Australian MOTORLIFE Museum is a Member of:

Museums Australia.

Australian Motor Museums Association.

Council of Heritage Motor Clubs NSW.

Tourism Wollongong.

Tourism Shellharbour.