South Coast Nationals go out on a high note

Organiser Lee Pearce, who ran the event with his wife Debbie, said the 25^th edition of the event was a great note to end on.

“We had more people in one day than we usually get in two, so it was a big success,” Mr Pearce said. “We had just shy of 370 vehicles in total at the show. The majority of them were cars, but there were about 40 bikes.

“Our judges were Summer Nats judges who are highly regarded, and they said we had at least 35 to 40 elite cars. You don’t usually see them at outdoor shows, because they can push up to $1 million to build.

“It’s a pretty big deal to get that sort of vehicle here. It’s a big effort to bring them, they spend a lot of money to get them to shows.”

Mr Pearce started the South Coast Nationals in 1994 at the Moruya Showgrounds.

“We started it all as a fundraiser for the SES,” he said. “It was in the showgrounds originally, and we had about 30 bikes and the same amount of cars.

“We brought a rock-and-roll band down from Sydney that set themselves up in the basketball stadium, and that’s what started it.”

The event quickly grew from there, and found a home at no less than three locations in Moruya, including a stint at the Moruya Speedway. 2009 was the event’s biggest year, as it saw 584 vehicles in total at the Speedway.

Although Mr Pearce is sad to see the event go, he said the time was right.

“We’ll let people remember it for what it was rather than letting it fade away,” he said. “I’ve had some interest in people taking over for next year, but dealing with the clubs, insurance, and everything else involved is scary.”

Mr Pearce and his wife will now take the opportunity to spend more time with their family and friends.

"It’s been our life,” Mr Pearce said. “We have other guys come down and help out with the show, but all the paperwork falls on me and my wife. We chase all the sponsors and liaise with everyone, and we’ve made some great friends along the way.

“We just can’t do it anymore though. We’ve been losing friends and family, and we haven’t been able to catch up with them because of the car show.

"We thought to ourselves ‘no more, we’ll make sure we’ll see people and do things’.”

This year was emotional for Lee and Debbie, as they lost a good friend, Mario Colalillo, just two weeks before the event.

“Mario had the most highly-awarded custom car in the world, and he brought it here two years ago,” Mr Pearce said.

“He’d planned a surprise custom for us this year, a Ford Mercury with no windows, just mirrors. That was his surprise for us before he passed, so it was very special for me and Deb.”