Last month my Dad and I decided to head down to Victoria to visit some very important extended family i.e. my great uncle Victor and my great-auntie Jean. This four-day trip couldn't have come at a better time for myself, and it also meant that I got to spend some real quality time with my Dad. My great uncle Victor lives in the south-west of Victoria, and my great-auntie Jean resides in Melbourne.

It's not every day that I get to head on down and see them as well as take a trip with my Dad because he lives in Brisbane and I live in Sydney. So, while I was down there in Victoria, I wanted to visit places like Dutton Garage and all the Zagame dealerships along Swan Street in the suburb of Richmond that's adjacent to the Melbourne CBD.

**Zagame Ferrari Melbourne on Swan Street Richmond**

Richmond also has a special place in my heart; it's also the suburb that my Mum grew up in and were my parents also meet. So, if it weren't for the suburb of Richmond I along with my sister wouldn't have been born.

My Dad had suggested we leave the Melbourne automotive stuff toward the end of our trip. So, we arrived on a Sunday morning, picked up our hire car and headed out towards the townships of Camperdown and Cobden were my great uncle Victor lived. The towns of Camperdown and Cobden is where my Grandmother was born and grew up, plus a good amount of my Ancestors lived in that part of Victoria with some of them buried in Camperdown Cemetery.

**Camperdowns Gothic Manifold Clock Tower**

**The Princes Highway running straight through Camperdown**

Due to the direction that we were travelling, we made a detour via Geelong. Being a car guy, I knew that it was in this town that Ford had been building cars for decades up until last October. It was Ford's decision back in 2013 to stop making the Falcon and Territory and to become a company that only sold imported cars in Australia. So, I had to see for myself this once great car factory.

It's only been eight months since the last car rolled off the production line at the Geelong plant, but walking around the front of it I was saddened to see this factory looks like a ghost town. One good thing about my visit to the plant was seeing a father and his adult daughter taking photos of their ZC/ZD Ford Fairlane parked outside the Geelong Operations Ford Sign. They were more than happy to talk with me and let me take a photo of their car before they continued their cruise back home. What's meant to happen to the factory, I have no idea, wouldn't it be nice if a company bought it and decided to build newly designed car/cars. One can only hope!

**The Geelong Ford Factory looking like a ghost town. Im sorry Ford Australia in the long run it was the wrong choice.**

After having lunch in Geelong and seeing some of the locals enjoying themselves around the Eastern Beach Road area, we continued to Camperdown and Cobden for the next 24 hours.

**A Geelong local in his Holden Torana**

**Cruising down the Eastern Beach Road Geelong**

After catching up with my 90-year-old great uncle Victor, we headed back to Melbourne to take some night photography shots of the Porsche Melbourne Centre in Collingwood.

**Dad and myself with Great Uncle Victor**

**The Meade and Hill Family with a smiling Great Uncle Victor front and centre**

Over the last 18 months, I've fallen in love with automotive and night photography. So, the opportunity to capture the beauty of a well-designed dealership was a must! So, Porsche would be my 1st pit stop.

We had two nights in Melbourne, with the 2nd night for capturing the Zagame Dealerships in Richmond. After arriving the night prior, we visited my great-auntie Jean who looked after Dad and myself with great conversations and a fantastic lunch. That evening we headed to Carlton for dinner, which in my opinion has some of the best Italian restaurants in Melbourne let alone Australia. If you're ever in Melbourne during the Formula 1 GP I would highly recommend heading to Lygon Street, the motorsport atmosphere there is unreal and a great place to eat and do some car spotting.

**My Great Auntie Jean on the left with Dad in the middle and happy me on the right.**

Only a few decades ago Richmond was a working-class suburb, but with gentrification, it's become a suburb of wealth and success, and the Zagame dealerships like Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce now call it home along Swan Street. After dinner in Carlton, Dad and I headed off and got some very cool photos of the dealerships along with some very cool cars. Two cars that stood out was the Lamborghini Aventador S and the Ferrari La Ferrari; and the Aventador S which recently went on sale. So, to see one up close was something special. Plus, the La Ferrari is worth around $2.5 million Australian dollars, Wow....

Our plan for the last day in Melbourne was to head to Dutton Garage. If you're a car nut and love a good cup of coffee, then I highly recommend you go to this place! I know in other cities around the world you will probably get bigger or better showrooms, but Dutton's somehow gives the feeling of old world charm that will make you keep going back for more and more each time you're in Melbourne. Dutton's are more than happy to let you walk around and look at of the cars on display, plus if you're into your automotive photography like me then knock yourself out trying to take some wicked photos.

I must say the feeling I got in Richmond from the likes of Dutton's and other dealerships like Ferrari was fantastic. They sure do make you feel welcome when you're admiring their cars that come from the best companies in the automotive world.

I've lived for most of my life in Sydney, and for me, the prestige automotive brands in Sydney I feel don't give you that kind of access. Richmond may not be a working-class suburb anymore, but the Automotive brands that call Richmond home sure do take the egalitarian approach. By letting people from different backgrounds associated with brands like i.e. Ferrari, Lamborghini and all the other brands on display in Dutton's Garage is fantastic. It's a great way in making the automotive community feel like their part of a tribe of people that do not feel excluded, even if they can't afford to own one of these cars.

**Dutton's Garage was founded back in 1911**

I'd like to dedicate this blog to my Great Uncle Victor who was my Grandmothers little brother. Sadly, he passed away in the early hours of this morning at the age of 90. Great Uncle Victor was a World War 2 veteran who serviced his country in the Royal Australian Air Force. I was lucky enough to catch up with him last month for the last time with my Dad who I would also like to thank for arranging this trip.

Uncle Victor say G'day to Gran (Ella Hill) for me now that you’re up there with her.

Victor Meade 1926 - 2017

A trip to visit family along with checking out Victoria's Car Culture