July 2022
The car museum in Shepparton has been upgraded since my previous visits, and not all to the good…
There is still a fine collection of cars, the wonderful bicycle collection (which I did not cover on this trip) and an expanded section for motor bikes.
Additionally there is a new section devoted entirely to trucks, something that interested me not at all, but appeared well presented for enthusiasts. Truckers are bound to find items of interest.
My concern was that a visit here used to be fun — brightly lit exhibits displayed with flair and a real sense of pride in ownership of a wide range of valuable historic vehicles.
On this visit the interior lighting was, by design, so poorly distributed that I could barely see my own feet as I stumbled around trying to find something to photograph. New lighting has been employed to create (in the words of the director) “theatre and mood”. Corners of the building were in almost total darkness.
In my view the idea that visitors must approach within one meter of any car before they can read the brand badge severely diminishes the enjoyment that could come from seeing these beautiful exhibits. I walked around twice before even realising that there was a Delorean on display.
All the images here have been brightened considerably from my actual experience. My film camera, an F6 with Portra 800 and a Tamron 45mm Vibration Control lens, was able to record what I should have been able to see with my own eyes. Exposures were around 1/4 of a second.
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The motorbike collection was, as with the rest of the vehicles, presented in a somewhat cramped and darkened display. The collection of telephones was a nice surprise.
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Completely new to the museum and quite unexpected was the outstanding Loel Thomson Costume Collection, briefly described on the museum’s website.
The lighting was perfect for viewing and photography. The clothing was selected from a vast storehouse covering 200 years of Australian fashion. My only concern was that there were far too few exhibits. This collection needs a museum of its own!
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