This section aims to help familiarise you with the Committee Members of the Club and let them share their story with you.
This month, the spotlight is on Anthony Wiseman!
Over the years I have had a few jobs starting at 12 as a Chemist delivery boy. As I grew older I secured a part time job with Hungry Jacks, I had a good career with them until I made the move to retail working with Kmart as one of the line managers.
After years working in hospitality and retail I made the move to my current career in Real Estate Property Management. Whilst I am fortunate to work with some amazing homes and people it’s not all the glamour that the media make it out to be.
I joined Motafrenz after having a chat with some of the members of the club, Gordon Campbell being the main reason convincing me to join was my interest in cars.
I had for some years had Motafrenz cards placed under my windscreen wiper when I had been parked on Commercial Road, back in the day that was the place to be. My first official event I can remember was a show and shine down at Elwood beech back in 2003.
My current committee position is Community Liaison, this role is for me to ensure good communication between Motafrenz and other community groups. So currently if you think of any groups that Motafrenz should be involved with or have regular communication with send them my way.
Currently my main focus is Pride Centre, Midsumma, MQFF, Globe and in the past Team Melbourne which unfortunately has folded.
My first car was a Chrysler Centura GLX 3 speed manual, it was white with a brown vinyl roof. I purchased it from a local mechanic near my home just before I officially got my licence so that I would have a car they day of getting my actual licence. Which I did on my 18th Birthday.
It was good solid car that had lots of power but the brakes, well let’s just say they weren’t as good. It also had quite poor handling on the road and around corners, also unfortunately for me during the hot days it was prone to overheating.
After having it for just a month I ended up buying a brand-new Holden Barina. This was in 1990, the Suzuki 5 door version wearing the Holden badge. It was fun first car that I racked up something like 48,000 kms in the first year, part of which was driving to Perth. It was a fun light car, although not very powerful but it served me well.
Following the owning a small car it was back to a larger vehicle and that was in the form of the Australian built R31 Nissan Skyline. This was the Ti version, it had it all! This was quite a nice smooth car to drive, although quite boxy at the back and it did develop a diff wine which was common with this model, after a few years I decided to take the plunge and buy French!
I purchased a Renault 19 Baccara 1.7. This was a nice solid hatch although the 1.7lt engine had some torque it was slow off the line. The seats were amazing though and it was easy to drive. Unfortunately in the mid-nineties this return of Renault wasn’t great and parts and service was terrible, the car became harder and more costly to maintain, so unfortunately for me it was time to stick it in the shed and buy something more common.
This came in the form of the Holden Astra, this was the Opel derived Astra, the TF, and this was one of the most popular models Holden had at the time. I opted for the CDX hatch, which was fully optioned, again this was comfortable and easy to drive and having all the bells and whistles made all the more pleasant.
Despite many people saying the Astra wasn’t reliable, if well maintained they were great, mine was serviced on time every time and overall was trouble free. I ended up selling this to a friend that ended putting on a couple of hundred extra KMs before retiring it.
Whilst still owning the Astra I had an itch for a 4wd, I wanted a Land rover Discovery 3. This I ended up purchasing after a 2-year search for the one with all the desirable features. The Disco was a good car, lots of room, comfort and effortless off road. On long trips it was brilliant. As it aged though repairs became quite costly, so it was time to go and in any case I had also purchased another daily drive, a Smart Car.
The Smart is a great little run around that still puts a smile on the faces of people I pass by. I too still get a smile driving it.
The model I have is the 451, the second series of the Smart. I am also fortunate to have found a turbo version that has more power than the standard model, 63kw! Well when you only have to move just over 700kgs it works a treat and often surprises those bigger boys at the lights. Having the convertible roof, I great for summer and the heated leather seats perfect for winter. For everyday city driving it is brilliant, but that’s when for weekends away you still need something a bit larger.
So, I have gone and done what that song said, oh lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz. This time after having the Discovery and being spoilt with the air suspension I was very specific in my needs. So, I had to have power, I had to have fuel efficiency for long trips, I had to have comfort.
I opted for the Mercedes GLC. Mine is the 350 GLC with all options (seat comfort package, night package, vision package), so it does have air suspension, 6 cylinder diesel for long trips, panoramic roof, head up display etc and all the safety features that can give you the pip sometimes when you just want to have some fun. It’s nice but for my daily I still choose the Smart. And if I could I would buy the latest model Smart, if it ever makes its way back to the Australian market.
My club plate car, I purchased for a few reasons, after selling the Disco I still needed to be able to go into the bush and get firewood, so I needed a vehicle that was reliable, easy to repair, not too expensive, some carrying capacity or towing ability, 4wd was also a preference.
I chose a Subaru Brumby. The Brumby I always thought was fun ute back in the 90’s it met the basic criteria, so I searched online and secured unregistered Brumby that was originally a South Australian vehicle. The car was down in Warragul so one night after work I drove the Smart down and bought it on the spot. I did have to have it towed to Melbourne and some new tyres and basic mechanical repairs done before the roadworthy and registration but so far it has been great. It’s not concourse but a good little workhorse that is all I need for now!
