Fletch travels to country NSW to visit the Bright family home to get the story of their family heirloom, a 1967 HR Holden Premier Station Wagon. Purchased brand new by Barry and Joyce Bright back in August of 1967, the HR has remained in the family ever since, always meticulously maintained and reserved for their Sunday drives and annual holidays to Sydney.
Unfortunately, Joyce only recently passed away, and their son Paul tells of his parent's joy in purchasing the car and how they took great pride in the presentation of the vehicle. He recalls his father was a good driver that also helped in maintaining its condition. They also participated in Club runs and the HD/HR Nationals winning the best non-restored station wagon on several occasions, a testament to its condition.
Today Paul is the custodian of the family HR and proudly stores the car in his purpose-built man cave, another little side story Fletch uncovers. Paul recalls some stories about their travels in the car from his youth. Including when arriving in Sydney, his father would always immediately refill the car, and he often wondered why. His father told him that they were on a tight budget for their holiday, and if they spent it all, they would always have enough petrol to get home. Now that's planning.
When asked about the colour, Paul said that he had looked into the colour Hacienda Blue because he couldn't find any reference to it in the HR sales brochures from back then. As it turns out, the August '67 HR was a late model, and the Hacienda Blue colour was from the following HK model range. Overall the car has been a great and reliable car for the family over many years.
Paul says it has been a central part of their family. The memories and enjoyment derived from owning it from new, particularly the upmarket and stylish Premier model, together with all the holiday trips and Sunday drives. Today the car sits proudly in Paul's man-cave and will remain in the family forever. Paul drives it regularly and says people gravitate to you when you are out in it, and he takes great pride in driving it, knowing how much this car has meant to him and his family.
