Talk to us, talk to each other – we must have lively public debatePublic debate helps each of us form a position on important issues. We should take in as many viewpoints as possible, including those we disagree with.
Open Road has been the traditional forum for Members to share their ideas and opinions with others, but limited space has always kept our selection of reader letters to a minimum.
We receive hundreds of letters every month. These have to be culled to a handful for publication.
We now have the ideal media – our websites – to allow more of you to get more of your views known to more Members. There are already motoring blogs at mynrma.com.au where you can exchange views, and next year we plan to start more blogs and forums on openroad.com.au, caravanandrv.com.au and ccar.com.au, website of our new magazine acquisition, Australian Classic Car.
We are also choosing additional reader letters for a bonus Torque Back section online, to be updated every month. Check out Torque Back Online.
I had the pleasure in September of visiting The Pub With No Beer at Taylors Arm in the Nambucca Valley. This is where the song of the same name was first performed, before it became a hit for Slim Dusty. It used to be the Cosmopolitan Hotel until owner Murray Howe renamed it.
I love driving through and to amazing places and meeting amazing people, and The Pub With No Beer delivered on all counts – the countryside, the pub, the characters. I especially enjoyed talking with local legend Barry Fuller, who knows everything about the pub, its history and heroes.
Barry knew all the main players behind the famous song, including Slim Dusty, and he steered us in the right direction for Nulla Nulla Creek, where Slim grew up. I’ve been a Slim fan since I was a boy, so it was a special moment for me to stand at the gates of the old farm as a recording of When The Rain Tumbles Down In July echoed out over the lonely landscape.
See the story in The Hot Zone, a new motoring and travel section starting this issue.
Anyone dreaming of owning a classic car can turn their dream into reality using James Stanford’s action plan. He tells you everything you need to know about buying, restoring and maintaining a classic car, with NRMA help. I also suggest you subscribe to NRMA’s Australian Classic Car magazine, using the card in this issue.
Bonus pages of Open Road are now ready for reading on our e-zine at openroad.com.au/emag. These are exclusive to the e-zine, and unlike the paper edition, do not have to be printed on a by-product of chopped-down trees.
The Open Road team wishes all readers – print or digital – a happy and safe holiday season.
David Naylor Editor-in-chief
