40 Years of Adventure
275 Club Trips Organised and Counting by John Hasler # 1191
The first trip that I led was for the Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria ( LROCV ) on 24 May 1981 . A day trip to explore the closed Moe to Walhalla railway , old railways being a strong interest . I had joined the LROCV in 1976 after moving from Sydney and having spent 2 years in the Land Rover Owners Club of Sydney . Seeing the Leyland Brothers film of their West East Crossing of Australia in 1966 was my lightbulb moment demonstrating how a 4WD could be used to explore Australia . However , my interest in exploring Australia and the bush came from early family influences . A trip to outback Australia in the family Consul with my parents and Grandfather and sister in 1959 , camping in dry riverbeds and woolsheds together with a family interest in natural history around the Sunshine Coast where I grew up , provided a strong foundation for my later 4WD adventures .
Hill End , a gold mining town west of the Blue Mountains in NSW had been a frequent destination in my newly acquired Land Rover Series IIA LWB and after moving to Victoria , Walhalla became my substitute for Hill End . I spent many weekends exploring the Thomson Valley and adjacent areas including Donnellys Creek , Aberfeldy , Matlock , The Baw Baws , Warburton to Eildon and Jamieson and Warburton to Powelltown and Noojee .
I had participated in several Club trips and had studied the style of the trip leaders . I was feeling confident I could lead a trip , so I had chosen the Moe Walhalla Railway as my first destination .