Where old Holdens go to live on, in Mildura
![The museum was Ron Morello's dream.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15431438/e47a0b972394efb5307982271014ea7c240772f6-16x9-x0y6w900h506.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
As I pass the man taking in the bright blue Holden Monaro in immaculate condition, I hear him sigh. I think I know what he’s going to say.
“I used to have one of those,” he tells me nodding his head towards the 1968 HK GTS Monaro “I sold years ago when I thought I needed the money. I regret it to this day.”
We’re at the Mildura Holden Motor Museum and I’m sure this bloke’s tale of woe is repeated several times a day at this tourist favourite for both Holden enthusiasts and just those who appreciate classic cars or enjoy a trip down memory lane.
Each car has a placard detailing its individual history as well as general information about the model. I learn that the HK Monaro set buyers back a hefty $3796 when it came off the production line in 1968.
Online sales now range around the $150,000 mark and well north of $200,000 for immaculate, original condition.
The bloke wont answer and instead just silently shakes his head when I asked what he sold it for, best leave the matter alone now I think.
As I glance around the showroom floor set-up as a timeline, the earliest models at the entrance through to the latest as you leave, I spot many first cars that my mates had. The eternally stylish EJ, the brutish front end of a WB that adorned my mate’s first ute (that was definitely not driven in the respectful way these now historic cars surely deserve) and there’s even a VK! These were a dime a dozen what feels like not long ago, surely they’re not collectors items now. I start to sigh alongside my new mate.
I think my friends and I have probably run a few then-unknown investments into the ground over the years. It’s an enjoyable, and unexpected, nostalgic experience.
The museum was a labour of love for local earthmover Ron Morello. The museum tells the story how in the 1970s Ron was commissioned to flatten a shed and everything in it — including a pristine FX (1948-53) sedan which even still had the keys in the ignition.
As the story goes: “As soon as Ron crushed the shelter, including the car — he realised what he’d done. ‘I’m still wondering to this day what possessed me to crush such a beautiful car’.”
That set Ron on a path to make amends and instilled a dream to collect Holdens and eventually let the whole world enjoy them at a public museum. In 1981 he made his first step to achieving his dream when by chance he came across an immaculate blue FX sedan and promptly started his collection.
Today the museum has 51 vehicles on display, with 45 owned by the Morello family, and others on loan to help rotate different cars through the showroom, offering multiple stories and history to visitors.
Ron finally achieved his dream, opening the museum in 2016. Sadly, he only enjoyed it for nine months before succumbing to his battle with cancer, but the family-run museum says Ron “passed away peacefully knowing his lifelong dream had materialised”.
![The museum is laid out around the Holden timeline.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15431438/ce118132ad0f6d06aa0e5676519389a5956684cb.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
![The FX Holden which started it all.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15431438/a346759ccacd407f22cc3fb6f05d91963a27ce17.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
![A trip down memory lane for Holden owners.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15431438/ee94e03c025e2432c07159da262768b973e86937.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
![They don't make them like this anymore.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15431438/3df89a61bc64319f8e48b3229f7853cec9ae831b.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails