THE best Holden Monaros in the country were on display in Toowoomba, Queensland earlier this month for the Monaro Nationals 2022, with all competitors from Hamilton and Coleraine coming home with a trophy.

Held from September 29 - October 3, the Monaro Nationals 2022 provided a platform for Holden Monaro owners and fans to gather and celebrate the Australian icon.

Consisting of five days’ worth of activities, including scrutineering, a show and shine, and awards dinner, the cars were very much the stars of the show with around 327 Monaros on display.

Only nine Monaros from Victoria won trophies at the awards dinner on October 2, with five of those coming from Hamilton and Coleraine.

Two locals drove away with first place wins under their belts as Hamilton’s Doug Tierney was awarded first place in the Street Modified class for his 1971 HG Monaro, and Coleraine’s Mick McCombe was awarded first place in the Factory Authentic HZ class for his 1978 HZ GTS Monaro.

Mr Tierney said he was extremely happy to receive the top prize in his class as the Nationals were always an event he looked forward to every two years.

“My car has been to every Nationals since 1998 except one, and I’ve done alright over the years,” he said.

“I was very pleased with first place.”

Mr McCombe said his HZ GTS Monaro - named ‘Ted’ - had taken home a trophy at three out of the last four Monaro Nationals, winning first place in its class in 2014, second in 2016, and now first in 2022, which is the first Nationals held since 2018 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite his previous success, Mr McCombe said he was shocked to receive first place this year.

“Ted has held the Victorian State titles for the last eight years, but I was still very surprised because I thought there would have been a lot of good quality cars coming out of COVID,” he said.

“Its success is due to my trusted local mechanic in Coleraine and panel beater in Branxholme.

“I’m definitely looking forward to the next Nationals held by the Victorian Monaro Club in Victoria in 2024.”

Other local prize winners included John Hatherell who won second place in the Factory Authentic class with his 1976 HX LE Monaro, Gavan O’Donnell who won third place in the Factory Improved V2 class with his 2004 CV8-R Monaro, and Jody Golding who won third place in the Mild Custom HK class with her 1969 HK Monaro. 

Ms Golding said the Nationals were a special time for her and her husband, Michael, who had singlehandedly completed all the restoration work on her HK Monaro.

“We’ve been to six Nationals - out of all of those I’ve taken home two thirds and a second so far, which is fantastic considering he’s the one that’s done every bit of work to my car,” she said.

“My car’s been on the road for 17 years and he did all the work on it and restored it.

“And considering that the other cars I was up against have probably had $20,000 paint jobs on them, that’s not too bad at all.”

Ms Golding said there were many things to love about the Monaro Nationals, but for her, it was mostly about being surrounded by good people and getting to drive her much-loved car.

“I love the road trips - that’s half the fun, driving your car,” she said.

“Some people have their car trucked up, but all of us from here drive our cars the whole way.

“For us, it’s more about catching up with everybody we haven’t seen for a while - it’s like catching up with family.

“It’s only what you make of it, we’re all good friends and we have a very good time together.”