There's something about cars that can capture the imagination better than almost any other mechanical innovation.
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Fast cars, beautiful cars and in this case historic cars are more than just eye candy or fodder for rev-heads.
According to National Museum of Australia director Mathew Trinca, cars are the prism through which we can view the whole of the 20th century.
And this will be on show at the museum's upcoming event, A Chequered Past, which will bring some of the highlights of its automotive collection to Goulburn's Wakefield Park where they will drive around the track.
The museum's senior large technology conservator, Nathan Pharaoh, said it will be an opportunity to not only see these machines, but to "hear them, smell them and see them as they're supposed to be seen."
On show will be the Brabham BT23A-1 Repco V8 - a prototype built and raced by the Formula One legend Jack Brabham, the 1923 Citroen Type C torpedo, the first car to circumnavigate Australia by land and the 1948 Daimler Landaulette used by the Queen in her 1954 Australian tour, among others.
Dr Trinca said it would be particularly special to see three cars that represent the 100 year history of car manufacturing in Australia take to the track together.
The 1918 Australian Six, one of the first cars designed and assembled in Australia, a Holden 48-215, the first Holden sold commercially in Australia to industrialist Essington Lewis and a 2017 Holden Calais, the last Holden to be made in Australia.
"You really only understand Australia in the 20th century, in my opinion, by understanding the car and car manufacturing in Australia," Dr Trinca said.
"The car determined the shape, look and operation of our cities.
"But then they're also things we end up loving individually."
Dr Trinca, a confessed car enthusiast, selected the Australian Six as a particular favourite from the collection for its role in kick starting the Australian car industry.
"You have this young, vital nation, that's just been tested in war saying 'we want to make things here'," he said.
The Six used an imported chassis and engine with an Australian built body that was put together in Rushcutter's Bay and later Ashfield.
The straight-six engine required you to fill each cylinder with fuel prior to driving, but as Mr Pharaoh noted, "if you could afford one of these you probably had someone to do that for you."
The exciting aspect of the Wakefield event is the chance to see these cars actually run, Dr Trinca said in his 16 years as director he hasn't seen a lot of these cars running.
Mr Pharaoh said he hoped the event could act as a gateway into the rest of the museum's collection, for some people that might not be familiar with the institution.
He said keeping the cars in working order was the best way to conserve them as while it is a lot of work to get a car able to run, it's less effort to maintain it like that.
The team use a hybrid approach to conserve the cars, original parts are sought where possible and heritage craftsmen recreate whatever parts they can, but a range of new technologies are also employed.
For instance, a 3D printer was used to reproduce the intricate window switches on the Queen's Daimler, which in 1948 must have been very flash with it's electric windows and sunroof.
But despite all that Mr Pharaoh said the toughest part of his job is stopping himself putting his foot down when he's lucky enough to get behind the wheel of the Brabham race car.
A Chequered Past is on Saturday August 17 at Wakefield Park. Tickets from $15 and available online.