Memories of all kinds collide at the east coast’s new motor museum. The brand new Gold Coast Motor Museum is no ordinary motor museum. There’s sentimentality behind the displays – and it’s not all wrapped up in the historic automobiles.
Siblings Carl and Grant Amor devoted themselves to building the impressive space as a tribute to their father.
“My brother and I are the only siblings in our family, and our dad passed away when I was 16 and he was 14,” Carl says. “Dad had a small collection of cars and always wanted to build a car museum. He was 42 when he died, and these cars were unfortunately sold, so that never happened.” He pauses. “This is kind of a legacy for Mum and Dad. We are proud to be able to make it happen.”
It’s safe to say their father, Denis, would be mighty proud of their efforts.
The museum is located on 12 acres of property in the Gold Coast hinterland.
They thought of everything. “It has a bar/restaurant building and a museum building that houses 75 cars and bikes,” Carl says.
The cars belong to the brothers’ personal collection. “It’s a very serious obsession,” Carl laughs. “We buy them from here and there and have restored a lot of them. That’s another thing that stemmed from Dad.”
The eclectic range of vehicles spans the years 1900 to 1988.
“They are all our pride and joy, and they all have a certain significance or something about them, so it’s really hard to pick a favourite,” Carl says. “We just love cars.”
The museum is different. “Many of the car museums are one-make – like a Holden museum, Ford museum, or racecar museum. We have a wide variety of cars, bikes, and memorabilia. It’s one of those places where you’ll be able to go and see something you don’t see at other museums.”
Each vehicle has a story. “We’ll have that reflected in the display. For example, we bought a Lamborghini out of the container it had been sitting in for 24 years. It’s a neat story, and that particular car is sitting in the museum with the dust still on it as we found it.
A little BMW Isetta will also attract a lot of attention. It’s a little round car significant in the history of BMW. It will be interesting for people. They’ll be able to wander around the grounds, look at cars, have a beer or a coffee, and talk to like-minded people.”
They also plan to host events on-site. The Gold Coast Motor Museum opened its doors on October 2nd, 2020.
The brothers love the chance to combine their passion for cars and share them with the public. It’s been a huge effort, but they’re best mates and love a challenge.
“We’ve been working together for over 30 years now, and we get along really well,” Carl says. “We have a lot of the same hobbies, and we do a lot together – at work and away from work.
The museum will be where we retire… hopefully, we’ll sit around telling jokes all day,” he smiles. “We hope Dad would be chuffed.”
