Just two years after Honda Motor Company celebrated 50 years of operation in Australia, the Honda Car Club of Victoria has now also reached the half-century milestone.

Founded by a small group of enthusiasts in 1971 – under the original name of Honda Car Club of Australia – Victorian Branch – the Honda Car Club of Victoria (HCCV) is widely regarded as one of the oldest continuously operating Honda car clubs in Australia, as well as one of the most active.

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With a passion for the Honda marque and a dedication to Honda vehicles past and present, the club had 22 members by the end of its first year, while today it has a membership of around 200 Honda devotees.

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ABOVE: 2021 Honda Car Club Victoria – 50 Year Celebrations

The aim of the club was to “promote fellowship between Honda owners, the understanding of Honda maintenance, furtherance of general goodwill and respect for the name Honda, to promote a general sense of road safety and courtesy amongst its members and to inform them of new developments and additions to the Honda range of vehicles, parts and accessories” and those guiding principles continue to this day.

Honouring a Second Generation of Leadership

The first meeting of the club took place on January 11, 1971, with Item 2 in the meeting minutes stating that “…Mr. Shimizu be invited to be the first honorary member of the club…”.

Mr. Kazuo Shimizu was the Managing Director of Honda Australia in 1971 and if that name seems familiar, it’s because he is the father of current Managing Director & CEO of Honda Australia, Mr. Hiroyuki Shimizu.

In April 1971, when the HCCV sent a letter to Honda Australia requesting permission to use the ‘Honda’ name on “stationery, correspondence, letterheads and other associated club material”, Hiroyuki Shimizu was a young boy experiencing the world outside of Japan and a new life in Melbourne, Australia.

Then in early 2017, some 46 years later, he joined Honda Australia as the second generation of his family to lead the business, having commenced his professional career with the Honda in 1990 – Kazuo and Hiroyuki Shimizu are the third and sixteenth Managing Directors of Honda Australia, respectively.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Honda Car Club of Victoria and in recognition of the special relationship it has with Honda Australia, the club has also made Hiroyuki Shimizu an honorary member, just as they did for his father back in 1971.

Current and former presidents of the HCCV, David Bellenger and David Prince, recently visited Honda Australia’s Head Office in Tullamarine to present Hiroyuki Shimizu with his honorary membership and a framed memento to mark the occasion.

“It has been one of the highlights of my career to lead the Honda Australia business and follow in the footsteps of my father,” said Mr. Hiroyuki Shimizu, Managing Director & CEO, Honda Australia.

“I remember my time in Australia as a young boy fondly and it has been a special privilege to come back many years later in my working life, still part of the Honda family.

“I wasn’t aware that the connection between the Honda Car Club of Victoria and Honda Australia stretched all the way back to when my father was the Managing Director, so it was a real thrill to learn of this recently and then also receive an honorary membership of the club.”

Honda Car Club of Victoria

With an early focus on club level motorsport events, including rally and motorkhana, the Honda Car Club of Victoria achieved affiliation with the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) in late 1971.

The HCCV maintains an active and enthusiastic membership with a diverse range of interests and experience, from motorsport and social events, to modification and restoration projects. There is even a ‘BC’ (Before Civic) register for those passionate about the very early Honda vehicles, along with an amazing archive of Honda information and memorabilia, as well as hard-to-find parts for older vehicles.

As you would expect, there is a broad range of Honda cars owned by club members, with some preserving multiple cars spanning decades and model generations. One of the oldest cars in the club is a 1965 S600 roadster, which has been owned by a member for more than 40 years, while the latest Civic Type R, Accord VTi-LX hybrid and CR-V models are also well represented amongst club members.

Each year the club shares its passion for all things Honda with the wider community via events such as Classic Japan, Sakura Picnic and the Geelong Revival Motoring Festival. But club activities are not just limited to its Melbourne home base or within Victoria – in 2011 a group from the HCCV took a tour to Japan and the global headquarters of Honda Motor Company, as a special event to mark the club’s 40th anniversary.

Since the mid-1980s, the HCCV has fostered a strong connection with Honda Australia, assisting the company on numerous projects and corporate events, as well as with older Honda vehicles. For Honda Australia’s ‘50 Years in Australia’ golden gala event in late 2019, HCCV members actually provided three of the six display cars representing each decade from 1969-2019, so the close relationship between the two entities has proved invaluable over a long period.

“We’ve forged a close association with Honda Australia over more than 30 years, often holding a general meeting at the company’s head office in Tullamarine, as well as contributing to the Honda Magazine and supporting new model launches,” said Mr. David Prince, Vice President, Honda Car Club of Victoria.

“When the latest 10th-generation Accord was launched, one of our members loaned his immaculate first-generation Accord sedan to Honda Australia as part of an ‘Accord-through-the-years’ display, to sit alongside their rare fourth-generation Accord EXi 4WS manual sedan. So the relationship has been a really rewarding experience for our club and our members.

“We know it is quite unique to be so closely connected with a global brand like Honda, so the Honda Car Club of Victoria is extremely proud of the affiliation we have with Honda Australia.”

Celebrating 50 Years

The Honda Car Club of Victoria will mark its ‘50 Years’ milestone with a celebration event in late June that will include vehicle displays, photos, club memorabilia, prizes and the launch of a glossy magazine to commemorate the club’s anniversary.

The HCCV has also created a distinctive ‘50 Years’ logo for its milestone year that references the original and more angular Honda ‘H’ logo from the 1960s, while incorporating gold to reflect the traditional symbol of a 50th anniversary.

The logo will be featured on stickers and t-shirts, as well as produced in the form of a traditional grille badge, which is something that was often used by car clubs in the 1970s and 80s to indicate membership on the car itself.