The Armstrong Siddeley Car Club
 

Story of the Southern Sphinx

by Andrew Christophersen and Barbara Pennington

The Southern Sphinx - The Armstrong Siddeley Car Club magazine

 

The July 2009 Southern Sphinx contained a copy of an invitation to the third monthly meeting of the newly formed Armstrong Siddeley Car Club. Dated 17th June 1960, it appears to be the earliest survivor of what became The Southern Sphinx.

By 1963, these early typewritten newsletters were copied using a Gestetner machine and usually comprised four single-sided pages. The printing technology meant that no photographs were able to be included. The formal language used in the newsletter reflected the times with members being referred to as Mr. or Mrs.

In February 1964 the magazine was named The Southern Sphinx, referring to our country's southern location and also to avoid confusion with its English counterpart. The Southern Sphinx (and its predecessor) has always reflected the changing times and interests but throughout its life it has always included details of new members, club events, cars for sale and technical articles. Irrespective of its size or format, The Southern Sphinx has been an important contributor to the cohesiveness of the Club and it still remains the most important communication channel for members.

Technology has allowed improvement in print quality and the inclusion of black & white and coloured photographs. Current (c2018) editions run to around thirty pages and in addition to the hard-copy mail-out, it is also available to members as a full-colour, downloadable, electronic document.

Hugh McMinn - our current 2010 editor of the Southern Sphinx magazine for the Armstrong Siddeley Car Club

Editorship is a relentless and sometimes thankless task and the Armstrong Siddeley Car Club owes an enormous debt to the following editors for having given generously of their time to ensure continuation of the publication. Many editors have had willing helpers in the onerous task of packaging and mailing and they too are also owed our thanks.

Colin Escott June 1960 to December 1960
Noel Stokes January 1961 to April 1961
Penn Bradly May 1961 to September 1961
Noel Stokes October 1961
 Penn Bradly
 November 1961 to May 1964
Cornelis Malgo June 1964 to May 1966
Penn Bradly June 1966
Rolland Bennet July 1966
Penn Bradly August 1966
Graeme McDougall September 1966 to May 1967
Allen O'Toole June 1967 to May 1968
Peter Tranter June 1968 to January 1969
Leith Allen February 1969 to May 1969
Bruce Lindsay June 1969 to May 1970
Anna Lees June 1970 to March 1972
Jill Fitzpatricke April 1972 to March 1973
Leith Allen April 1973 to August 1973
Penn Bradly September 1973 to November 1973
Gwen Ellis December 1973 to June 1974
Anna Lees July 1974 to November 1983
ACT & SA Branches December 1983
Lee Rodda January 1984 to December 1990
Bob Lane January 1991 to March 1993
ACT & SA Branches April 1993 to May 1993
Shawn O'Brien June 1993 to March 1994
Hugh McMinn / Andrew Hyden / Peter Hills April 1994 to May 2000
Kelly Daw June 2000 to May 2002
John Day June 2002 to December 2005
Hugh McMinn January 2006 to March 2016
 Ellise McLoughlan April 2016 to July 2017
Barbara Pennington August 2017 to present

A glance at this list demonstrates that Club stalwarts have always been prepared to step in when circumstances have resulted in the need to change editorship at short notice.

And what of the future? The Club appreciates the importance of The Southern Sphinx and further development, embracing new technology is ongoing. All editions from 1960, not already held in electronic form, have now been scanned. These are available to view in the Member's section.  An electronic index to allow members to look up items of interest is being developed. The technical committee is creating a database that will identify all technical articles. The Southern Sphinx is now part of our website - an interactive Southern Sphinx!

The Armstrong Siddeley Car Club
Armstrong Siddeley Car Club The Court House 325 High Street Learmonth VIC 3352
Phone Cameron Wright, President, 0408 595 461
ACN 001 059 212
Email president@armstrongsiddeley.org.au
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