General News
6 July, 2022
Ford fans chase dream
Father and son move ford-ward with new tourist attraction.
SOMETHING old, something new, something black and something blue is the best way to describe an extensive collection of Ford vehicles that Paul and Ron Blundell have at their Cobra Road farm.
Now, the father and son duo are taking their passion for the Ford brand to the next level, lodging an application with Mareeba Shire Council to turn their museum into an official tourist attraction for fellow Ford enthusiasts.
Paul has always been in love with Fords and has a strong belief they are “the only car to buy”.
After a medical incident 12 years ago left Paul with permanent brain damage, blindness and a speech impediment, Ron (his father) was motivated to make his Ford fantasies come to life.
From the first Model T to the latest 2015 Falcon, Paul’s collection grew quickly over the past two decades and now the family are ready to show it off to the world.
“I can’t say I have always been interested in cars – I own a red one and that’s as much as I know about it! – but Paul has always been in love with them,” Ron said.
“Our plan is to open up the shed to show off all of Paul’s cars and also have other old irons so that everyone can reminisce over old times.
“We hope this museum will expand on to the next generation so they will have all the memorabilia from the last century.”
Business isn’t a stranger to Ron and Rosemary with the couple already successfully setting up a tourist spot in New Zealand.
Through the knowledge gained when opening their log cabin café, they are ready to make Paul’s dream a reality.
The family have already hired several mechanics, panel beaters and car enthusiasts to help with the process of getting cars restored.
From remaking panels to tracking down the exact original parts overseas, the team is able to restore a car in less then six months.
Currently, they are restoring up to seven falcons at a time to their original form.
As well as focusing on cars, Ron has began collecting tractors and other historic trinkets and memorabilia across the shed walls.
With tractors being his forte, Ron has successful scored bargains across the country of Fordson tractors as well as Massey Fergusons and even John Deere dating back to the mid- 1900s.
Collections of cameras, old irons, churners and more will be displayed amongst the cars with “a bit of something for the wives as well”.
“It is all coming together now, we just have a little bit to go,” Paul said.
As they await the assessment of their development application for the new museum, Ford Motoring has contacted the family to discuss branding the tourist attraction.
Speaking with experience, Paul encourages people to keep their car, as it could be worth a lot in the coming years and may even end up in their museum for the next generations to appreciate.
