Twenty-one Packards made it to the first muster of the Barossa Valley Rally in South Australia in 2025. Held in the heart of Australia’s wine-growing region from April 27 to April 2, about 70 ralliers and a few day-trippers supped fine wines and motored through the rolling hills (not at the same time, of course)! The week-long rally was centred in Nuriootpa (about an hour north-east of Adelaide) and had three runs and a concours. South Australian Packards dominated the awards (pictures below) and won the Grand Champion and Post-War (Geoff & Michelle Smith – 1956 Patrician); Vintage and Peoples’ Choice (Bob & Yvonne Davis – 1927 343 Tourer); and Classic (Michael & Michelle Meulders – 1934 1102 Sedan). As with the vast distances in Australia, three Packards from the greater Sydney region (about 1500km away), encountered various troubles travelling to Barossa and had to retire. The most spectacular was Richard & Wendy Smallwood’s 1939 120 Convertible which needed a flat-back and a “incident support vehicle” when it stopped on Sydney’s busy M7. Such is the life of a rally.
