On February 22, 1986, Kempsey's Sesqui-centenary celebrations kicked off with a parade, described as a rich pageant of local history.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
From a pile of junk to the star of the show at the 1986 Kempsey Bicentennial Procession, Eddie Yabsley's 1904 de Dion Bouton was only one of several priceless cars restored by the veteran and vintage car enthusiast.
In November 1959, Eddie's interest was sparked when a local tinsmith, Bill Popple, made mention to him of a brass petrol lamp he saw hanging from the rafters of a Belmore River barn.
Eddie and his wife Mary called on the owner of the barn, Don Notley, on Belmore River Left Bank Road.
Don, whose grandfather John had held the original farm since 1881, retrieved the lamp from the rafters along with the chassis which had been lifted into the rafters of the barn in 1917 out of reach of a flood.
Eddie searched around the farm, and came up with more parts including a bonnet, another lamp, the petrol tank and back axle. Other parts were secured elsewhere with the gearbox coming from Coraki.
The missing coachwork was built by Bob Farrer of Farrer's West Kempsey Joinery Works who obtained the specifications from the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain.
The wheels were made by Ernie Collins of Gladstone, a former blacksmith and wheelwright, who remembered the de Dion in its glory days.
In early 1963, Eddie put the final coat of paint on his prized vehicle and set out to retrace the history of its local owners.
After being brought to Australia by a Newcastle man, the de Dion was purchased by Bert Saunders of Seven Oaks around 1907 or 1908. Eddie made his first call at the Saunders family farm where he was greeted by Reg Saunders, son of the former owner.
Reg recalled journeys in hilly country where often all hands had to get out and push the car up steep grades. Around 1910 the de Dion was acquired by Isaac ('Ike') Jones who used it as a hire car taking passengers to Macksville, Port
Macquarie and Taree in the days before the railway. Ike died in 1915 aged only 38 but his widow Elizabeth nee Tonkin was visited by Eddie at her Gladstone home.
Her eyesight gone, Elizabeth was moved to tears when she heard the de Dion pull up with its motor humming smoothly. She was taken for a nostalgic drive around the township of Gladstone.
Eddie and Mary Yabsley offered to drive the de Dion in the 1986 Sequicentenary proceesion and as a special gesture offered a place in the car to 97 year old Miss Lydia Notley, then the oldest resident of the Macleay Valley and a member of the family who once owned the car.
A butcher by trade and a self-taught mechanic, Eddie once said all one needed in life to get by was a good primary school education.
After he passed away in 1997, the de Dion was sold to a Veteran Car Club member and is now in a private
