Bio Damien Harris

In 2003 I came into possession of my very first pedal car, a 1953 Cyclops Clipper which was a part trade on a petrol bowser. I was fascinated with the pedal car, it was outstandingly cool! It was in great condition and had a really nice played with patina and character. What I loved about it was the idea that it had past through several generations of families to remain relevant and something to hold onto for 70 years. From that point onwards I bought every pedal car that excited me.

Through the years meeting other collectors that shared similar interests I learnt as much as I could about pedal cars, all the brands that Australia produced and brands from other countries, what held its value here in Australia and what didn’t and along the journey becoming one of the more knowledgeable go to collectors in the hobby. The thought of owning another families sentimental memories in a purely original state to display for others to reminisce about their own bygone era is what truly excites me to be the keeper of these items. The collection has taken many directions along the way, at first collecting anything known to be desired or rare regardless of condition. But once the collection started getting as big as 80-90 cars, storing them became an issue. More kept popping up that I just “Had to have”. I decided I needed a clear direction on what I wanted to achieve. This hobby was becoming expensive and running out of room. I decided I really loved the great original cars I had, the ones complete and in original paint. As you could imagine they were very hard to find. I mean how many people hold onto a pedal car for 60-100 years and never restored it to hand down to the next generation? Let me tell you… very, very few. That was what I now wanted my collection to be, only the best of the best. So I culled anything that didn’t meet the new criteria. This at first solved the storage issue and freed up some funds to purchase more exceptional original cars.

So for the last 12+ years that’s what I have focused on. The collection is now back up to around 80+ cars and storage is again an issue, but I have nothing I can part with. I have one of the best original collections in the country and would hate to give up any of the cars in my collection. I’m still as active today as I was from day one, even more so, especially with the amount of money each great original car costs these days. Which also just confirms that the hobby has been a great investment.

Today I run The Australian Pedal Car Club and am Editor for the Newsletter. This is a great avenue for me to vent my interest and excitement for the hobby and to spark an interest in those who are just starting out in the hobby or avid collectors like myself. In the last 5 years on the Committee I’ve boosted Membership from the last handful of Members to now 80 including Sponsors. This hobby is a fixation no doubt about it. The term “It’s never enough” certainly applies here!

This infatuation knows no bounds and shows no signs of fading.

Damien Harris