Tamworth Historical Society welcomes one of Tamworth's oldest cars

The 1920 Dodge Tourer, nicknamed Horace, has been donated to the Tamworth Historical Society by owner Ian Neuss and will be proudly displayed at the society's museum in Denison Street.

"I'm passing it on because of the car's historical association with Tamworth. The first owners were in Tamworth, I'm from Tamworth, and I did it up in Tamworth, so it's going to stay here," he said.

The car will be the main attraction at the historical society's spring fair on Sunday, September 17.

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Horace's 103-year journey began at Tamworth's Carter's Garage, which used to sit on the corner of Peel and White streets.

It was bought by Loomberah farmer Jack 'Pop' Lye, who kept it in the family until 1960 when Mr Neuss, a Farrer high school student at the time, bought it for 100 pounds (about $5500 in today's money).

"When I was 16 dad was looking for a car for me and he was looking for something slow so I wouldn't kill myself," Mr Neuss said.

Horace and Mr Neuss spent a good few years together travelling between Tamworth and Armidale, before the car ended up in various family garages gathering dust from the 70s to early 2000s.

Finally in 2004 Mr Neuss decided it was time to give Horace a revamp and get it out for one last romp.

After four years spent at TAFE learning electric welding, oxy welding, and panel beating, he brought the old Dodge back on to the road in 2012, heading back to Tamworth for a reunion with Pop's descendants before embarking on an epic journey across Asia and Eastern Europe.

From 2012 to the present day, Horace has been on an inter-continental journey, leaving Australia for Thailand in 2014, turning heads on its way through China, Kazakhstan, and Russia (just to name a few), ending up in Helsinki before finally returning home.

The grand odyssey added more than 20,000kms to the old car's odometer, but Mr Neuss says Horace still runs the same as it has since 1920.

"People were all smiles when they saw it, just like this morning when we were coming over the bridge people clapped and waved," he said.

From now on, Horace's home is a secure garage display built at the society's museum in Denison Street with assistance from Tamworth Regional Council.

Mr Neuss says he'll now use his 1922 Dodge Roadster to get around, as it's "more attuned to an aged gentleman."

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