For Australian G-Wagen Enthusiasts

Mercedes-Benz & Puch

When is our next National Treffen?

Well 2009 marks 30 years of production for the G-Wagen and so I would envisage that in either Spring or Autumn 2009 we will aim to get those G's from around the country together again. If you have any suggestions why not hop onto the online forum or send an email to let us know your thoughts.

If you would like to help organise it then please put your name in the ring now.

Details of our last Treffen are below:

On the weekend of the 23rd, 24th and the 25th of November 2007, AGOA celebrated its inaugural Treffen in Mansfield Victoria. Around 30 people and 13 G-Wagens enjoyed fabulous weather terrific scenery and great company in what is believed to be the largest gathering of G-Wagens in the country.

Members started gathering in the bustling town of Mansfield on the Friday night and met in the Mansfield hotel for dinner and excited chatter about the weekend ahead. Members had come from Brisbane, Perth, NSW, Canberra and Victoria and there was of course only one topic of conversation - G-Wagen!

Saturday morning saw the vehicles (including some Saturday morning arrivals )lining up outside the Mansfield Tourist bureau and it was impressive to see the growing line of G's. A few hand-outs from John Green of MB Spares in Canberra were gratefully received, particularly the Hats and drink bottles on such a hot sunny day. But the real icing on the cake came with the arrival of two military evaluation vehicles courtesy of Daimler Chrysler Australia (still DCA until December then just Daimler Australia!). Of course this caused a bit of a stir amongst the membership and a crowd quickly engulfed the two 461's. after a couple of hours of looking, talking, looking some more we mounted up and headed off on our journey to Mount Terrible - where 25 years earlier (November 1982) the G-Wagen was introduced the motoring press of Australia.

Saturday was capped -off by a wonderful dinner sponsored by Daimler Chrysler Australia and a wonderful time was had by all. It was also at this time that members had the opportunity to score a few more "freebies" from sponsors Eurotruck in Georgia USA and Access Parts in Cheltenham Victoria. Sean at Eurotruck had very kindly sent Blinker Units, lenses, side-lights, reflectors and vouchers as giveaways while Chris at Access Parts had provided badges and key rings. There were no losers on the night and there were certainly some happy faces around the tables.

Sunday saw a necessarily later assembly of the vehicles (due to some suspected delicate conditions) prior to a drive up Mt Stirling to Craig's Hut where we shared our final lunch with just one or two flies before saying our farewells. A great trip was held by all and there was much talk of Treffen 2!

Many thanks to the members of the organising committee of Steve Sheers, Matthew Cupper, & Martin Sherrard. But extra special thanks to Nathan & Candice Epp  who did what was necessary to make this event happen.

Of course we cant forget our sponsors who helped make this a fantastic event (please click on the links below):

More details and photos in the next G'ocentric

 The Australian Geländewagen Owners Association

Celebrates 25 Years of the

Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen in Australia

The AGOA Treffen 2007

The Australian Geländewagen Owners Association (AGOA) is celebrating 25 years of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen in Australia. November 2007 marks the 25^th Anniversary of the press release that marked the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen in Australia. To mark this event AGOA is holding it’s first National Treffen in the Victorian High Country. The original press release was held at Mt Terrible in Victoria and AGOA is keen to revisit this historically (in terms of G-Wagens) significant area.

We are also lucky enough to have some further reasons to celebrate in that it is also the centenary for the Marque's involvement with four-wheel drive vehicles. (Mercedes-Benz built a number of four- and six-wheel-drive vehicles with the 'G' or "all-terrain" designation during the militarization of Germany in the 1930s. But even these were not the first Mercedes all terrain passenger vehicles. This honour that goes to the Mercedes Dernburg-Wagen which was built by Daimler-Moteren-Gesellschaft in 1907.

A more recent reason for our celebrations is the recent announcement that the Australian Government is to purchase around 1,100 280 CDI G-Wagens for our military forces.

What is a Treffen?......

Treffen is a German term that can be loosely translated as a get-together. The AGOA Treffen 2007 is an opportunity to bring Association members and other G-Wagen enthusiasts together in one place for a weekend of social interaction with a focus on the vehicles. G-Wagen groups all over the world use the name Treffen for their get togethers and we do not see any point in breaking with this tradition.   

The AGOA Treffen 2007

We have chosen November 2007 for the Treffen as this is the 25th Anniversary of the Australian, G-Wagen Press Release, which was held in November 1982, at Bonnie Doon and Mt Terrible, Victoria. Because of this I we have based our 2007 Treffen in Mansfield at the base of the Victorian Alps and weather permitting we will again rendezvous on Mt Terrible on Saturday the 24th of November.

A couple of our AGOA vehicles (Steve Sheers' 230GE and Martin Sherrard's 300GD) on our Treffen pre-trip in April 2007
at the summit of Mt. Terrible in the Victorian High Country

See More Photos of the Treffen Pre-Trip by clicking on this link!

Tentative Itinerary

Friday 23^rd November

Members would make their way to Mansfield on Friday and we will gather for a casual dinner at one of the local watering holes. There we will issue name/identity tags and further details of our itinerary for the next two days.

 Saturday 24^th November

Participants will assemble after breakfast where we will have the first opportunity to have a look over the vehicles before we prepare for a predetermined tour through some of the spectacular Victorian bush (Depending on numbers we may split into a number of groups).  This tour would ultimately lead all vehicles to the summit of Mt Terrible for further photo opportunities. We will arrive back in Mansfield in plenty of time to wash the dust off before our sit-down dinner on the Saturday evening. 

During the night, we will have the formal part of the event with some speeches and maybe the odd video or two. Maybe even a few prizes or lucky draws might even ensue.

 Sunday 25^th November 

On Sunday, the attendees can do their own thing until 10:00am when we would again split into convoys for a trip up Mt Stirling where we could have a further Photo opportunity. We would then travel down the mountain and assemble at a predetermined spot for farewells and the official close of the Treffen Weekend. Some attendees choose to stay on longer but there will be no more formal activities arranged.

More Information?

We would love to see G's from all over Australia and I know at least one will be travelling from Qld to be there.

If you would like more information or would like to pre-book a space, then call John Kenny on 0417 544828 or email agoa1@hotmail.com

 Start packing your G!

Our banner photo is of James & Lavinia McEwan's 280 GE - Photo by Lavinia McEwan

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Last modified: 13 August, 2008