Car rally on the way to Edithburgh assembled in the main street of Maitland. Arranged by Duncan and Fraser, agents for the Standard and Argyll cars

The rally, that took place in October 1909, featured 30 Scottish-made Argyll motor cars. Participants drove the 56 miles from Maitland to Edithburgh and then enjoyed a picnic at the Edithburgh oval. This was a successful marketing exercise for Duncan and Fraser, who received orders for seven new cars as a result. The event was repeated a few years later, and opened up to all makes of motor car.

In the year that this rally took place, 35 motor cars were present at the Maitland agricultural show - and by 1912 this number had risen to 150. Indeed, Maitland's agriculture boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to the town gaining a reputation for affluence.

Maitland district is understood to have more motor cars per head of population than any other district in Australia.

(Waddy, AF, Souvenir of Yorke's Peninsula, p. 13)

Heinrich, Rhoda. Governor Fergusson's legacy : a history of the early days of the Maitland-Kilkerran districts, Adelaide : [Maitland-Kilkerran Centenary Committee], 1972

Maitland-Kilkerran Centenary Committee. Maitland-Kilkerran centenary, 1872-1972, Maitland, S.A., 1972

Souvenir of Yorke's Peninsula : history, progress and resources, W.K. Thomas & Co., 1926.

Yorke Peninsula heritage, [Maitland?, S. Aust. : s.n., 1986]

Maitland - SA Tourism website

Watson, John Campbell. A brief history of the Argyll motor car