"Captain" Peter Janson - Melbourne. Anyone able to help with contact details?

IWS

IWS

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"Captain" Peter Janson - Melbourne. Anyone able to help with contact details?

This is an unusual request.

I'm seeking the help of the collective wisdom of AF to ask if anyone knows how I might contact Peter Janson - former rally and race driver who lives in Melbourne.

My brother - Peter Wearing-Smith - was navigator for Janson in Dulux and other rallies in the 70's. They became good friends and Janson was Best Man at my brother Peter's wedding in 1973.

My brother has died and I want, if I can. to let Peter Janson know that news.

I've anyone is able to help me connect with Peter J could you pm me? I assure complete discretion with any contact details that are provided.

Ian.
 
He was last known living at Rutherglen House if that is of any use, but may have moved. He'd be pretty old now I'm guessing.
 
Ian,

If the AF grapevine fails you may care to try contacting the Light Car Club of Victoria. I'm positive he was member and there is chance he still is and they may have contact details. :wink2:
 
Thanks for replies. Janson would be in his mid/late 70's - as was my brother.

And LCCV a good suggestion. My brother was a member and I'd expect Janson was too.

Ian.
 
Wasn't he living in the Melbourne GPO tower?

I remember he changed his name to NGK back when advertising was banned on racing cars. The only signage permitted was the driver's name at the top of the windscreen. That raised the anger of the ruling body.
 
dvr said:
Wasn't he living in the Melbourne GPO tower?

I remember he changed his name to NGK back when advertising was banned on racing cars. The only signage permitted was the driver's name at the top of the windscreen. That raised the anger of the ruling body.
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You are thinking of his time at the Windsor Hotel - in the hotel's tower. Now he lives at Rutherglen House, Highlander Lane in the CBD. If If all else fails I may go and knock on his door.

Ian.
 
IWS said:
You are thinking of his time at the Windsor Hotel - in the hotel's tower. Now he lives at Rutherglen House, Highlander Lane in the CBD. If If all else fails I may go and knock on his door.

Ian.
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Under the circumstances, the personal touch may be appreciated.
And remiss of us not to offer our condolences for your loss too. We were perhaps too focussed on helping with your issue.

Regards
Kevin
 
Sorry to hear of your brother's passing. Peter navigated for me in one or two rallies in my Renault 10 in 1973/4, including the one we rolled the car in (and wrote it off). We lost touch with each other after he moved from Canberra but it is still sad to hear he is no longer with us.
FLASH
 
Flash Car 76 said:
Sorry to hear of your brother's passing. Peter navigated for me in one or two rallies in my Renault 10 in 1973/4, including the one we rolled the car in (and wrote it off). We lost touch with each other after he moved from Canberra but it is still sad to hear he is no longer with us.
FLASH
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Thanks Flash for your thoughts. I recall Peter talking of that "off" in the R10 - didn't you go off the side of a mountain? I also recall that the only panel on the car that survived was the boot lid :)

Speaking of Canberra in the 70's - I recall Peter (and you too Flash) being a large part of the (now defunct) Renault Car Club of Canberra.

Ian
 
I can report success with this mission. Tracked down "The Captain" and had a warm chat. PJ is toasting the other Peter with a single malt Scotch tonight. :)

It is nice that - in the sadness of a death - kindnesses, memories and reminiscences come forward.

Thank you all for your suggestions and your kind thoughts.

Ian.
 
Nothing wrong with those now defunct Renault Car Clubs! As a member of the "now defunct" Renault Car Club of Dandenong, I competed at Jugiong in the annual Autokhana for several years against members from NSW, Victoria, Canberra, Qld and Sth Australia, possibly even Geelong. I think Tony Armstrong and myself competed in a RCC Canberra trial in midwinter one year. The RCCD still has re-unions on a regular basis and a Facebook page. All hail to those defunct one-make car clubs! There was even a short lived VRCCA. (Victorian Renault Car Clubs Association: RCCV, RCCD, RCCG.)
:renplak:
 
Kim Luck said:
Nothing wrong with those now defunct Renault Car Clubs! As a member of the "now defunct" Renault Car Club of Dandenong, I competed at Jugiong in the annual Autokhana for several years against members from NSW, Victoria, Canberra, Qld and Sth Australia, possibly even Geelong. I think Tony Armstrong and myself competed in a RCC Canberra trial in midwinter one year. The RCCD still has re-unions on a regular basis and a Facebook page. All hail to those defunct one-make car clubs! There was even a short lived VRCCA. (Victorian Renault Car Clubs Association: RCCV, RCCD, RCCG.)
:renplak:
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Indeed - the RCCC was a great group. I was sad when it was taken over and turned into the Brindabella Motor Sport Club. The BMSC has this potted history on their web site:

About the Brindabella Motor Sports Club

History

The Brindabella Motor Sports Club was originally known as the Renault Car Club, and while the membership had mixed interests (predominately motorkhanas and some hill climb enthusiasts), there was an increasing interest in rallying and the membership was starting to shift.

This was around the mid 70s. About that time Corin Motors, which was the Renault dealer in Fyshwick, ACT, suddenly took an interest in the club because Renault was bringing on to the market a new Renault (Renault 12). renault had proposed to have an R12 feature race series and wanted all the Renault Car Clubs in Australia to promote the R12 and the series. They flew the Presidents and Secretaries of all the Australian Clubs to Melbourne for a special launch of the car. When asked what support were they (Renault) prepared to give to the Clubs to keep them afloat and interested in the make, the attitude was that the Clubs should be prepared to give and not receive. From that point on the Brindabella Motor Sports Club had been conceived.

It took some time after that to get the structure arranged, the constitution and other regulations agreed, but there was a determined group of people to make it happen. The initial challenge was to win over the stalwarts of the old Renault Car Club and this was not made easy by the fact that the focus of the "Club" was shifting away from family fun activities to a much more rally orientated Club. Eventually though, the Brindabella Motor Sports Club was born. This took place around 1975/6. Why Brindabella Motor Sports Club? Well simply because the Club did not want to associate with a car make, given the experiences with Renault, and that the club members saw the Brindabella Ranges every time they drove to meetings. The words "motor sport" were inserted to indicate the multi focussed nature of the new club.

The club did run a number of different types of events, including the Australian Motorkhana Championships. It was the first time the National Championships had been run on bitumen (using the car park in front of Juliana House in Woden). What use to take all day to run elsewhere in Australia and was very dusty, we in Canberra, The Brindabella Motor Sports Club, gave the Motorkhana fraternity the best and most competitive dust free National Championships they had ever had to that point. It was over by lunch time and all adjourned to the "Greek Club" for lunch and a good drink.

Paraphrased from an e-mail sent by the BMSC's first President, Chris Heaney​
 
Speaking of "Captain" Peter Jansen, I can advise that competing in a Vic Championship trial in the late 60's early seventies (and I'll have to get my navigator to confirm which one) in the Blackwood Forest (Trentham-Daylesford), cars were arriving at the start control just off the Calder highway in an orderly fashion. The three Renault Australia Gordinis (Watson, McPherson and Jansen) were entered but only the first two were there there when I arrived. A short time later and with no little noise and excitement Peter Jansen arrived, followed at a not too discreet interval (just a minute or two later) by a Highway Patrol Car, lights flashing and it's occupants looking for a small yellow car that had sucked their doors off on it's way to the start. Having three little yellow cars to chose from caused some confusion for the constabulary but after a short while they decided that it was the Captain they wanted to interview. Everyone had gathered around to hear the discussion, and I don't rightly recall how it went but Peter defended himself articulately, wasn't locked up and proceeded to compete in the rally.
 
Kim Luck said:
Speaking of "Captain" Peter Jansen, I can advise that competing in a Vic Championship trial in the late 60's early seventies (and I'll have to get my navigator to confirm which one) in the Blackwood Forest (Trentham-Daylesford), cars were arriving at the start control just off the Calder highway in an orderly fashion. The three Renault Australia Gordinis (Watson, McPherson and Jansen) were entered but only the first two were there there when I arrived. A short time later and with no little noise and excitement Peter Jansen arrived, followed at a not too discreet interval (just a minute or two later) by a Highway Patrol Car, lights flashing and it's occupants looking for a small yellow car that had sucked their doors off on it's way to the start. Having three little yellow cars to chose from caused some confusion for the constabulary but after a short while they decided that it was the Captain they wanted to interview. Everyone had gathered around to hear the discussion, and I don't rightly recall how it went but Peter defended himself articulately, wasn't locked up and proceeded to compete in the rally.
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Sounds like Janson. Quite a character - then and now!

(p.s. My brother would be enjoying all of these stories :) )
 
Add our condolences Ian, we are all reaching that time of life when we start losing friends and family, and it is never easy. Wish you and your family and those that knew him, happy memories and richer for those memories.

Ken & Family.
 
Kenfuego said:
Add our condolences Ian, we are all reaching that time of life when we start losing friends and family, and it is never easy. Wish you and your family and those that knew him, happy memories and richer for those memories.

Ken & Family.
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Yes, it is a stage in life which becomes quite confronting with deaths of family - both close and more distant - and friends. The very cruel thing in my brothers case was that in the space of a month he went from diagnosis of aggressive liver cancer to his death. Too little time for him to farewell life and to prepare for death. It is a cruel disease cancer. I've seen it take too many.

Ian.
 
IWS said:
Yes, it is a stage in life which becomes quite confronting with deaths of family - both close and more distant - and friends. The very cruel thing in my brothers case was that in the space of a month he went from diagnosis of aggressive liver cancer to his death. Too little time for him to farewell life and to prepare for death. It is a cruel disease cancer. I've seen it take too many.

Ian.
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Ian
We had a friend diagnosed with aggressive Motor Neurone Disease, so short a time and so much to learn, as one disease is finally curable another strikes, thank goodness for quality nursing and counsellors, who try so hard to help us during those difficult times. Life is never easy, lets enjoy it to the full while we can.

Ken
 
Ken, advise your friend to get as many opinions on his condition as he can.
20 years ago I was diagnosed as having Motor Neurone Disease by a Neurologist.
I had resigned myself to my demise as the paralysis set in.
By a happy set of coincidences I ended up in Prince Henry Hospital under the care of Professor Lance.
The professor knew it wasn't typical Motor Neurone but didn't know what it was and I was heading in the same direction as MND.
Fortunately one of his international students remembered reading about a case in a medical journal and contacted his mother in Maine who clambered up into the attic and found the journal.
And so I became the fifth person in the world to be diagnosed with Chronic Inflamatory Demeylinating Polyneuropathy.
Always get a second opinion. Always.
Paul.
Fortunately there was a cure.
 
Kenfuego said:
I. Life is never easy, lets enjoy it to the full while we can.

Ken
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Whilst recovering I read a book titled "Amongst the Elephants".
This quote stood out and for many years it has been my Mantra of sorts.

“If life is so finely divided from death by the uncontrollable workings of chance then at least we should turn towards life and live it to the full. We are born, we survive, then we die.
I believe our lives have no purpose in the Universe beyond what we create for ourselves.”
Oria Douglas-Hamilton

Paul
 
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