A NEWLY formed Mount Gambier brotherhood labelled the “Fomoco brothers” has gained a cult following among Ford owners after their adventure to the Early Falcon Nationals in Narooma, New South Wales, last month.
Mount Gambier residents Pat Boylan and Jason Smaling embarked on their journey across the country on October 9 in their 1962 XK and 1966 XP Ford Falcons, but struck early trouble when Jason’s vehicle ran out of fuel a short distance from Colac.
The unfortunate moment would be the birth of a new partnership with Pat christening his mate with a dab of fuel on his head.
“As he tipped that petrol in his car it was nearing our first smoko and on the roadside I christened him a Sergio Fomoco,” Pat said.
Pat, a self-proclaimed jokester, designated himself as Joko Fomoco and the new brotherhood was formed for the rest of their two-week journey.
“Fomoco is the old logo for the Ford motor company and it was synonymous with the brands of the cars we were driving from the era,” Pat said.
Making their way across the country and up the New South Wales coast, “Sergio and Joko” arrived in Narooma a few days later for the nationals and quickly became a popular pairing among other Falcon enthusiasts.
So we went back to the park and cooked some chops a snag or two
I asked the Falcon owners form an arc just near the water
I was unofficial photographer not really but kind of sorta
“We are in a Facebook group with about 10,000 members and we gained a bit of notoriety from the trip on there,” Pat said.
“We had an absolute ball, we met so many different people and as it turned out the Fomoco brothers were a bit of a highlight of the Early Falcon Nationals.”
Another unexpected highlight of the trip was Pat’s 1962 XK Falcon being crowned the Falcon Nationals Survivor Car Champion at the event.
“Looking at other cars, I am not a judge, so I honestly was not expecting it, but I was obviously pretty stoked,” Pat said.
“We just attended for the experience and the whole Falcon fraternity was just full of such great people.”
Where a dog sits on the tuckerbox five miles from Gundagai
We parked across the forecourt which made the owners smile
And grabbed a classic photo with the dog Fomoco style
Pat said he always had a passion for early Falcons and finally seized the opportunity to buy his now “award-winning” vehicle in 2015.
“When it comes to buying classic cars, you have to be in the right place at the right time with the right amount of money and this one happened to come up at a time when all those things fell into place,” he said.
“I have maintained it and fixed it up to be as original as possible.”
While Jason did not take home any silverware, completing the 3100km journey was an achievement in itself.
“The highlight for me was probably just making it there because my car is basically built from junk in a shed,” Jason said.
“I would have been disappointed if I did not make it there, but I expected to have a few issues along the way because the car is an old car that has had a very basic restoration.”
A passionate photographer, Pat said another highlight was being able to capture some amazing memories on their journey to and from the show.
“We took photographs of our cars in places that were a little bit cheeky,” Pat said.
“For example, at Parliament House in Canberra, there were some Australian Federal Police sitting around and you are not meant to be taking photographs there anymore, but we did a quick lap of the block and when we came back they were gone, so I snapped a quick photograph.”
Some other places where Pat took some iconic shots included the Australian War Memorial, the Dog on the Tucker Box and they were even able to infiltrate an old enemy of Ford.
“On the last day of Holden production in Australia, we pulled up at the Echuca National Holden Museum and they let us park our cars right up at the door entrance,” Pat said.
“It looked like two Falcon guys infiltrating enemy territory, but we were just paying our respects to the brand, saluting the general on the last day of production.”
Pat said it was all about trying to take photographs where they should not be.
“If we were going to take a photograph, we had to take it Fomoco style,” Pat said.
We had to see the Holden’s infiltrate the rivals line
On the last day for the General went into the lion’s museum
We parked our cars right at the door and went inside to see ’em
Pictures: PATRICK BOYLAN
Pat Boylan’s photographs are published with excerpts from his poem “Ode to the Road”, which documents the Fomoco brothers’ trip to Narooma.
The poem can be read in full online at www.borderwatch.com.au/ode-road-pat-boylan
