Rest of World - Area Representatives

John Elmgreen was born in 1948 in Sydney, and bought his first Jaguar, a 16 owner stripped down XK120 DHC, as a University student in 1969, inspired by an article in a motoring magazine in which a young journalist showed that he had owned a Mk VII for a year for less than the cost of a Mini. He has owned 7 XKs. From 1970, he collected information on XKs throughout Australia, before leaving for England in 1975 where he lived in London for 6 years. In 1980, having taken his XK120 to see the Le Mans 24 hour race, he decided with Terry McGrath to turn their collective efforts into a book. Several more years of research followed, including many days at Browns Lane in the archives, and The Jaguar XK in Australia appeared in 1985. In 1996 he started the XK Lovers internet email group and expanded his assembling of XK information to the histories of every XK every made (all 30,000 of them) and a detailed study of XK originality. Since 2010 he has been the XK120 Registrar for California’s Classic Jaguar Association and he and Terry McGrath have published The Jaguar XK120 in the Southern Hemisphere (individual histories of more than 900 cars) and The Jaguar XK140 in the Southern Hemisphere (individual histories of about 500 cars). In 2019 he wrote Jaguar D-type – The Story of XKD526 for Porter Press. In addition his assistance with many other Jaguar publications has been acknowledged by their authors. He practised as a lawyer for many years in a boutique commercial and property practice in the Sydney CBD, being an Accredited Specialist both in Business Law and in Commercial Litigation. He retired from fulltime legal practice at the end of 2017. His other interests include wine, cricket, old houses and an active interest in music. He is married to Frances and they have two children, Current Jaguars are a 1951 XK120 OTS (acquired in England in 1980), a 1959 XK150 S DHC (acquired in Sydney in 1973), both on the road, and a new E Pace. Past Jaguars have included another five XK120s, an XJ V12 coupe and an XJR (6).

"As a 22 year old in 1976, I purchased our Mk2 and joined the Tasmanian Jaguar Car club. it was through the club that I met other Jaguar owners, including those with XKs At various events I could have a close look at these cars, with their captivating style and wonderful engineering. As a young teacher I always thought they would be beyond my means, but as we grow older and hopefully wiser, my wife Gail and I were able to purchase and restore our E-type and XK1 40. We still own the Mk2, and all of our cars give us great pleasure."

I have been an XK owner for just six years but he has been a car enthusiast for ever. I live in Auckland with my wife Lynley and together we have had lots of adventures and made many great friends as a result of the Jaguars. I bought my first car when I was 14 years old – a 1936 Wolseley Hornet. It was in a 1000 bits but I managed to reassemble it and get it going with only a little help. I didn’t drive it very much because I sold it before turning 15 and getting my driver’s licence. Many cars followed, but like a lot of classic Jaguar enthusiasts, I coveted an XK or an E-type but could never afford one. However, nearly 50 years on from that first car, the stars aligned and I was in a position to buy an XK 150 OTS. This is a very nice driver and we have done about 10,000 miles in it, touring, participating in club events and generally using the car. Next up was an E-type, series 3 V12 open two seater and more recently an XJS convertible that has only travelled 18,000 km. I am looking forward to meeting the local members and hopefully organising some great events – maybe even meeting up with our South Island friends. North Island Members, if you have any ideas on events you would like or prospective new members, please give me a call or an email – the contact details are in our magazine.