The Ulysses Club originated in Sydney NSW, and was a little over three years old when the Adelaide Branch came into existence. At that time total Australia-wide membership was approximately 750, with only about 20 living in the Adelaide area. The popularity of the Club was growing, and mature motorcyclists from all walks of life were showing increased interest and seeking information as to how they could become members.

Formation of the Adelaide branch

Peter Reynolds who was the National Secretary at that time visited Adelaide and contacted each of the existing Adelaide members to arrange an inaugural meeting at the Victoria Hotel, O’Halloran Hill. On the afternoon of the 28th December, 1986, a group of twelve met in the dining room of the hotel and the decision was taken to form an Adelaide Branch. Having come to that decision, it was then necessary to appoint someone to conduct the affairs of the Branch. No volunteers came forward, so after some discussion, Neville Rodert offered to act as Secretary and Lyall Zilm agreed to preside over the Branch. It was further agreed that bi-monthly meetings would be held at the Road Safety Centre, Oaklands Park, on the first Thursday of every second month. These facilities were kindly offered by our member Les Jackson, who was the Chief Road Safety Officer at the Centre.

The first meeting

The first meeting was held on the 5th February, 1987, at 7.30 pm, and was attended by 22 members and friends. A calendar of monthly runs was drawn up and these were generally well attended. The Club was off to a good start and everyone was full of enthusiasm. Membership steadily increased over the next twelve months and the first Annual General Meeting of the Branch was held on the 23rd December 1987. Lyall Zilm was elected the President and Ray Mullen the Secretary/Treasurer. Due to a period of absence, it was necessary for Lyall to resign his position and a new election was subsequently held on the 4th February 1988, at which Bryce Morley was duly elected to the position of President, a position he held until 1997, when Des Blackwell was elected as President.

Meeting locations

Regular meetings were then held on a monthly basis on the first Thursday of the month at the Prince Albert Hotel, Wright Street Adelaide, at 7.30 pm. Meetings continued to be held at this venue into the 1990’s. However, as the number of members attending these meetings was growing rapidly, it became necessary to find larger and more suitable accommodation. It was subsequently decided that we meet at the Earl of Leicester Hotel, Parkside. This proved to be an ideal location for a while. Once again our membership out grew the hotel’s capacity, and we moved to the Terminus Club at Richmond. Meetings used to sometimes see in excess of 300 members. This reduced once the Torrens Valley and Fleurieu branches were formed.
After meeting for a few years at the West Adelaide football clubrooms at Richmond, they decided to start charging us more than we could afford. So we moved to another free venue, the European Catering Reception Pty Ltd at Hindmarsh. A few years later the venue was sold and we had to move to the Maid and Magpie, corner of Magill and Payneham Roads. This proved to be unsuitable and we relocated to the Mile End Hotel on Henley Beach Road. This venue also didn’t live up to expectations so we have now moved to the Maid of Auckland Hotel on South Road, Edwardstown.