10/06/2026
Very sad to hear of David Bowden's passing.
An automotive legend, passionate visionary and truly definitive custodian of Australian Motorsport.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to the family at this sad time.
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It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the passing of our dad, David Bowden. ❤️
Dad's love of cars was in his blood from the very beginning. His father Frank was selling the very first Australian-made Fords back in 1925, and later part-owned the first Holden dealership in Nambour — so David never stood a chance. By 12 he already owned his first car, a '34 Ford, and by his late teens he was notorious around Brisbane for a wild channelled '32 Ford Roadster with a supercharged Mercury V8 that was, by his own admission, ideal for getting into trouble.
His love of motorsport was ignited at Warwick Farm, watching a young Ian 'Pete' Geoghegan hurl a white, red and blue '65 Mustang around the circuit. He introduced himself to 'Pete' in the pits that day, and it was the start of a lifelong friendship — and a lifelong obsession.
The 1970s were golden years. Dad developed a deep passion for Australian muscle cars, especially the Falcon GT’s. It was during this era, after settling in Townsville with his beloved wife Pauline, that he acquired what would become one of the more important foundation cars of the collection — the now legendary XA GTHO Phase IV ‘protoype’. First son Dan came along in 1973, followed three years later by Chris while living in Adelaide. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.
In 1982, he tracked down Pete Geoghegan's famous 1971 GTHO Super Falcon, a car he loved after a memorable drive of it around Surfers Paradise to bed in the brakes. The look, the noise, and the raw power of that fuel-injected 600+ BHP Cleveland engine left a strong mark that never faded. But what he discovered a decade later broke his heart. The Super Falcon had become an unloved relic. He bought it and spent the best part of the next decade restoring it back to its most glorious moment — the legendary Easter 1972 Bathurst race it won against Moffat's mighty Mustang.
That car changed everything. From that moment, Dad made it his mission to find the many lost, unloved and forgotten racecars from the past, that nobody else seemed to want and save them. With Dan and Chris by his side, he tracked down some of the most significant competition cars Australia ever produced. ‘Pete’ Geoghegan’s 1965 Mustang, Brock's Bathurst-winning Torana’s, Moffat's Mustang and Falcon GT-HOs, KB’s Camaro, Dick Johnson's incredible collection, Norm Beechey's Monaro, and so many more. He didn't just collect them. He understood them, did what he could to preserve them, and shared them with other enthusiastic fans, all to make sure they'd never be forgotten. Nearly 50 historic cars that together stand as one of the greatest tributes to Australian motorsport history ever assembled.
We will miss him every single day. But his legacy lives on in every car he saved, and in every life he touched with his extraordinary passion.
A funeral service to celebrate David's life will be held at 10.30am on Thursday the 18th of June at Gregson & Weight Funerals in Maroochydore.
Rest easy, Dad. You did something truly special. ❤️
— Dan, Chris and the Bowden family.
