Veteran Report

COLIN HEY

Veteran Convenor Ph 359-8737 021 883 807

Ross Hayes 1909 Renault in foreground at the Grand Country Garden Party.

February got off to a very good start with the Garden Party on 7 February. Six veterans turned out for that event, including two Renaults belonging to Ross Hayes and John and Sylvia Bartlett – the latter I haven’t seen for two or three years, so it was good to see it out again. This was a great event on a perfect day – well done Lyndsay and Myra Saunders and the many helpers on the day.

Veterans On Tour

Jenny and I have just returned from the Art Deco veteran event in Napier, and we had a great time! We took our 1912 Wolseley up there and successfully completed six days of motoring, including two longish runs and lots of running in and around Napier City.

Because of the latest Auckland Covid-19 breakout, unfortunately the Art Deco Trust was forced to cancel all of their official public events, but being at Level 2, the Hawke’s Bay VCC committee decided to box on and run all of their own planned activities, with a contingency of slightly altering the way they were run if necessary to ensure gathering numbers and social distancing requirements were met. Fortunately, with a return to Level 1 at midnight on Wednesday 17th no added restrictions were needed.

For some planning to attend from Auckland and further north, it meant that travelling down for only two or three events was not viable, so some of the registered 57 veteran cars and bikes failed to appear. For us however, all of the VCC events we planned to attend did actually happen, with the added bonus that tickets to the VCC formal dinner event (which we registered too late to secure tickets to) became available due to cancellations.

We took our time travelling up to Napier, stopping off in Upper Hutt to attend the

Despite the Art Deco Trust public events being cancelled, there was still a full Art Deco buzz in downtown Napier the whole weekend, and some events carried on regardless without official input. Many veteran, vintage and PV vehicles were cruising the streets or left parked-up in the town, many people were dressed in period clothes, bars and restaurants were full, the weather was perfect, and everyone was having a good time.

British and European show there on the way up. This was a big event with around 600 vehicles attending, and ours was the only veteran car there so attracted quite a bit of interest. We caught up with a number of fellow Wolseley Car Club and VCC members there too – the day passed very quickly.

After a couple of nights staying with family in Masterton, we arrived in Napier on Tuesday 16th, with the first events (shed and museum visits) happening on Wednesday. Thursday was our first out-of-town run to a small country school at Puketapu, about 10km out of Napier. We assembled at the Napier soundshell on the CBD waterfront where the cars were on public display for an hour or so before taking about a 20km route (including a couple of slightly challenging hills) to Puketapu. There the cars were left in the custody of supervised children while we enjoyed a lunch at the local pub nearby. The formal dinner on the Thursday night was very, very good – the Hawkes Bay branch excelled in their hospitality with great food and entertainment, and everyone without exception was dressed in Deco-style clothing to add to the occasion.

On the Friday we met in the VCC grounds with many other VCC vehicles, this time departing from there on a longish run to the Abbey Winery just south of Hastings for lunch and wine-tasting. We struck a perfect day – clear and sunny, but still relatively cool. Some amazing cars turned up, including a very early 4-cylinder 1905 Rolls Royce Light 20 (AX147) owned by Martinborough’s John Kennedy, which had arrived in Napier from the UK only the day before.

Saturday was another public day in the VCC grounds, with morning tea provided. Again an amazing display, but with plenty of time to look at cars closely, talk to owners, browse through the branch spares shed, and even

Photos from the art deco. the chance to drive or ride in some of the other cars on display. I got to sample the 1911 16/20 Wolseley belonging to Peter Johns from Havelock – a very well-sorted and fast veteran that was a delight to drive.

The VCC events concluded with a breakfast on the Sunday morning – once again a relaxed event which was catered for superbly by the branch members.

Jenny and I thoroughly enjoyed the five days of events. The Wolseley ran all week with no problems at all, and we enjoyed catching up with many friends and meeting lots of new people at all the events we attended. It was especially enjoyable to be motoring and socialising with other members from Canterbury, including Bruce and Shirley Shadbolt who took their 1904 L’Etoile, Ian and Rosemary Close in their 1903 Curveddash Oldsmobile, and Mike Hanning who was motoring his 1915 Buick (formerly Alistair and Beryl Brass’s car). We even ran into Gill and Kevin Stevenson (several times!) who flew up to enjoy the event. All being well, we hope to attend the 2022 Art Deco now, perhaps tying it in with the Vero International Rally in New Plymouth a few weeks earlier.

Coming Events Designed for Veterans…

Coming up, Look out for the fastapproaching Rear Wheel Brake Rally on 14 March. Entries for this close on 4 March and the entry form was in last month’s Hub.

Also look out for the annual Dutton Run on Anzac Day 25 April organised by Malcolm McGibbon. More information and the entry form will be elsewhere in this Hub - there are several veterans already booked from elsewhere in the South Island for this event, and it’s shaping up well.