9-90s Report

9-90s

Hi to you all.

George Nimmo organised this day, and what a day it turned out to be. We had about 60 cars, and the weather you couldn’t wish for better and the venue absolute fabulous.

The cars on display ranging from the first Mercedes, Bugatti's, Hispano Suiza, Bentleys and some cars I had never heard of. A very big thank you Gavin and Sharron for their Hospitality. I had been to their place about 20 years ago so I wished Gavin a long life and hope to see him in 20 years again.

George donated the entry fees to the Governors Bay jetty restoration. A big thank you to George and all his helpers.

I am looking for a few volunteers to organise a run in 2023…..so make my Christmas special. Give me a ring or tell me at the Christmas lunch and remember No Volunteers NO RUNS

Looking forward seeing you all.

Regards J.K and the team

PS The team and I wish everyone a Happy Christmas ….and a prosperous and healthy 2023.

NORTH CANTERBURY NOGGIN

Please note that the December evening will be earlier than usual. Wednesday 14th.

COMMERCIAL REPORT

Greetings all,

Just when you thought summer was on the way here we are with MORE rain and colder temps. I hope it warms up for the Vintage Rally on 3rd December!

Our November commercial Noggin was held in Dave Inwood's spacious garage. Thanks to Dave and Linda for hosting and putting on a lovely supper. I have serious garage envy now. Dave has some impressive cars and a very nice facility in which to keep them!

The December noggin will be held on TUESDAY the 13th of December in the Barn at Cutler park. Please note it is a day and a week earlier than usual due to close proximity to Christmas. Partners are welcome and encouraged to join. Please BYO drinks, meat and a salad or dessert to share.

I was pleased to see a few commercials on the Homestead run. What a stunning location and a beautiful drive into our lunch stop. New Zealand has some amazing scenery and those of us lucky enough to go on Vintage Car rallies get to enjoy more of these out of the way places than the average tourist! Thanks to all of the organizers who put a lot of effort into making this day a great success.

Wishing you all a great festive season and hopefully we will see some Commercials on the Vintage rally.

The January Noggin is to be held on the 18th at 34A Harrowdale Drive, Avonhead.

Happy motoring.

Michael

For all Club Vehicles

The Branch Annual Rally will be held over the weekend of 25th and 26th February 2023. Coffee and Cake will be served around 9.15am departing Cutler Park from 10.00am. There will be two rallies. Short and Long. Sunday will be the Gymkhana (which will be organised by the youths of our club) followed by a BBQ lunch and prize giving. Interested parties contact

katonwheels66@gmail.com or henry.little@hotmail.com

Further information in February’s Hub or by calling:

Katryna 021 0277 2375 or Henry 327 5471

MOTORCYCLE REPORT

December – first month of SUMMER!!! Enjoy your motorcycling!!

Past Events.

9th November – Noggin Night. Last minute cancellation for the Central Fire Station destination, so Smash Palace was a stand-by destination. Only about 6 or 7 turned up… 10th November – Old Codger’s Run. About 19 turned up, then proceeded to the Leithfield Pub for lunch. Great to see some old faces and new members as well. 19th November – Fish and Chip Run to Motorcycle Display Ashburton. Absolutely poured with heavy rain all day, so I’d be very surprised if anyone went on this – I certainly didn’t. 26th November – Annual Motorcycle Rally. Copy for The Hub closes 23rd November, so this will be reported in the February Hub.

Future Events.

1st December – Main Noggin in the Hall. Display of the trophy winner motorcycles from the Motorcycle Annual Rally held 26th November. Please bring your bikes to the Noggin about 7.00 pm. 14th December – Motorcycle Noggin, the usual Christmas Bash to be held on The Barn, Cutler Park, McLeans Island. As in the past, we are putting on a Catered Meal for you all; the cost for this is $25 per person. We need to know IN ADVANCE who is coming, and please; you need to pay beforehand. We cannot collect cash on the night. 5.15 pm start, meal served at 6.30 pm. Please also advise Mike Glenday on cell phone 021 1920581 or mike.heatherg@xtra.co.nz - we do need to know in advance for catering numbers etc. RSVP by Friday 9th December, please. To Pay, please pay the money into the VCC Motorcycle Bank account, as per: Westpac Bank 03 0802 0099727 00 with your Name and Xmas Noggin in the reference field.

15th December – Old Codger’s Run. Meet at “The Store” – the Tai Tapu coffee shop, at 10.30 am. Riders decide on a lunch destination or whatever. 17th December – There will be a Fish and Chip run in December, but as the Silly Season hits we’ll have it early. Plan is to start at the Yaldhurst Pub car park 10.15 am for a 10.30 departure. A run out west is on the cards. 1st January 2023 – VCC Picnic, Little River. Hosted by Banks Peninsular Branch. Always a great day out. 2nd January – Motorcycle New Year Run. Meet at the Island 10.00 am for a 10.15 am departure. Your motorcycle committee will be meeting 1st December so a decision will be made on Destination etc. This will be advised to all via the email mail-out, so look out for this. It will be a good, worthwhile destination. 12th January 2023 – Old Codger’s Run. Advise by email prior, so look out for this. 28th January 2023 – Fish and Chip Run. First for the year. Meet at PMH 10.15 am for a 10.30 am departure. Will advise beforehand for the destination, which right now has yet to be decided. 3 – 6th February 2023 – National Motorcycle Rally, Invercargill. Entries closed 30 November 2022. 8th February – Motorcycle Noggin. 10th February – Old Codger’s Run.

There are several events with no information other than announcing their existence. For these events as information comes to hand the motorcyclists on the database will be advised in due course.

Cheers, CML

GROUNDS MAINTENANCE TEAM First Sunday and Third Tuesday Morning Every Month. Come and join us!

OLD CARS, BIKES AND COFFEE, NOVEMBER (INCORPORATING THE HOMESTEAD RUN START

INCORPORATING THE HOMESTEAD RUN START)

Henry and Katryna busy with the paperwork while father George chats with Gay Goodman.

Royce and Jan Baker about to sample our new vendor’s coffee

Early Show Weekend Tour Incorporating the 50th Taieri Tour 2022 in Dunedin

The Show Weekend Tour was a very successful event with 25 cars at the start where Dave and Linda were ready for the very well organised tour with as many as possible roads, some shingle away from the Main Highways, giving us a chance to see places that a lot of us would have never seen in our lifetime. On behalf of everyone on the tour a big thank you to Dave and Linda and all of their friends who helped Dave supplying rally routes and venues along the way. Day One. To Oamaru 81 instructions 350kms. Starting at West Melton with 25 cars and 52 members heading to Ashburton VCC. Very nice newly decorated club rooms, one of the first large groups to use it for morning tea, with tea and biscuits. Thank you to the members for their hospitality. The route was straight forward taking in Rakaia and Pendarves to get us off the main road. After morning tea we headed towards Geraldine, through Pleasant Point then onto some very nice hilly winding shingle roads with nice views of the sea from the top of the hills, the odd ford and nice views of the country side before coming into the back of Waimate for our late lunch stop. After lunch it was an easy run via the main roads to Oamaru. Day Two. Oamaru to Dunedin 34 instructions 156 kms. Meeting at the North Otago VCC, again a newly decorated Club Rooms for morning tea and biscuits Thank you to the VCC members for their hospitality. With a quite short run today we

headed inland for some distance before crossing the main road to the Peninsula traveling down the coast as far as we could go before heading back to the main highway for a very short distance before heading inland again through the very interesting Trotters George, (this was my favourite place we visited on the rally) then on to lunch at the Machinery Club - Thanks for their hospitality. After lunch it was time to continue through Palmerston then back to the coast through Seacliff then over the Mt Cargill road, once again very nice views of coast line before going to our accommodation then heading down to the Rugby Club to pick up our rally packs the briefing and a get together before the Taieri Tour starts. Day Three and Four. The 50th Anniversary of the Taieri Tour. The rally was very good with around 115 entries, a very well organised rally with every one enjoying the roads and the fantastic views from the top of the hills and the coast roads which we drove on. It was great to see so many of our Club members enter this Rally, I would say we had over 40 entries and we were lucky enough to pick up four of the section prizes at the Prize Giving Spit Roast Dinner which was one of the best that I have been to. Sunday we had time to go to the VCC rooms before we went to Mosgiel on a short run for a picnic and BBQ lunch which was very well supported nice and sunny with nice country views all around. After lunch it was time to go next door to see a very large collection of memorabilia, anything car related. Petrol pumps, cars, trucks, bikes etc. After this quite a number of our members went to another collection of cars, 15 BMC Minis plus others, then onto the Organiser Dave Inwood at the start

local Machinery Club just along the road. At this time most of us headed back to Dunedin before going to a local restaurant for dinner to finish off a great weekend with likeminded people. Day Five. Dunedin to Cromwell 45 instructions 308 kms. We all met at the Rugby Club Car Park to be given our rally route for the day heading out of Dunedin via State Highway one turning off to go through Middlemarch and Hyde where we went up a newly graded rough shingle road to a very interesting place ‘’En Hakkore’’ Community Retreat with very large buildings once used as a Sanatorium then a Borstal before being let to go to wrack and ruin. The couple that eventually bought it thirty seven years ago use it to help people in need, with 14 families now living there and the rebuilding programme still going on without any help from the government. We need more people like them in the world and it would be a better place. On to Ranfurly for lunch then to Hayes Engineering for a look around the museum before heading to the overnight stop at Cromwell with a BYO Dinner at the VCC Club Rooms. Thank you to the VCC members for their hospitality. Day Six. Cromwell to Fairlie 26 instructions 271 kms. Starting at the Big Fruit car park we were down to 12 cars as some of the entrants went straight home, so away we went towards Bendigo where we turned off onto shingle through a ford then up a hill where seven of us missed a corner because a gate was closed and onto a road which turned into a goat track with large ruts and rocks with plenty of dust. (Mini summer

Irishman’s roads 4 wheel drive roads) after quite a distance over two hills Dave was able to get phone coverage to let us know we were on the wrong road. Luckily we were at a place where we could all turn round and get back to where we should have been. Surprisingly we all made it back without too much trouble to where Dave was waiting. Our next stop was at a very nice church where we had morning tea then onto Omarama where we had lunch at Murray Stewart’s very interesting property where everyone had a good look around. Thank you to Murray and Sharon for hosting us at their lovely property. After lunch we had an easy main road drive to Fairlie to our accommodation and a get together at the local Hotel. Day Seven. Fairlie to home 239 kms Today everyone made their own way home on whichever roads we wanted. Our route took us through Cave and Pleasant Point then onto the main road. Our total mileage in the old Honda, home to home was 1561 kms. of quite hard driving without any trouble in a small car which was heading for the scrap metal yard when we got it!

Graeme Sword 1987 model Honda Civic Wagon. Photos thanks to Andrew Morison.

Letter to the Editor

I would like to thank Dave Inwood and wife Linda for organising the Taieri Tour 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th November. Travelling over many roads from modern tar seal, shingle, clay and a couple of fords. Altogether a very enjoyable tour. Regards, Kevin Burgess

Homestead Run

(Photos from Katryna)

The original homestead

Happy homesteaders at Coalgate

Homestead Run, 20th November.

I always look forward to the Homestead Runs – they always take us to places we’ve never been before, and as an added bonus there’s usually a historic building or two involved and a nice garden to stroll through. This year’s outing proved to be true to form. The day began with our normal monthly Old Car, Bikes and Coffee (OCBC) session at Cutler Park, where we were to assemble no later than 10am. Most took the opportunity to arrive a little earlier to grab a coffee before they departed – this time from our new vendor, Little Beanie Coffee. The owners Viki and Rob did a great job of keeping up with the queue and provided very good coffee as well. Many eyes were skywards and discussions aplenty were about the weather as the day before had been stormy and very wet, but for now the sky was blue and the temperature warm, so fingers crossed it would be good for the whole day. Until we paid our entry fee and received the instructions from Katryna Shaw and Henry Little outside the clubrooms, most had no idea where we were going, except that we had been warned that we were heading ‘up-country’ and to come with a full tank of petrol. Flicking through the instructions soon revealed we were heading up the Rakaia Gorge somewhere – here’s hoping the weather would hold out up there too. Never mind, we were committed now, so the worst that could happen would be picnic lunches in our car up in the high-country somewhere. It wouldn’t really matter! With a nice coffee under our belts we headed out the gate at 10am on an easy route that took our group of around 60 cars us up the Old West Coast Road, then on to Kirwee and Darfield, turning onto the Inland Scenic Route to the first stop in Glentunnel. Here we had the option of a visit to the everimproving small museum in the township, or morning tea in the domain or the café at the golf course. Every option was popular, and with a request to continue on the run after 11.45am, we could relax and enjoy whichever one we chose. Back on the inland road we continued to the Windwhistle garage where we turned towards Lake Coleridge, beginning a gradual

uphill drive with beautiful views across the Rakaia River valley and further inland to the foothills and Southern Alps. Soon we crossed the Acheron River bridge, and following the instructions we then turned right into Homestead Road, which soon turned to gravel. The recent rain meant the road was damp, and there was very little dust which I’m sure pleased everyone. The turnoff to “The Homestead” was about 7km down this road, and Jim and Viveene Miles were there to direct us to the parking area by the implement sheds. Jim’s brother Bruce Miles now owns this property, which consists of the original Lake Coleridge Station homestead and outbuildings, and across the road the woolshed and some now derelict service buildings that were used when the station was huge and somewhat isolated. Nowadays there are several other stations that have been subdivided off this one, but it is still a productive farm specialising in high quality merino fleece for export. The homestead is still in use so we were not able to look through it, but it is still very much in its original state and in quite good condition. We were able to enjoy our lunch in the lawn and garden area amongst century-old trees and several very noisy bellbirds. After lunch Jim gave some of the history of the farm, which incidentally was the first connected to the electricity grid when the Coleridge power station came on line in 1914. Just after Jim finished his talk we were treated to a very brief shower of rain, which soon had the gathered picnickers seeking some shelter. It soon cleared up though, and this gave us the opportunity to look around the homestead and outbuildings and explore the grounds around them. By then it was getting around to about 2.00pm so it was time to depart. A nice downhill drive again back home, encountering a bit of heavy rain between Windwhistle and Glenroy. It was good to see a few of our group stopping off for an ice-cream in Darfield. A big thanks to Jim and Viveene Miles, Katryna and Bryce Shaw and Henry and Michelle Little for organising an excellent day out, and to Bruce Miles for allowing us to visit the property.

Colin Hey

Christmas Social

Saturday December 10th From 7 pm The Barn Cutler Park

Enjoy an informal evening with friends to celebrate the festive season BYO a plate for supper and your own drink No charge but please let Leigh know if you plan to come. 342 9110 or craythornes@actrix.co.nz

VELOSOLEX OWNERS GROUP

November 2022 run Tuesday 8th A rural ramble was the order of the day for our November ride. Grant Lomax organised a run starting and ending from the carpark at the Tai Tapu Hotel with a jaunt around quiet country roads in the Tai Tapu / Ladbrooks area with 15 riders following the leader at not a very rapid pace in fact most of us had the throttle locked on slow and one hand flicking on and off the brakes just to hold the beasts back. Most of us had finely tuned our machines over the past month ready for a record breaking blast along Old Tai Tapu Rd but this was not to be although it did give us the opportunity to admire the many large new homes along the way so that was a bonus. Wow Lincoln is sure spreading out, at one stage of the ride we stopped at the corner of Ellesmere and Lincoln Tai Tapu Rd’s and noticed that what was once fine arable land on the right hand corner is now houses under construction as far as the eye could see. Where are all the people coming from and where are all the cars going to travel on these once rural roads – I often wonder about this and think I’m pleased that I am no longer a commuter facing the traffic each morning and evening on my way to and from work. Punctures seemed to be the order of the day this time as Grant noticed the moment that he mounted his stead that there was no air at the bottom of the tyre. Fortunately one of TEAM VOG must have known the Boy Scouts’ motto “be prepared” and luckily for Grant – Paul had a pump so after a few strokes on the pump Grant was on his way and all would be good ( we thought) as not far along the road it was necessary to go through the exercise again with a few extra strokes for topup. This seemed to do the trick as all was good from then onwards. Unfortunately we did have another flatty, this time it was Chris Photo: Peter Crew White on his first ride for some time but he wasn’t so lucky and ended up in the backup vehicle for the rest of the journey.Oh well a simple fix when he got home. Apart from that no other

incidents occurred during the ride – even Gary Thompson had a run of luck this time with this bike performing extremely well. Not sure what number of his fleet it was but he sure picked a winner this time. Stick with it Gary. Until next time. Royce

LIBRARY REPORT

First, a big thank you to those members who have donated books over the past few months. We have received some very interesting books and these are always appreciated and are valuable additions to the library. While sorting out magazines recently we found more copies of branch newsletters, some dating back to the beginning of the Vintage Car Club. Some material has been passed to Don Muller for the Club archives, but the newsletters have been sorted out into date order and are in file boxes in the library, where anyone who is interested could have a look at them. Quite interesting looking back at the early days of the club. Also, a big thank you to the members of the motorcycle section who have helped out in sorting through the huge donation of folders and booklets of information from the estate of the late Peter Cornelius We appreciate their help and advice. An ongoing project! Lastly, thank you to all those who have helped out in the library during the year, especially with the new shelving, which has been a life-saver with the large donations of books we have received this year, and thanks, Graeme, for your ongoing help with shelving, updating plaque boards and general help. Merry Christmas to all, and we can all look forward to more motoring in 2023.

Kay and Ted