VCC NTH OTAGO DISTRIBUTOR APRIL 2023

The North Otago Branch of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Inc.

Chairperson Report

It’s the time of year again when our clocks go back an hour, the end of summer. In the South Island we have been very lucky with our summer, enjoyed many a warm summers day going for a drive in our cars.

Though summer is at an end it is certainly not the end of our motoring season yet with our Autumn run up the valley on the 23rd of April. I was up at Otematata for a day over Otago Anniversary Weekend and got a wee glimpse of the change in season with the golden leaves starting to appear.

At the start of March, I attended the National Executive meeting held over 2 days in Christchurch. In the past the March Executive meeting was only held for 1 day in Wellington with many delegates flying in and out on the same day. It certainly was great to have more of a chance to speak with other delegates over the extended time for this meeting and allowed for a couple of guest speakers. My full report of the weekend will be further on in this copy of the distributor.

At our committee meeting last week it was decided we would hold our AGM on Sunday 11th June 2023, please mark this date in your calendar. Start time will be advised next month.

I wish to advise you all that I have decided not to stand for Chairperson at the upcoming AGM. An opportunity has come along and unfortunately, I cannot do both at the same time. I have very much enjoyed my time as being Chairperson over the last 2.5 years and I will remain on the committee for the next year as immediate Past Chairperson.

Happy Motoring

Rebecca

Secretary’s Corner – April

Hi Everyone

New Members

A warm welcome to both Harvey Weir and Murray Turner as new members of our Branch. Both are next generation family members.

Confirmed Membership

As at the end of the last round of membership renewals we have 121 financial members. Despite the general perception of reducing VCC membership numbers, as a branch we seem to be holding our own. Our friendly members, Monday morning catchups, our welcoming clubrooms and taking every opportunity we can to promote the club I am sure are good contributors to keeping the club humming.

New Promotion - Listing on Waitaki App

Our Branch is now listed on the Waitaki App (which you can download onto your smart phone) and on their website waitakiapp.nz

Go to waitakiapp.nz/community groups/groups and clubs/other clubs

This app has been initiated by the Oamaru Business Hive and will collect as much information as possible about the Waitaki District, meaning news and information will be collated and more easily available to whomever, at any time. It will also be a good space for people new to our area to check out what is available regarding special interest sports, clubs and groups. And to advertise any public events and to check on what is happening when setting dates for events. The Oamaru Community Notice Board on Face Book could also be used to promote public events.

Signing Off

Thank you for your support over the last year in the role of Secretary. I am more than happy to assist the new secretary. If anyone would like to see the notes I have written up explaining the role, please don’t hesitate to contact me. As the saying goes, “there is more than one way to skin a cat” and fresh eyes may find better ways to “keep the ball rolling!” Cliches! I am running out of steam!

Regards

Lee Brehaut

An Evening behind the Green Door

February club night was an enjoyable visit to Colin Harvey's workshop in Tee Street, from the street you would not think it very interesting but when you venture inside, it is like the Tardis, it opens up into a large fully functional workshop, with three 1934 Chevrolet trucks in varying degrees of repair, Colin said two were for spare parts and cab copying. The one that he has been working on for the last two years is a 1934 Chevrolet 1 1/2 ton ULW truck, he has a Stovebolt engine for it, a 206cu in [ 3.4lt ] 80hp straight six, it is being overhauled in a side room, the wood work for the cab is nearly finished, he is using macrocarpa seasoned timber.

I asked him if he had had the sheeting for the cab made locally, it looked like new, he assured me that it was the original 1934 steel, he soaks it in molasses, watered down 10:1 for three to four weeks, and then buffed and coated with primer. amazing!

The truck has some unusual history. Lakes District County Council, Wanaka, was the first owner and Colin's dad, Hector Harvey, Earthquakes Road, Duntroon, purchased it in 1937 when he started farming. On a wet November day in 1938, Hector was driving from Duntroon to Oamaru for Petrol and Kerosene for the farm, which was sold in 44 gallon drums. On the way he came across the Sole Brothers Circus elephant truck which had broken down, and was asked if he could take the Elephant to Oamaru for Soles. He agreed, and the elephant walked from one truck into other. We don't know if he received any free tickets for it. Hector carted back 3 drums of Petrol and 4 drums of Kerosene. What would OSH say about that?

We would like to thank Colin for showing us around his workshop, very interesting and enjoyable.

What Colin’s Truck will look like when finished

Mid-Month Run

Last Picnic Run

Thursday 13th April

Turn up at the clubrooms about 1pm

Receiverouteinstructionstoleaveat1.30

MysterydestinationforaBYOpicnicafternoontea. Contact John Gale on 03 437 1112 if you need to know more.

Our last Picnic Run was out to Hampden Beach via the Coast Road to Waianakarua. A rather special event for club member Arthur Ruffell who was a passenger in the Morris Minor Convertible. Arthur had previously owned and was doing up this car, but had reluctantly sold it in an unfinished state to another member and it is now back on the road. Steve McDonald and John Gale completed the trifactor of Morris representation on the run.

Month End Motorcycle Run

Wednesday 26th April

Turn up at the clubrooms about 1pm

to leave at 1.30. Weather permitting, the route and destination will be decided on the day.

Local Engineering Supplies

A long time ago in a country far away there was a shop rather like Irelands in Oamaru, they sold everything that the farmers in the area needed, the huge back wall behind the counter was full of small draws that contained a multitude of stuff, there was a wooden ladder that moved along the wall on rollers, a farmer was in there one day looking for a particular size steel washer it took the shop assistant over twenty minutes to find the right washer, which only cost 20pence, someone in the shop commented on 20p for 20 minutes work!!

Two weeks later the farmer came back and was served by the same assistant, he bought a considerable amount of equipment for his piggery, when asked why he had come back to that particular shop when he could have saved a bit by shopping around, he replied 'the service that I get here'

I was in Irelands the other day looking for a rubber O ring, the young lady in Irelands took at least 15 minutes to find the O ring I wanted looking into several boxes, it only cost 60 cents, it reminded me of that old fashioned service is till alive and well in Irelands.

https://www.irelandengineering.co.nz/

All the best, Clive.

Ireland Engineering Solutions Ltd

36 Orwell Street

Oamaru 9400

New Zealand

Email: admin@irelandengineering.co.nz

Phone: 03 434 6956

Using the correct grade of oil in the differential of your old car means a quieter ride and longer life of the diff.

Check your manufacturers oil chart or contact Graeme through Roses General Store.

A selection of oils and grease available in store.

A & P Show 2023 VCC Vehicle parade

From a 1901 Replica Oldsmobile to a 1974 Rover, and all these in-between: a Pontiac, Briscoe, Austin 7, Land Rover towing a 1970 Caravan, Morris Minor, Mustang, Chrysler Truck, Morris Minor 1000, Daimler, Ford Capri, Austin A 30, Valiant Regal 265, and a Wolseley 1500. What a great way to showcase some of our club vehicles and help get across the message of 30 years and older. A big thanks to our drivers for their participation and to Derek the commentator. There is room for a few tweaks to be made to improve this promotion even more next time.

Club Night – Wednesday 5th April

Come along for a Quiz Night, please bring a question and answer. These questions can be general knowledge or car based. Supper will follow so please bring a plate.

NOVCC Autumn Gold Run

Sunday 23rd April

Join us for a great day out around the lakes, BYO lunch and enjoy the autumn sunshine and the fantastic colours of the region. Bring friends and family and gather at the club rooms from 10:30 for 11am start. Stop at your favourite coffee shop as you make your own way home later in the afternoon. If wet, the run will be postponed until the following Sunday.

If you need more information, phone John Gale on 03 437 1112

50 Vintage Years North Otago Branch History

Excerpt pages 126 to 127

Branch 50th Anniversary Celebrations.

On Wednesday 2nd February 2011 thirty seven members and invited guests were present at the February Club Night to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the inaugural Branch Meeting.

Rex Murray (first Branch Chairman) spoke about how he and John O’Brien came to arrange the inaugural meeting (reprinted June 2022 issue of Distributor) and how a group of early members involved their families in events. John O’Brien spoke about the organization of the 1963 Pennzoil Rally, various places used for clubrooms, various places used for the children’s Christmas Parties and the socials held at Totara. Bill Mitchell spoke about the cost of restoration in the 1960’s compared to present day costs and donated an early newsletter he had. Ivan Main spoke about the Branch becoming an Incorporated Society, the first Opening Rally and how he came to win it because he followed Eion and Aileen Woods.

Dave Clark spoke about the 1965 International Haast Rally. Wilson Spite spoke about Dr Schaeffer of USA at the Haast Rally and humorous stories were told about mending cars at Omarama on the Haast Rally. Stories were also told about other trips to Omarama, about borer bomb antics and many of the speakers mentioned the late Wattie Malcolm and some of his escapades. A number of photos and other memorabilia were on display and part of a video of early branch events, narrated by Bill Mitchell, was shown and enjoyed.

Wilson Spite, Patron of the Branch, cut the cake, photos were taken and supper concluded the evening.

Members at Club Rooms Celebrations

Wilson Spite Cutting the Cake

The 50th Celebrations concluded with a dinner at The Homestead on Saturday 20th August 2011 when five Foundation members were presented with their National 50 Year Awards. The evening began with the annual presentation of Branch Trophies followed by dinner and then John Bringans was presented with his 25 year badge prior to the 50 year presentations. The 50 year Award Recipients were John Adamson, Ivan Main, Keith Perry, Royston Shirreffs and Wilson Spite.

Editor: This is the last article in this series of reprints from the 50 Vintage years of North Otago Branch History. We hope you have enjoyed reading these excerpts to either learn about the Branch’s history or remember your own involvement in past events. There are still copies of the book available at the clubrooms at $20 per copy.

50 Year Celebration Top Table

March Executive Meeting Report

This year the March Executive meeting was held on 4th & 5th March in Christchurch

Matter Arising

Address Labels – Progress has been made on these over the last few months and this has now been completed.

Suppression of member details – Changes have now been made to this that a member can opt to have their details suppressed or just request the details of their vehicle be suppressed. For online membership applications a box pops up to give an explanation on this.

Presidents Report

There has been a very positive response to the email sent re Gabriel Cyclone with many members offering accommodation around the country for those who were affected by the cyclone and offers of mechanical help for vehicles damaged.

Ageing Membership – More than 80 % of all members are over the age of 60.

Management Committee Vacancies - Diane is stepping down at this year National AGM in August along with North Island Club Captain, South Island Club Captain, Speed Steward, Hon Secretary/Treasurer, and a committee member. A total of 7 vacancies

National Office Sytems

Branch Portal – New functions have been added to the branch portal to enable secretaries to Check ID cards and Financial status of members entering a National rally. Also now able to download the branch file at any time.

Transfers – If a member is wishing to transfer to another branch, they now contact Head office to complete this and National office will inform both branches.

Registrars Report

VIC Cards – These will be going online and becoming a digital form like our application form. The branch VIC signatories will get training on the new process before it goes live. This is probably going to be done via workshops held around the country .

12 month WOF – Progress is being made on our vehicles being eligible for a 12 month WOF instead of current 6 month WOF. Most likely we will have to apply for an exemption for the vehicle to be eligible for 12 month WOF and part of this process the vehicle will need to have a current VIC card.

Changes to the Constitution

The new incorporated Societies Act requires a change be made to our management structure of the VCC of NZ. Going forward we will not have a Management committee and Executive like we currently do. Questions were sent to all branches before the executive meeting and during this meeting we held 2 workshops. In about 8 groups we discussed the answers to each question and wrote down our answers. These were given to the management committee.

National Day

Discussion was held about our national day and the Charity that we support. It was decided to continue with supporting Cancer Society for the next 3 years. Part of this decision it was felt that is was too short a notice to change the charity for the next coming 3 years.

Long Service Awards

The current cost for these badges is currently $3,000 a year for the President/ Committee member to travel to present these awards with a further $2000 being recently spent on purchasing new badges. After discussion and a vote, it was decided to keep the status quo.

Wee Wheelie Wander

This year the date was changed due to the national rally in Invercargill and the new date was competing with a number of other events. Several previous entrants contacted the club to advise they wouldn’t be attending because of this. However, those who did enter enjoyed the event just the same. Base camp was Gordon and Wendy Pringle’s crib at Otematata.

Despite inclement weather earlier in the day, we headed off and managed to successfully negotiate the Otematata Wetlands, stopping to hear from the management committee about what had been achieved and what plans there were for continued improvements. It certainly is a huge improvement from the days when we lived in Otematata. Well worth a stroll on the many well formed pathways alongside the golf course and the water.

Back out on the road and away over the dam to Waitangi Station Camping site. Following Bruce Watt on his 1957 DKW Hummel up the hill was an experience in its self. To say the air was blue/grey. well you get my drift! Still he made it up and over. Quite an achievement, however, his luck ran out when a tyre caused enough disruption to need the services of wife Barbara and the trailer just short of the afternoon’s destination.

The camping population had greatly reduced and the site was quiet and relaxing. It was still amazing to see the large number of caravans and camping sites still set up, I guess till Easter.

With food a plenty and hot drinks, and some friendly banter, we all had a good run back home to Gordon and Wendy's crib, arriving back just before the rain began to reappear.

Thank you to Wendy and Gordon for their time and effort to organise this event. This is their third time organising this rally and Wendy tells me it is time for someone else to pick up next year.

Stove for Clubrooms Kitchen

Does anyone know of a suitable stove languishing in a garage somewhere that could be a replacement for the brown stove in the clubrooms kitchen? The committee has allocated a (small) budget so is open to negotiation on price and is able to pick up any purchase.

2023 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Sunday 11th June 1.30pm at the clubrooms

Please bring a plate

Calendar of Events

April 2023

Club Events

5th April - Wednesday Club Night

15 April 2023 - Saturday Gerald Lynch-Blosse Memorial Motorcycle Rally

13th April - Thursday Mid-month Run

19th April – Wednesday Committee Meeting

23rd April – Sunday Autumn Gold Picnic Run to Otematata

26th April - Wednesday End of Month Cycle Run

3rd May - Wednesday Club night

17th May - Wednesday Committee Meeting

18th May - Thursday Mid-month Coffee Run

31st May - Wednesday End of month Motorcycle Run

National and Regional Events

At the time of printing, no other rallies have been advised from other branches. Check Beaded Wheels if you think something has been missed.

Check our Other Rallies Page for information which has been sent through from other branches about their various activities. Also Beaded Wheels is a good source to check out other regional events you may be interested in attending.

Note:-Every effort has been made to keep these dates as accurate as possible at the time of printing. However, check with the Chairperson or Secretary to confirm any particular event of interest or for entry forms.

‘Other Events’ Notice Board - April

For more information on any event listed, please contact Lee on 027 695 66 44 or email northotago@vcc.org.nz

Some branches include entry forms, while others don’t preferring people to contact them directly.

Wheels At Wanaka <info@wheelsatwanaka.co.nz>

PRACTISE DAY - FRIDAY 7 APRIL MAIN SHOW - SATURDAY 8 & SUNDAY 9 APRIL 2023

Check out their website for up to date information.

https://www.wheelsatwanaka.co.nz/

2023Highland Fling! 21st to 23rd April

Veteran and Vintage category vehicles only. Limited to 100 vehicles.

Friday 21st April – Registration

Saturday 22nd - Fling Rally

Sunday 23rd Fling Rally continues and Field Tests, Prize Giving Dinner

Email northotago@vcc.org.nz or ring Lee 027 695 66 44 for an entry form.

Rotary Club of Ashburton Plains Classic Car Run 30th April 2023

The event will start from the Ashburton Showgrounds at 10.30am and finish near Peel Forest approximately 1 hour later.

Registrations from 9.am. For any further information please contact: Owen Moore – owen@moorepark.net.nz 033083442

At the time of printing, no other rallies have been advised from other branches this month. Check Beaded Wheels if you think something has been missed.

Thanks,

NORTH OTAGO BRANCH OFFICE BEARERS

Club email address northotago@vcc.org.nz

Committee Meetings 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7.00 pm. Members welcome. Club Nights 1st Wednesday of the month at 7.30 pm (details in The Distributor)