November 2023 3rd December 2023 Otago Moped and Veteran Bike Rally
Rumour Southland Vintage Car Club CHAIRMAN’S REPORT.
At this month’s Management board meeting some issues were discussed which you should be aware of. The most significant is the Incorporated Societies Act; the revised act defines how 25-29th Jan 2024 organisations like the VCC should be managed. After seeking legal advice the VCC Management Board believe that the current 2024 National structure of, an Executive (at which all branches are represented) Veteran Rally, 70th a Management Board, does not meet the requirements of the Dunedin - Brighton all and new legalisation, and have proposed options for a new Veteran Vehicle Rally management structure. They are also of the view that the current & Prince Henry Tour 46 member Executive is too big and unwieldy to make timely decisions.
3rd February 2024 Southland Rally - entry However the Wellington and Canterbury branches, have looked at the new act, and also sought legal advice, and disagree with the form attached Management Board’s conclusions. They both questioned the need 2nd March 2024 Veteran and Vintage Rally 8-10th March 2024 Model 40 Convention
More events and details on page 4
Meeting: 30th Nov Ariki Lodge
for major change and wondered whether the new act is just being used as an excuse to rebuild the current unwieldy management structure. So how does that affect us? Our local constitution will probably be little affected but our involvement in the management of the national body will probably be reduced. Obviously there is some way to go on this issue and we will keep you up to date. PTO.
Lucas Nicoll attempting the Field Test at Kingston Golf Course
Whitebait Raffle
Wednesday Run: 6th Dec
Chairman’s Report - continued Rallies were a hot topic, the first rally next year is our flagship event, the Southland Rally on 3 rd February. The Southland Rally needs a lot of supporters, if you can help in anyway please talk to the Club Captains, Howard or Gerry. The next event is the newly formulated Veteran and Vintage Rally on 2nd March, part of Howard and Gerry initiative to get more vehicles out on the runs. A Ladies Run and a Moped Run are also planned for next year. It looks unlikely that the Darracq will compete at the 2024 National Veteran Rally in January, the main reason is most of those qualified to drive it are already competing with their own Veteran machines. There is just enough time to enter If a team could be put together. Thank you to Mac and Carol McGarry for organising the Arrowtown Rally and thank you to Terry Williams for donating 5 bar stools to the club. Ladies and Gentlemen given this is the last Rumour of the year, the Management Board and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and look forward to seeing you after the holidays.
Whitebait Raffle A member, who wishes to remain anonymous, has donated some 250g packs of frozen Whitebait for this month’s meat raffle. 250g packs of frozen Whitebait are currently retailing at $35 so this is a fantastic opportunity.
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This could be your colour advert
Wednesday Run - 6th Dec The VCC Wednesday Run will be on 6th December, 2023, leaving from the Racecourse at 10.30am. $25pp. Ring Elaine or Angus at 03 2128956 or 0273104239 before Sunday Evening 3rd December.
Wednesday Run - 1st Nov
The 1st November run was attended by 33 people in 16 cars and 1 motorbike. We had a lovely day in town but there was some fog along the way. Everyone travelled North through Makarewa, Lochiel, Browns, Hokonui, onto the Glencoe Highway, and through to Brydone onto SH1 and turning left at Edendale for a lovely lunch at the Pioneer Tavern. Sharon and Geoff Johnston won a bottle of wine for the Publican's Choice Vehicle - "Car of the Day." After lunch those who travelled home via Seaward Downs were able to view tulip fields with amazing colours. ************* DISCLAIMER ************* Contrary to the Report in last month’s Rumour, we thoroughly enjoy organising the Wednesday Runs. THE COMMENTS WERE NOT OUR WORDS. We have next year’s runs finalised. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and "Safe Driving". There will not be a run in January. From Elaine and Angus
Office Bearers 2023/2024 Patron Chairman Secretary Treasurer Club Captain
Wayne Nicoll 215 7136 Donald Ward 027 294 7692 Carol McGarry 027 277 6878..... southland@vcc.org.nz Sheryn Warren 021 712 198 Gerry Pethick 0210 298 5620 Howard Kingsford-Smith 027 232 3464 Bulletin Editor Stuart Francis 03 213 0529…. stuartfrancis9@gmail.com Welfare Officer Barry Hayman 03 216 3639 Southland VCC website sporty.co.nz/southlandvintagecar VCC website www.vcc.org.nz VCC forum www.trash.co.nz/vccbb 46 Ariki Avenue, Otatara, Postal: PO Box 1240, Invercargill 9840
Parts Shed The parts shed will be open the afternoon of meeting nights between 1 & 4 p.m. The following people can be contacted at anytime if requiring parts or information on parts in our Parts Shed. John Burke 217 8177 & 027 226 0067 or Ray McCulloch 03 217 9667
Library
The library will be open on general meeting nights between 7&9 p.m. Other times by appointment - phone 03 216 6056
Rumour Notices
Copyright of the contents of the “Rumour” magazine rests with the VCC of NZ (Southland Branch) unless otherwise stated. The Rumour is available by e-mail as a PDF file, contact the editor if you wish to receive it this way. Pictures are usually in colour! It also comes earlier. Views and opinions expressed in the Rumour are those of the authors of the articles and are not necessarily those of the Southland Branch of the VCC of NZ, the Branch Executive or the Editor. Mistakes will be corrected if possible if they are pointed out to the Editor.
Forthcoming Events Otago Moped and Veteran Bike Rally - 3rd December. Otago Peninsula Moped and Veteran Bike Rally on Sunday 3rd December. Starting from Otago VCC clubrooms. 9.30 am cup of tea, 10.00 start. $20.00 includes lunch & backup. For more information Kevin, 027 2286431 or Bill, 027 2010565.
ZLB Awarua Radio Station 110 year Anniversary - 16th December 2023 We are invited to celebrate 110 years of Radio at Awarua.16th December 2023, 11am-4pm at the Awarua Communications Museum, 1276 Bluff Highway, preferably in Period Costume. Contact Diane - dianne.pat@xtra.co.nz or txt 0273299389, by 30th November 2023, if you want to attend.
Waimate Motorcycle Rally - 20th January 2024 Waimate VCC will be holding their second Motorcycle Rally on the 20th January 2024. It will commence at the club rooms at 9.30am and cover about 80Km in the morning and 60km in the afternoon. A backup vehicle will be available Entry Fee $15.00 Per Motorcycle entries by 11th January - no late entries. For any further information please contact Peter Bland on 0276443824
2024 National Veteran Rally 25th-31st January 2024 This significant event will incorporate the Brighton Rally and the Prince Henry Tour. Full details and Entry forms are available from the VCC Website and clicking on “National Events” and scrolling to the event.
Wellington Biennial Motorcycle Rally - 26th–28th January 2024 The Wellington Branch of the Vintage Car Club will be holding the Biennial Motorcycle Rally on 26th – 28th January 2024. On Sunday 28th there will be a shorter ride and barbecue. The rally route(s) are set out to suit the different types of machines over a route of approximately 100miles on sealed roads. Entries close 19th January 2024. Contact Rally Secretary for details: Peter Simpson. psimpsonnz@gmail.com. 290m Normandale Rd, Lower Hutt, 5010.
Southland Rally 3rd February 2024 This event is open to all Class Eligible vehicles including motorcycles/mopeds, with short and long routes available. Entrants will depart from the SVCC Clubrooms from 10:30am on Saturday 3rd February 2024. All entrants are asked to be at the clubrooms at 10:00am for a rally briefing. The rally will include a break for lunch, followed by Field Tests. Prize-giving and evening meal will commence at 6:00pm. Entry form attached, online entry via the Southland VCC website is also available. This large event requires a number of supporters and helpers, if you are not taking part please offer your services to the club captains.
Vintage Only Rally Blenheim 5th - 8th February 2024. Vintage Only Rally to be held in Blenheim from the 5th to the 8th February 2024. Because of limited space, this Rally is limited to 50 vehicles. Contact: marlborough@vcc.org.nz
Southland Veteran and Vintage Rally 2nd March 2024 Southland Veteran and Vintage Rally replaces the previous Veteran Rally. The Club Captains hope that bringing together the Veteran and Vintage vehicles will boost the number of entrants. Further details and an entry form will be available in the January edition of the Rumour
Old Engines Display Warbirds over Wanaka, 28th March-1st April 2024 Graham Taylor has been asked to co-ordinate the Old engines display at Warbirds over Wanaka next Easter, he is looking for up to 20 engines. Interested members are asked to register on line on the Warbirds over Wanaka website.
2024 VCC National South Island Easter Rally 29th March to 1st April 2024 and Golden Bay Tour 2nd – 5th April (Including Nelson Branch 60th Anniversary) The Nelson branch will be hosting the 2024 VCC National South Island Easter Rally 29th March to 1st April 2024, followed by the Golden Bay Tour April 2nd – 5th Entries close; 1st March 2024. Contact:- John & Lesley Barker for further details - Ph. 03 545 0652 mobile 027 911 0763 or Email drivingbaby7s@gmail.com
Your Chance For Fame Quinton Taylor from NZ Classic Car magazine is on the lookout for someone, or several someones, who use a classic car as their daily car. It is for the Daily Driver section of their magazine. If this is you, could you please give him a call on 027 733 9158. He would love to hear from you and may even include a snippet, or something bigger in his column about your car.
Editorial Am I alone in thinking the results of the FoMC New Zealand Historic and Classic Vehicle Survey are far too good to be true and the numbers are so fantastic as to bring into question the whole survey. The headline numbers are listed below and are worth examining closely to see if the survey has any credibility. The Headline number of $11.4B is attention grabbing, it is equivalent to every man woman and child in NZ each investing over $2000 in Historic and Classic Vehicles, an astonishing sum. It is interesting to follow the number trial that was used to produce these results. The cornerstone of the calculations is the 15,500 responses to the FoMC questionnaire roughly, 11% of the 140,000 FoMC members. A dangerously small sample of the organisation, not a random sample and probably a biased sample , clearly not a good foundation to base any conclusion on! It also begs the question what type of member would complete the survey, possibly those more interested in the value of their machines, this would account for the surprisingly high (optimistic) average vehicle values. The survey also concludes that there are about 279,200 historic and classic vehicles in the total NZ fleet of 4.5m registered vehicles, about 1 in 16 (other than events how frequently do you see these vehicles?). These vehicles average 3650kms a year and on average $9,302 is spent on yearly running costs. These numbers are light years away from my own experience, and those owners I have spoken to, to wonder how they were conjured up. The purpose of the survey is to strengthen our ability to lobby government, to have our views heard and propose changes, my fear is the results are so fantastic, they will be easily dismissed.
VCC Survey
Commercial Rally With only three entries for the Commercial Rally, Gerry and I decided on a reduced route and a later start time of around 3pm. The rally route was around the Otatara area with the timed section starting at the club rooms and finishing at Tony and Sheryn Warren’s. Entrants were subjected to several field tests before, during and after the first run. Entrants were Olly Olson, Bruce Marshall and John Craig with John the overall winner. It is a pity we don’t get more support for our rallies as the amount of effort to organize these events is the same regardless of the entry numbers. We have the Southland rally on the 3rd of February and the Veteran and Vintage on the 2nd of March. Please support these rallies and let’s get those cars and bikes out of moth balls. Howard
Bruce Marshall First Place Road Section presented by Gerry Pethick
John Craig Overall Winner presented by Gerry Pethick
This could be your colour advert
Car WOF testing Full Workshop Repairs Trailer Hire Tyre Sales and Repair
Arrowtown Rally
Lined up at Kingston Golf Club There was doubt as to whether there would be an Arrowtown Rally this year, after long-time organiser, Tony Warren, decided to take a well earned break. Mac and Carol McGarry, recently returned from the purgatory of living in Auckland, stepped into the breech and suggested they may also have a venue for the Saturday Night prize giving, a major issue in recent years. I had been watching the weather forecasts every day in the run up to this year’s Arrowtown Run, the forecasts for virtually every day changed during that time, except Saturday 11 th Nov, the prediction was bright sunshine and they got it right! The usual hard core of reprobates and masochists gathered at Lumsden Railway Station, those that brought machines on trailers were kick starting their reluctant mounts into action. Numbers were slightly down this year with 20 machines entered with one no show. The oldest machine was Greg Eunson’s 1913 Royal Enfield V twin the youngest was Matt Furness 1986 Honda VFR750F and one outfit, your scribe’s 1978 BMW R100 and Watsonian S/C. A number of local riders decided to ride along, frustratingly some were on VCC eligible machines and a couple of them were actually branch members. Strange to relate, one of these machines, a pristine Kawasaki KZ900, was sold after the owner was made an offer he could not refuse. The two routes followed the usual paths, the short route was just a straight ride on State Highway 6 to Kingston. The long route turned off towards Te Anau just outside of Lumsden and then turned off towards Lowther at Mossburn. The end of the timed sections for both routes was at the Athol District Memorial Hall, a number of tourists stopped in the hall carpark to look at the machines. Both routes then continued on to Kingston Golf Club. The lunch stop at the Kingston Golf Club was a welcome break to stretch the limbs and a chance to catch up; the excellent bagged lunches went down a treat. The organisers decided to hold the field test at the golf club after lunch. The field test was a slow riding/balancing exercise, your scribe was disqualified because of an unfair advantage, a sidecar. The run down the Devils Staircase was a revelation, without doddering and suicidal tourists it was an absolute blast. Wrestling a large outfit along the lakeside twist and turns with the spectacular scenery, is hard work but guaranteed to put a smile on my face. After the difficulties of the last few years, securing the Arrowtown Bowls club for the evening event and prize giving was much appreciated. The icing on the cake was the mobile pizza van, it did a roaring trade, Bowls club members and some locals also bought pizzas. Overall winner was Lex Westoby 1979 on his Yamaha 1100. Ferg McDowell (1939 BSA B26) and Matt Furness (1986 Honda VFR750F) both won awards because their machines were the only ones in their class! The run back was a blast, the strong Northerly wind meant most competitors virtually flew home. Mac and Carol McGarry, and the team, deserve praise for organising and running a great rally.
Greg Eunson’s 1913 Royal Enfield V twin
Brad McLeod’s 1918 Triumph TT
Left: Overall Winner Lex Westoby Above: End of Timed Section
Results
Last month we had a request from Ross Stewart of Whangamata asking if we had any details of the colour codes, applied to roadside posts on main roads, pre-war, to identify the route. Wayne Nicoll found a copy of the 1937 Automobile Association handbook with all of the details. A quick chat with a few members revealed that most were unaware of these markers or their significance.
British Car Museum. The all British Car Museum which was situated at Te Awanga, Hawkes Bay ceased operation a few years ago after the death of it’s founder Ian Hope. Ian started collecting Morris Minors in c1970s/80s for family members. When he ran out of family members to buy for he continued to buy the little cars as they were too good to be just left there. Most of these cars were reasonably priced at the time and there were lots of them around which prompted Ian to set up the Morris Minor Museum on the site which later became the British Car Museum. At it’s height the museum housed over 450 cars and was world renowned. At that time it is thought to have been the largest collection of British cars in the world. Over a long period Ian collected a large number of British cars of all makes and ages. They included small veteran Austins to large late model Rolls Royce’s and everything in between. Some are in very rough condition while others are in very nice condition. After Ian’s death the family began selling the cars and recently sold the entire property with over a hundred cars still in the sheds. The new owner wishes to sell the remaining cars and invites anyone who is interested in purchasing any of these cars to contact him before the end of November to view the cars and “do a deal”. All the cars will need attention to some degree. Any cars still at the venue after November will be sold by Turners Car Auctions. All the cars were stored on axle stands and these are also for sale at $30.00 a pair. The current owners contact details are: Dave 027 437 6073
Spanning the Generations It was great to see grandfather and grandson competing in last months Post Vintage and Post War Rally. Owen Davies in his 47 Buick 8 Super & Grandson Aidan Weaver in his 59 Morris Minor were joint equal winners in the Post War Section both field & road. Awards presented by Howard Kingsford-Smith
Christmas Quiz (Answers in the January Rumour) Motoring General Knowledge: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
In what year was the Vintage Car Club originally founded What was the VCC originally called Which British manufacturer restarted building 3 wheelers in 2011 What year was the model T Ford first produced Which American car manufacturer mass produced the Rolls Royce Merlin aircraft engine during WW2 6. Rolls Royce built cars in the USA from 1921 to 1931, where were they built. 7. Which American Vehicle Company made the biggest contribution to the German war effort during WW2 8. What does MG stand for in MG Cars 9. Which famous English car manufacturer actually started out making Sidecars 10. First purpose built motor racing circuit in the world 11. First Formula 1 champion and winning car 12. The only man to have won the 500cc Motorcycle World title and Formula 1 championship 13. Who built Chitty Bang Bang 14. Who wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 15. What make does the UK “Octagon car club” support and why is called “Octagon” 16. What was the road- going version of the Rolls Royce Merlin aircraft engine called
Quite Interesting 1. Who invented the Gas turbine 2. Who invented the Electric Light 3. Who invented the Production line 4. Number of Commandments in the Bible 5. How many of each species of animal entered Noah’s Ark 6. Number of books in the Bible 7. What colour are Carrots 8. What is unusual about a Dormouse 9. What animal dies within 12mths if it can’t reproduce 10.What US state has the British Union Jack in its state flag
Sudoku