Far North VCC April 2017 by Vintage Car Club of New Zealand

Far North Focus

April 2017

There was some pretty impressive machinery in Peter Mc Kenzieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collection 1

The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand

Far North Focus Who’s Who for 2016 / 17 Chairman

Warwick Woollams

w.woollams@gmail.com

09 407 7494

Vice Chairman

Murray Cormack

m.g.cormack@xtra.co.nz

09 409 3823

Secretary

Peter Slawson

netherfields@kinect.co.nz

09 407 3066

Treasurer

Robyn Mackay

wmackay@vodafone.co.nz

09 406 1955

Club Captain

Cecelia O’Dell

cbodell@clear.net.nz

09 401 6463

Editor

Peg Hills

comdo@clear.net.nz

09 406 1077

Communications Officer

Ruth Reid

r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz

09 4060 392

Welfare Officer

Margaret Wallace

johnandmarga@actrix.gen.nz

09 407 8251

New Member Liaison

Murray Cormack

m.g.cormack@xtra.co.nz

09 409 3823

Beaded Wheels Scribe

Dave Duirs

dave.duirs@xtra.co.nz

09 406 1288

Area Rep North

Ruth Reid

r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz

09 406 0392

Area Rep South

Warwick Woollams

w.woollams@gmail.com

Committee

Warwick Woollams, Murray Cormack, Dave Hills, Cecelia O’Dell, Robyn Mackay, Peter Slawson, Winston Matthews, Graeme Moore, Paul Sullivan, Vince Mason, Mike Pooley, Margaret Wallace

Club meetings on the second Tuesday of the month at the Aurere Clubrooms at 7.30pm.

CLUB CLEANING ROSTER 2016/2017 During the month, and preferably before the main calendar event, please give the clubrooms a thorough check over, as in: Clean the toilets and hand basins, check kitchen, window ledges etc, and sweep the floors. Window cleaning, washing walls etc will be done at working bees. Note any required maintenance and pass on to the Building Officer- Peter Mason, ph 406 1409. If your date doesn’t suit you, please swap with someone else. For any other enquiries please contact the Club Captain.

George Coulson July

Brian & Lorraine Walker

January

Colleen Brownlie

August

Peter & Zena Mason

February

Dorothy & Dave Duirs

September

Graeme Mc Mullen

March

Paul Sullivan

October

Everyone– working bee

April

George Coulson

November

Dave & Peg Hills

May

Roger Wakefield

December

Peter O’Dell

June

John McGee & Lorraine Goulton

Calendar of Events 8th April

Brian Parker

Terry & Sue

9th May

AGM

14th May

Mothers Day Run

Margaret Wallace

24th June

Malloy Trophy

Dave & Peg

? July

Annual Luncheon/Prize-giving

THE CATERING COMMITTEE Mike & Lynn Pooley

Winston Matthews

Dorothy & Dave Duirs

Colleen Brownlie

Margaret Cornwall

Raewyn Pennell

Dave & Peg Hills

AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION 180 PLUS LOTS OF AUTOMOBILA AND RELATED COLLECTIBLES AUCTION TO BE HELD AT THE HB VINTAGE CAR CLUBROOMS AT 67 SANDY ROAD MEEANEE NAPIER AT 10AM ON SUNDAY 7TH MAY 2017 IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 25TH HOT ROD AND CLASSIC CAR FESTIVAL BEING HELD BY THE MARINELAND STREET ROD AND KUSTOM KLUB LOTS OF PETROL TINS LOTS OF OIL TINS SEVERAL SIGNS MANY OLD STYLE JACKS HEAPS OF OLD COLLECTIBLE SPARK PLUGS BOXES OF OLD AND INTERESTING TOOLS LARGE OLD PEDESTAL TYPE SPARK PLUG CLEANER OLD REPCO SIGN LOTS OF OTHER GOODIES â&#x20AC;¦ SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE NET PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE WILL BE GOING TO THE FAMILY OF THE LATE DICK GOODALL WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE BRANCH FOR MANY YEARS. CATALOGUE AND SOME PHOTOS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD FROM THE HBVCC WEBSITE FROM EARLY APRIL. WWW.HBVCC.ORG.NZ VIEWING AND REGISTRATION FROM 8AM SUNDAY 7TH MAY. EARLY VIEWING AND REGISTRATION FOR HBVCC AND HOT ROD CLUB MEMBERS FROM ON SATURDAY 6TH MAY 2017.

3PM TO 5.30 PM

PAYMENT CAN BE BY CASH OR EFTPOS (CREDIT CARDS WILL INCUR A 2% FEE). IF YOU NEED TO DRAW OUT MORE CASH AN EFTPOS MACHINE WIL BE AVAILABLE AT THE HOT ROD CLUB. SORRY BUT NO CHEQUES WILL BE ACCEPTED.

ENJOY THE BRIAN PARKER IF YOU’RE TAKING PART (YOU PROBABLY STILL HAVE A COUPLE OF DAYS TO GET IN A LATE ENTRY) AND IF YOU ARE GOING ON RALLIES FURTHER AFIELD, TRAVEL SAFELY, HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME, AND BRING US BACK A STORY AND SOME PHOTOS PLEASE!

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TUESDAY 9TH MAY AT THE CLUBROOMS, AURERE 7.30PM NOMINATION FORMS ON PAGE

Mothers Day Run 14 May 9am– Meet at Taipa Bay Resort for morning tea 9.45am– Leave Taipa for our lookin 10.45am– Leave lookin for our run 1.00pm– Arrive Kerikeri for our lunch

Approximate cost for morning tea and lunch $40-$45. Final arrangements still being made– more details next month.

Bring donation for our lookin and possible spending money there! Clipboard, pen, scissors, any thing else you think might be useful.

Come and enjoy a relaxing day out! Numbers for catering needed by 7th May at the latest, preferably before. Phone Margaret after mid-April, 09 407 8251

Have you given some thought as to who you want to nominate for positions on the executive this year? Nomination forms on page 7. 4

The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand

From the Chair……. The Star event for March has to be the Overnight Tour to Dargaville. Penny and I were late starters to the tour as we had overseas guests staying with us and needed to get them onto a bus to Auckland on Saturday morning. Unfortunately we had to take the modern car and managed to catch up with the rest of the touring members at Parakao just in time to be too late for lunch. We enjoyed the drive through to Dargaville, where we were met by members of the local VCC club. The afternoon saw the men and ladies go in different directions. The ladies spent time at a country garden while the men got involved with heavy machinery. Dinner and accommodation at the Northern Wairoa Hotel was very convivial. Sunday morning at the Dargaville Museum was fabulous with our local guide, Ron Halliday doing a great job. It was then time to head North to stop for a great buffet lunch at Kaihu Tavern before travelling home via the Waipoua Forest and Opononi. All in all a great social weekend out, especially with the company of our Dargaville friends, some of whom drove further north to join us for lunch on Sunday. Thank you Peg and Dave for a well planned and enjoyable tour. Coming up now is the Brian Parker Rally, 8th April. Terry and Sue Rogers have been planning the rally route over the past few weeks to provide an enjoyable day out on typical Northland scenic roads. Please get your entries in now and support this, “Our Premier Far North Calendar Event” Our next big event, of course, is our Annual General Meeting on 9th May. This is the meeting which all members of our club should make an effort to attend. All of you make up the fabric of our club and all have something to offer to make it a cohesive and vibrant club. Please come forward and join in on a committee position to bring in new ideas to keep the club moving along. Particularly we will be looking for a new Club Captain to take over the reigns from Cecelia, who has done such a great job in this position. She is keen to assist in preparing the way for the new Club Captain to take over. I have received a message from Norm Dewhurst encouraging our members to attend the Easter Rally in Auckland. They would like to have a few more entrants as they have put a lot of effort into presenting a full program of activities as outlined in the brochure that has been included in the 'Focus' over the last few months. Please give this some thought – The Easter Rallies are generally a great event and a chance to meet up with members and see cars from all over New Zealand. Get those cars out and drive! Warwick

Seen at the Peter McKenzie collection in Dargaville

CLUB CAPTAIN REPORTING IN…briefly As Easter approaches the last of the long summer days are nearing their end. With the changing season, we woke this morning to be greeted with thick fog clinging to the house as it slowly sprawls itself out across the mangroves and over the harbour. It’s deathly still and you can’t see a thing. I hear Pete’s boat motoring out into the harbour. As the sun’s heart beats stronger the fog slowly dissipates, revealing a lake-like vista before us with the gentle tidal waves from whence he’d disappeared. What a sight to behold.. Now that I’ve had time to indulge myself in matters of the heart let’s move on to business. Dave and Peg tell me that the run to Dargaville over the weekend was relaxing and enjoyable. I’m sorry we couldn’t join you for part of the weekend but I was pleasantly surprised that the heavy rain held off until Sunday. Mary will fill you in on this event. I’m also told that the numbers for the Brian Parker run on the 8 April are very low. Although I’m mindful that some members are away on other runs during that period and some of you have other commitments, for those who don’t or have simply forgotten to check your emails or social calendar, I’m sure Peter Slawson will allow last minute entries. Next month Margaret has planned an early start for Mother’s Day starting at 9am at Taipa and ending in Kerikeri for lunch. I think I’m the only ‘non-mother’ in the club so I guess it’s just another day for me. Ma te wa Cecelia

The group photo is in the museum (missing Rolf who took the photo). On the left is Ron Halliday, who knows the whole story of the place and was a wonderful tour guide. The two Bevs certainly added something to the rose bed, and we were all relieved when Ian got back up to the road without mishap. The green machine, which is not done justice by such a small picture, is the gum washing plant. It ‘s beautifully restored and is one of the most impressive exhibits in the museum. The spades along the length of the fence come from local families. Mary’s story of our trip is on page 8.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NOMINATION FORM Main positions to be filled Chairman

Treasurer

Deputy Chairman

Club Captain

Secretary

Newsletter Editor

Committee Other positions , see “Club Officers’ on page 2. Nominations are called for ALL positions. It is preferred that all completed forms are in the hands of the secretary by Friday 5th May, but they, and nominations from the floor, will be accepted at the meeting on Tuesday 9th May 2017.

I hereby nominate……………………………………………….. For the position of……………………………………………….. Signature of proposer…………………………………………… Signature of seconder…………………………………………… I accept nomination for the above position…………………………………………………….

All positions will be voted for at the AGM on the 9th May. Please return your nomination forms to:

The Secretary, Far North VCC Peter Slawson Netherfields 64 Mangakaretu Rd RD2 Kerikeri 0295

Dargaville Sleep Over The Dargaville overnighter started at Mangakahia Road, Kaikohe where we all gathered to get the instructions from 'Camp Mother' Peg and her able assistant Dave. The weather looked promising despite an uninspiring weather forecast. We travelled in a convoy along Mangakahia Road for several kms and finally reached Twin Bridges, then on to lunch at the Old Parakao Store and Cafe. We were pre warned that there could be a wait as there was only one cook on the job!!This was really no matter as the venue was very interesting The cafe was added to the very old country store and there were plenty of old cars and paraphernalia around the yard and in the cafe itself. We were presented with a general knowledge quiz on Rivers.!! A whisper went out that it wasn't a serious competition. It was very kind of Peter to leave his completed answer sheet out on the table where three young ladies were able to copy it for him. Thanks to Peter we now are very knowledgeable about the rivers!! The host for the great country lunch gave us a very interesting talk about the Cafe and the area we were in. After lunch we turned left and carried along on an unsealed road. We came upon the "Rail Bridge." We were all fascinated with this amazing structure. The bridge was built with the idea that the Northland Railway would come through this area of Northland. We do not know a great deal about the time the bridge was constructed but the idea of having the rail go through that area was canned and the road was constructed along with the bridge. It crosses a very deep valley and is most impressive. Our next move was off to Dargaville, once again in convoy and we were met at Selwyn Park by some of the Dargaville Club. We were given two options: Either an engieering experience or a visit to a garden. It was a no brainer! The men (including my man) went off with the Dargaville men to visit the home of Peter McKenzie. This gentleman had all things mechanical. The highlight of the look in seemed to be a 15 ton motor originally built to construct the huge tunnels at the Power stations. Peter turned on the motor which made enough noise to wake the neighbourhood I believe. Peter also showed his restored truck that had a coffin on the back which he explained was to be his coffin which he built to be carried in to his funeral. He also appeared to have cornered the market for horse shoes which he made in to a huge variety of garden ornaments. An interesting "look in" for the boys! They were also presented with a beautiful afternoon tea from Claudia and her team. Mean time the girls were taken off to see a garden with some of the local girls providing the transport. We were introduced to Jennifer who was a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic gardener. She is an expert in Heritage roses and she had a variety of those to show us. The raised gardens of vegetables were an inspiration. The manuring of the plants was credited to the cows in the paddock. True to form the Dargaville ladies came to the fore with a magnificent afternoon tea. We all gathered together Saturday evening for our dinner with our Dargaville friends at the Northern Wairoa Hotel and off to bed after a great day. I am still trying to figure out the Irish jokes the Dargaville Club Captain read out to us !! Sunday morning it was raining!! We all met at the Dargaville Museum. This is a top class Museum and we were very lucky to have the curator Ron Halliday give us a very informative tour of the museum. He had some fascinating tales to tell . Once again a convoy, but we were missing some of our crew who had left earlier to visit friends. We headed to our lunch venue and just got to the Kaihu Tavern before the rain. We were joined again by the Dargaville folk and enjoyed a very handsome buffet lunch together. The few of the convoy left went through the Waipoua Forest and said our hello to Tane Mahuta as we went by. We all said our goodbyes and made our own way back home through the promised very heavy rain. Peg, Dave, Claudia and all our lovely friends in Dargaville organised a wonderful full two days of fun and friendship. We thankyou for the excellent organisation of our rally. Mary

We need help with this

Peter smells a rat

Explanation acceptedâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; all is forgiven

April welfare bulletin, from Margaret Wallace: Nothing much to report this month, although I did have a lovely phone call from Therese Stephenson updating me on John's progress. He has now finished his first lot of treatment, and has apparently "never felt better" according to Therese! We wish him all the best with his further treatment, and hope that he continues to improve. I will be away for the first half of April, so could you email me at johnandmarga@actrix.gen.nz should anything need to be brought to my attention. I will also have my mobile with me on 027 298 7322. Many thanks Margaret .

Because the Northern Wairoa dominates the landscape in Dargaville we thought we’d try a

River Quiz A triangular alluvial flat at a river mouth is called a ……………………………. A smaller stream flowing into a river is called a …………………………………. A lake formed when a bend in a river is cut off because the river has found a straighter, shorter course is called an ………………………… Lake. The point where two rivers meet is called the …………………………………… Which rivers do these major cities lie on: Paris………………, London……………… Rotterdam…………………., Shanghai…………………, Dusseldorf…………………, Amsterdam………………… Rome………………… It is sometimes difficult to establish the exact length of a river. Which two rivers are generally accepted to be the longest in the world?..................................., …………………………….. Which countries does the Ganges river flow through? Which is the longest river in New Zealand? Where is its source? ……………………………

Where is its mouth?.................................

How many power stations are along its length?........... Three major rivers, the Tukituki, the Tutaekuri and the Ngaruroro empty into which bay?...................................... What do we call rivers such as the Waimakariri and the Rakaia which have many, changing channels?......................... Which is the longest river in the South Island?........................................... Salmon fishing is possible on the east and west coast of the South Island– true or false?................................... The longest river bridge in New Zealand is over the ……………………………… What is the Maori word for river? The carrying of boats overland between two waterways is called a ……………………… The song Old Man River, made famous by Paul Robeson, was written about the …………………………… river. The Northern Wairoa is affectionately known as the —————— ———— river.

This is the one Mary and Bev needed help with. Answers next page.

Your branch magazine on the web Many branch magazines are now available for reading on the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand’s website. The magazines are published as soon as they are received each month and can be accessed by going to http://vcc.org.nz/ and clicking on News from our Branches down the left side of the homepage. To go to your chosen magazine either click on the magazine cover or the underlined date of the publication. This will take you to the magazine and by clicking on the small square next to the + sign you can enjoy a full screen reading experience. In time we hope to be able to publish all branch magazines each month. Enjoy your reading. Ross Holden Communications & Marketing Officer Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.)

Phone 021 2638488 Standing room only WANTED TO BUY Potential member Geoff Roud (lives in Kerikeri) is interested in buying a Series E Morris 8 or similar Austin car so he can join the club. If you have a vehicle you are contemplating selling or know of the whereabouts of any please give him a call. Geoff can be contacted on nonageoff@gmail.com or on 407 1697.

**************** Also wanted to buy: 1935-41 Ford chassis– any condition considered Phone Lance, 09 946 7222 Far North Member

On a Plumber's truck : "We

repair what your husband fixed.”;

On another Plumber's truck: "Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber.”;

Quiz answers: delta; tributary; ox-bow lake; confluence; Seine, Thames, Rhine, Yangtze, Rhine, Amstel, Tiber; Amazon and Nile; India and Bangladesh; Waikato; Ruapehu; Port Waikato; eight; Hawkes Bay; braided rivers; Clutha; true; Rakaia; awa; portage; Mississippi; upside down.

CLUB SHIRTS AVAILABLE Contact Ruth– see her at a meeting, call her on 09 4060392, or email her at r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz There will be samples at the Clubrooms to try on for size.

G T MULLER State Highway 10, Coopers Beach

WOF CENTRE

VEHICLE IMPORTS

PHONE 09 406 0406

Cars that never made it to production They were pure fantasy on wheels, machines designed to make the heart race and the mind ask, “What if?” These 1950s concept cars were automotive art built to attract public attention, test wild engineering ideas and give motorists a fleeting glimpse down the highway of tomorrow.

1951 Buick le Sabre, designed by Harley J Earl’s studio showing aircraft influence in styling and engineering with aluminium and cast magnesium construction, fuel injection, built in hydraulic jacks and a rain-activated folding top, among other features. Believed to have cost between $500,000 and $1,000,000– equivalent to 10 times that today. Check out more on Wikipedia.