Canterbury Branch Activities and Events
April
Thurs 2nd
Tues7th
Noggin and Natter
Grounds Maintenance
Sat 11th P Group Rally p20
Wed 8th 9-90s/ M/C Noggin
Sat 18th
Sun 19th
Tues21st
Wed 22nd
Scooter & Small M/C Rally
OCBC
Grounds Maintenance
North Canterbury Noggin
Sat 25th Malvern ANZAC Day p17
May
Sun 3rd
Tues5th
Thurs 7th
Sat 9th
Autumn Run
Grounds Maintenance
Noggin and Natter
Rural Run
Wed 13th 9-90s/ M/C Noggin
Sun 17th
Sun 17th
Tues19th
Wed 20th
Wed 27th
Ross Butler Grasskhana
OCBC
Grounds Maintenance
Commercial Noggin
North Canterbury Noggin
Sat/Sun 30/31st Irishmans p18
For the latest status of our events check our website. Online readers click here.
Canterbury Branch Monthly Programme
Noggin Night
1st Thursday of the month
9-90s
1st Wednesday after noggin
Motorcycle Noggin
2nd Wednesday of the month
Commercial Noggin
3rd Wednesday of the month
North Canterbury Noggin
4th Wednesday of the month
Old cars, bikes and coffee
3rd Sunday of the month
Grounds Maintenance Morning
1st Tuesday and third Tuesday of the month
Parts Department Wednesdays 12.30-5pm, noggin night and every 3rd and 4th Sunday 9-12pm
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: The contents of this newsletter may not be reproduced in a commercial publication without the Editor’s permission.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Well another month has gone by, with the days getting a little bit shorter and summer seemingly coming to an end, although it never really seemed to have properly arrived.
There was once again a good turnout for the Brooklands to Brighton run, with a great range of centenarian vehicles on show, and a reasonably pleasant morning for a (once again) amended route to avoid the seemingly never ending road works. After a wander around the cars, a stop for lunch and a look at what's happening around the area it was time to head home in the roofless car before the rain properly set in.
The branch once again hosted the national executive meeting, the last one to be held with the new club committee structure coming into being at the AGM later in the year, report elsewhere in this month's Hub. Thanks to everyone involved in the arrangements and helping out over the weekend, as always it takes a team of people to make these things happen, so thanks for giving up some of your time to contribute.
From an events point of view the main focus for the month was the Vero rally in Nelson, with a large contingent of branch members heading north, no doubt there will be many good memories and stories to be told from the week's activities.
Otherwise it's business as usual, and still plenty coming up to keep you amused, so looking forward to seeing you out and about.
Neil Shaskey Branch Chairman
Anything secretary items please contact Neil, Robyn or Katryna to discuss further.
BARN HIRE & CAMPING
The Barn is available for hire to all members for birthdays, anniversaries, meetings, and other functions. Contact Kevin Clarkson 02102706525
CLUB CAPTAINS
Over the past month some of us have had the buzz of the Vero Rally. Over 90 Canterbury Branch cars headed up to Nelson to join another 470 participants to join in the Vero Festival of Motoring Rally 2026. This rally celebrated the 80th year of the The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Inc. The turnout was both amazing from the branches but also the public who came out in their droves to both the Wednesday evening event in town and the showgrounds on the Saturday.
There were plenty of jokes, laughter, pranks, dancing and of course tire changing, fan belts breaking, small bingles and near miss crashes. Canterbury Branch took the overall prize for the most entrants per capita
winning the Sun Alliance Trophy. Once this has been engraved I will bring it to a Noggin and share it with you.
If you were one of the attendees of the above rally, please remember to go online (there is a link in one of your emails) and fill
out how much fuel you used on the rally. As they said we can plant some trees to set off our emissions deficit, look better in the public's eyes and the main thing - to make it easier in the future to get sponsorship because we are doing our bit for the environment whilst enjoying driving our history!
Earlier in the month we had the National Executive Meeting in our club rooms. This was well supported and thank you to all of the volunteers who made it such a success once again.
Just a reminder to get your entries in this month we have the:
P Group Rally 12th April
Jim Toohey 10/11/12 April
Anzac Day Rally 25th April
All entry forms are either in The Hub or on the Website on the events page.
This month's Just for Interest....
I was asked what costs go into setting a fee for a rally? So I thought I would share a quick breakdown. Printing (sometimes this is donated by the organiser), this can also include the Gymkhana Cards and Rally Numbers
Petrol cost to set up a run (sometimes this is donated by the organiser) but not always Gift Bags
Facilities - ie a hall if weather is inclement or council domains. Homesteads etc.
Hiring toilets
Some rallies have morning tea
Cost of engraving the trophies - the Annual Rally has 27 alone
The certificates are kindly printed by a volunteer
All or some of these things go into making up a day for us to get out and have fun. We keep the cost to a minimum and there's never a problem because the club does subsidise if necessary. But the aim is to break even.
Easter is just around the corner, be safe and devour eggs and hot cross buns.... not hot cross rocks as they are known in our house! Katryna and Henry.
NOTICE
As of todays hub anything received in PDF format will no longer be added in. I have asked time and time again for items to be sent in a word document or in an email. Anything that is in PDF I have to rewrite taken extra time and working a fulltime job on the road I don’t have time to do this.
Annoyed Hub Editor
VETERAN REPORT
The first event away last month was the annual Brooklands to Brighton Run on Sunday 1st March, held before our March Noggin but too late to report on in the last Hub. It seems so long ago already! The biggest challenge for me was to re-draft the route instructions as late as possible before the run, as there were significant and ever-changing road works and closures happening in New Brighton along 3 parts of the route we have used in the past. A final check was made 3 days beforehand and the necessary changes made. It did mean however that a significant length of Marine Parade had to be removed from the route, meaning it was no longer possible to complete the whole run from Brooklands to the finish without stopping once. Not that it really mattered anyway!
On the day, the biggest concern was the weather forecast. Fortunately this didn’t put off many of the 42 registered entrants, with 39 of them turning up on the day, plus a few later ones that appeared at the start in Brooklands and/or at the finish in New Brighton. All up there were 39 cars and 6 motorcycles over 100 years old taking part in some way. As it turned out, the weather forecast was spot-on. A calm and very warm morning making for really pleasant motoring, and then rain setting in about 1.30pm forcing a slightly earlier departure from the New Brighton Club than was originally planned. There were a good number of cars and a couple of motorcycles new to the event this year, a few of which had finally reached their 100 year age milestone (great to see them there) as well as a couple of veterans that haven’t managed to get there in the past. With development work now progressing well in New Brighton, as well as a sports event happening on the beach, there were a large number of public out and about wanting to have a look at the cars and bikes at the finish.
A few days after the B2B, I headed off to Melbourne with 3 good friends to make our annual visit to F1. Having finally managed to get grandstand seats, we did enjoy it this year, although person-
ally I didn’t enjoy the huge crowds that now show up for the event and the need to queue for absolutely everything at Albert Park. The good thing is that the city of Melbourne sure knows how to move bulk people around efficiently, even if we were packed in like sardines.
I got home from Melbourne with a couple of days to spare to pack up and head off to Nelson for the Vero Festival of Historic Motoring. In the few weeks before Melbourne I had been busy at home working on a 1919 Wolseley 16/20 which we have owned for a couple of years, and then on 27th February I finally took it into town for its first WoF since 2007. The registration had been kept on hold, so by that afternoon it was also registered and we were ready to go. The first run for us was then the Brooklands to Brighton two days later. It was a good easy shake-down run for it, and all seemed well enough for me to be confident that we could take it to Nelson two weeks later and get through the whole Vero rally.
We had a great time in Nelson, the car went well all week, and the weather was perfect. We stayed at the Richmond Holiday Park, which was near the start point of the runs on four of the five days. There were several veteran owners staying there or nearby, so by choice we all started each day at a nearby coffee shop at 10am and then set off on the runs from there, with most of us doing the short routes which generally involved about 60km of motoring each day. There were a few slightly challenging grades to tackle, but there were no breakdowns in the group we were travelling with and we enjoyed some really good open-air motoring together. The two best days by far were the run up to the Redwood Golf Course about 5km south of Wakefield using all the back roads
parallel to SH6, and the run to Mapua where the finish point in the business centre was a perfect location to have lunch and enjoy an ice cream and the views across the harbour and Nelson Bays. Overall each day had its own little challenges, but each rally route and daily itinerary was particularly well organised and ensured everyone got a chance to enjoy some of Nelson’s highlights. Of course the big concern for everyone was the rapidly increasing price of fuel, and for those travelling to and from the North Island, the reliability of the Cook Straight ferries. No doubt there will be a full report of the whole rally in Beaded Wheels, and there are literally hundreds of photographs on the VCC website and Facebook pages.
A couple of people have asked me about the Rear Wheel Brake Rally, which was originally scheduled on the Branch calendar for Sunday 22nd March. Due to the Vero Rally the event was put on hold and may be rescheduled later in the year. At this stage a tour around historical sites in the Leeston/Southbridge area is being contemplated, but we will give ample warning and further details about this when we can find a replacement date.
Coming Veteran Events
Tuesday 14th April - Veteran Coffee at Thirsty Acres, Kirwee, 11am. Come and tell everyone what you got up to at the Vero Rally or elsewhere. Feel free to come on the cheapest form of transport you have if it doesn’t happen to be your Veteran machine.
April Mid-week Random Run – destination will be discussed at the Veteran Coffee morning, but distance will be kept in mind wherever we decide to go. Keep an eye on the Veteran Facebook Page after Tuesday 14th April for final details.
Malvern Anzac Day Run – Saturday 25th April.
Our annual run to celebrate and remember Anzac Day. See the full event notice after this page. The run will once again start in Darfield from the Darfield Recreation Centre, North Terrace. Meet from 10am, run departs after a short commemorative service at 11.00am, then visits several Malvern War Memorials before finishing in Glentunnel. There are different route options from 25km to 50km – all are easy running, and you are free to choose which length you prefer.
Sunday 3rd May – Autumn Run, and Saturday 9th May – Rural Run. Details will be elsewhere in the Hub.
Tuesday 12th May – Veteran Coffee at Thirsty Acres, Kirwee, 11am.
May Mid-week Random Run - details TBA.
The time has come to begin planning for the October 2026 Canterbury Branch Swap Meet, and our first (unofficial) committee meeting will be held on Thursday 9th April. The first items on the agenda will be a review of the debrief notes from last year’s Swap Meet, promotions for 2026, and then the election of the Swap Meet committee for 2026. Nominations are open for any financial member of the branch, and all positions are available. Nomination forms can be picked up at the April and May Noggins, or you can request one from the Contact Us page on the club website, or from the Branch Secretary, email secretary@vcccanterbury.org.nz Nominations will close on Monday 11th May 2026. Colin Hey
Numbers were down for the March OCBC because many of our regulars were away at the Vero FHM Rally, however we will be back in force for April’s OCBC on Sunday 19th April. Remember that you can bring any vehicle out that is special to you, regardless of how old it is. It's all about enjoying the short (for most) drive out there and back, and catching up with like-minded enthusiasts, whether VCC members or not, over a good takeaway coffee. Please feel free to invite any fellow motoring friends or family out, it is a great way to keep in touch, especially in these difficult times of fuel prices and uncertainties.
Colin Hey
9-90s
My humble apologies for not getting a report in for last months outing. I had written it but was waiting for more info on what had happened in Little River just a few days after we had been there when some bad news came about two friends in short succession that distracted me and I didn’t get around to sending it.
The March outing organised by Michael was a huge success. He sent us on a nice tiki tour around the area west of town and out to Rolleston through the new Industrial estate. It has grown so much and a lot of us would not have realised how big it is, then into the country side out the back of Burnham to loop back through the Izone and under the main highway to end up at his beautiful home for a nosey around his large sheds, viewing his collection of International harvester trucks and old tractors along with a beautifully restored London cab. Then lunch in a lovely spot in his front garden where he presented a totally unexpected quiz on our travels that morning with nice little prizes, A great idea! Many Thanks from us all Michael for the enjoyable and interesting day out.
Next month. April the 8th We will start out from the Peg hotel in Belfast at 9.55 for a run organised by Graeme and Marlene Scott. They have taken the responsible step of seting out a shorter run than originally planed due to the current fuel costs. This will still give us a short run in our much loved (when they are going well) cars and a chance for our usual get together, natter, picnic and raffel in a sheltered spot.
We still do not have anyone to organise runs for May or June so please step up and contribute.
Does anyone recognise this flask? If so please give me a call on 021 2225086
Cheers. Ken.
Vintage Report
March has been a packed month of hosting and rallies.
The Brooklands to Brighton rally for 100 year old and over vehicles was held on Sunday 1st March. Despite the threat and eventual cloud bursts after lunch it was well attended with an excellent variety of cars and motor bikes. It was fun to see residents waving us along as we drove by. There was also a good turnout of the public viewing the display at the Brighton Club.
The Canterbury Branch hosted the Vintage Car Club national executive and nationwide branch delegates meeting across the weekend of Friday 6th thru Sunday 8th March, which was held at Cutler Park. I volunteered my time and was assisting the hosting organisers. This gave me the opportunity to sit in on the meetings which generally I found to be very interesting and with some topics catching my absolute attention. I was enthused by the national collective and the energy that was generated.
Hot on the heals, being the weekend following, was the weeklong Festival of Historic Motoring in Nelson. Registration was in the afternoon of Sunday 15th. As we had chosen to drive the 24 Cadillac to Nelson from Christchurch, we elected to depart Christchurch on Friday 13th (yes that appears ominous) driving via the Lewis Pass and staying the first night at Murchison. The following day we drove the Hope Pass through to Nelson. We broke the journey to provide any time needed for possible repairs. As it happened there were no repairs required or maintenance needed aside from fuel consumption and oil and water top ups to attend to. We drove into light rain at Lewis Pass through to Murchison on the first day, otherwise we had the perfect driving weather. We thoroughly enjoyed the weeklong festival and had the most perfect time. The organisers of the festival did a fantastic ‘top
notch’ job. My sincere thanks to you all! Nelson appeared to really enjoy having an additional 500 plus older cars about the region with lots of waving (especially from the children) and tooting from passing vehicles. Nelson also put on the most perfect weather. There was the smallest dust suppression dispensed from the heavens on the Saturday morning being the public show day at the Richmond show grounds. It was warm enough that I even managed a few swims in the sea! Aside from the memories of the festival, is the connections made with like mined people. The banter and comradery.
Our return journey was also via the Lewis Pass and broken with a night at Hanmer Springs. The 24 Cadillac performed perfectly. We had a few maintenance items to attend to in the evenings at the motel but these I should have completed before the trip, alas I ran out of time.
See you motoring out and about.
Jeremy Wise
Executive Meeting
The 2026 (and last) meeting of the National Executive was hosted once again by Canterbury Branch at Cutler Park, with the meeting beginning with a welcome from national president George Kear to delegates, life members and past presidents present at the meeting, and an acknowledgement of the work by Rod Thrower with national office on the arrangements for this and previous year’s meetings.
A number of amendments to the previously circulated minutes of the August Executive received by national office were read out and discussed, with all but one being accepted by the meeting and those requesting the amendment. Inwards correspondence was noted, with further discussion deferred to the agenda items relating to the correspondence received.
The third draft of the Club by-laws as circulated for feedback were discussed, along with some final amendments including adjustment of voting timelines to align for notices of motion and election of officers, and administrative changes for national support office procedures. There was clarification from the chair regarding the yearly national delegates conference or regional representativedelegate meetings, with there being a choice between the two options due to the cost of funding both, and that the preference expressed by the previous meeting was for the annual delegates conference. Feedback from several branches for weighted voting when requested by a member of the National Committee was discussed, with a motion proposed for amendment to the by-laws to require weighted voting if requested by three regional representatives, with the option to seek leave to consult with branch delegates before voting. After some further discussion by the meeting this was amended to a request by four regional representatives. With the amendments agreed, the final draft of the Club by-laws was voted and passed by the meeting. A presentation was made to the meeting on the project for digitisation of the Motor and Cycle Journal, which was originally dis-
cussed in 2003 and following collaboration between various groups is now largely completed, and expected to be live on the Papers Past website later this year. Work is still ongoing to locate missing issues to complete the archive.
George presented a summary of the process for future election of National Committee positions, along with a proposal to appoint the existing members of the Management Committee into the new positions for terms varying from one to three years to achieve staggering of the end of the new three year terms, with four of the committee positions becoming vacant each year. After some discussion by the meeting it was decided that as the current committee were elected under the old constitution for one year terms it would not be appropriate to appoint the current members to the new positions, and that all new elected positions would be vacant and open for nominations.
The meeting was provided with a draft position description for regional representatives, and overview of duties as regional representative and National Committee member to represent where appropriate the branches represented and all members of the club. This was discussed further with feedback on various provisions of the position description, with proposals for amendments for the next draft to be completed.
Cancer Society CEO Nicola Coom presented to the meeting, beginning with thanks for the total contribution made by the VCC from the daffodil day fundraising of over half a million dollars, followed by an overview of the support provided by the Cancer Society for people undergoing treatment, along with advocacy and research funding.
Kaaren Smylie provided an update on results of previous daffodil day events including fundraising and new member enquiries, followed by proposing a further three year agreement with the Cancer Society as beneficiary of the event and continuing partnership with Ford New Zealand as sponsor. Feedback from branches was acknowledged that representation from the Cancer Society varied across the different regions, and support from Ford was also somewhat inconsistent, with the expectation that with an agreement in place at a national level there was an expectation that communication and engagement with future events would be improved. Following further discussion and suggestions for improve-
ment from the meeting, the proposal to continue for a further three years was passed.
The proposed notices of motion from North Shore branch for amendments to the Club constitution were raised for discussion, leading to a motion from the floor to defer any amendments to the constitution for a period of three years to allow for the new national committee to be established and a future review of the constitution. This motion was opposed by a point of order, and consideration started on the first of the eight notices of motion proposed. Following a somewhat protracted discussion which failed to reach any conclusion it was moved from the chair that any proposed changes to the constitution be deferred and the points raised be included in a review of the constitution and by-laws, this was passed by the meeting.
Expenses for travel to national meetings was raised, with queries regarding cost of air travel vs reimbursement for other forms of travel, and confusion in interpretation of the guidance. Further explanation was provided, which was followed by discussion on rates for vehicle travel to meetings and that the current rate was below the IRD rate for private vehicle use. A motion was raised that the club pay the IRD rate for vehicle travel, which was voted on and failed, following which it was agreed to review the guidance for claiming expenses to improve clarity.
The joining fee recently reintroduced by North Shore branch was raised as an issue, after agreement previously by the Executive that branches would not charge joining fees with the problems this presents for processing online membership applications, and the risk of a claim of false advertising with the total cost of joining the branch being more than stated on the Club website. As a result North Shore branch has been temporarily removed from the Club website as an option to join, there was no decision on the subject from the meeting, so was agreed to discuss further with the branch to find a solution for the future.
Update on re-registration of incorporated societies, with three branches still to re-register before the deadline. Requirements for documentation of consent of officers were discussed, with the requirement for details of all officers to be entered, and completed forms to be retained. National office to send out information on requirements for compliance.
Details were provided of a minor amendment required to branch constitution winding up provisions due to IRD changes to taxation of incorporated societies, to include ‘sporting’ in the description of organisations who would be recipients of surplus funds.
Continuation of the meeting on Sunday began with a presentation by Marlborough Branch on their proposed rebranding as Heritage Motoring Marlborough, and a proposal for the Club to be similarly renamed Heritage Motoring New Zealand. Following this there was a revision of the presentation made on the previous proposal to change the Club logo while retaining the current name, and discussion around the ability of any branch to utilise a ‘trading’ name different to their legal name as is already the case with Auckland and North Shore branches. After considerable dis-
From the back of house museum tour
MOTORCYCLE REPORT
Sorry, Summer is now cancelled for the rest of this season… Oh, and did I mention the incessent RAIN??
Past Events.
1st March (SUNDAY!!!) – Fish & Chip Run. Started at PMH then headed off to towards Governor’s Bay then round to Evans Pass to finish at New Brighton. 17 riders (including some from the TOMCC who joined in) made the run, and from all reports was a good run, in excellent conditions, with a good show of 100year-old-plus bikes and cars at New Brighton.
7th March – Moped & Clip-on Run. Met at Prebbleton Domain, Tosswill Road, Prebbleton 10.00 am for a 10.30 am first away. Run went in general direction of Green Park area, and probably a stop at the Taitapu Pub on the return to the start place. Thanks to Quentin Wearing for organising.
7th March 2026, Invitation Run to VCC Ashburton’s Museum. The TOMCC invited the Canterbury Riders (and the BSA Club) on a day run, meeting at Bush Inn Centre, with lunch at Methven’s Blue Pub then back to town via the scenic route down the centre.
11th March – Motorcycle Noggin. A garage raid on an excellent couple of sheds full of steam cars, trucks, boats and several traction engines. Some serious stuff there; about 20 or so members enjoyed this “different” shed. Many thanks to the organisers, and also to our Host.
15th – 22nd March – Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring, Nelson. Will comment next month…
18th March – Old Codger’s Run. Met at the Dot Com Cafe, 48 Marriner Street, Sumner, 10.30 am, then round to Church Bay to visit the Two Thumbs Brewery for an inspection and bite of lunch. Will pass comment next Hub…
Future Events.
28th March – Fish & Chip Run. The planned meeting with the Classic Trials Club is being rescheduled, to be replaced by a run to the Hurunui Hotel for lunch. Meet at The Peg Hotel carpark,
10.00 am Saturday 28th March 2026, for a 10.15 am departure. Actual route to be decided on the day…
8th April – M/C Noggin – a visit to a garage belonging to one of our number; he has a steam traction engine in hiding… More info will be advised by email prior to the event.
10 – 12th April 2026, Jim Toohey Run. Just a heads up, this run will be over the Lewis Pass to Muchison then onto Ross on the West Coast. Bookings have been made for accommodation; look out for the details etc. in the New Year. Entry forms will be elsewhere in the Hub, plus will be on line, so get those entries in now!! Entry forms in March Hub as well.
15th April – Old Codger’s Run. More info to be advised by email a week prior.
18th April – Small Motorcycle (<250 cc) Run. The start for this will be at the Paanui Working Mens Club, Sawyers Arms Road, meet at 10.00 am for a 10.30 am departure. There is a café just inside the main doors on the left; meet in there. A run has been organised by Mike Glenday and Pete Lambert to a lunch venue and return early afternoon.
19th April – Fish & Chip Run. Being brought forward by a week so that we can join in with the Classic Trials Club event which is out near Cust. The event a is on a farm between Rangiora and Cust. Travel west from Rangiora towards Cust on Oxford Road, cross the Cust River bridge and first gate on the right, about 100m past the river. The gate is opposite Boundary Road which will be on your left. We will meet at 9.00am in the rear car park of The Peg Hotel (Belfast). Leave at 9.30am.
25th April – Fish & Chip Run. Was talk of joining in with the ANZAC Day out Melvern way, but decided that we will support the Classic Trials Day, as per above.
13th May – Motorcycle Noggin. Noggin is at John Britten's new museum in the city. Meet at the museum at 7.30pm, entry fee will apply which will be payable by the individual. Paul Ainsworth is the organiser of this visit. Address is - corner of Cashel Street & Cambridge Terrace, opposite The Bridge of Remembrance.
17th May – Distinguished Gentlemen’s Run. Note, This is a SUNDAY. Distinguished Gentlemen's Run; a world wide ride to promote men's health. At present details do not seem to appear on the internet, nearer the time they will advertise meeting place and time. Dress in your best attire.
20th May – Old Codger’s Run. More info to be advised by email a week prior.
23rd May – Fish & Chip Run. Brought forward as the next Saturday is Kings Birthday Weekend. Meet PMH at 10.15 for 10.30 start. Weather dependent but maybe a ride to Glentunnel for coffee at the cafe at the golf club cafe.
That’s it for this month, Ride safe, CML.
Can anyone name this motor?
I was lucky to be invited to behind the sense of the museums storage warehouse while they rebuild. Correct answers to the hub email.
Commercial Report
Greetings all,
March has been a busy month and that crazy war in the middle east has caused some issues for VCC members. Not only do our vehicles require fuel, which is in short supply, but the cost has skyrocketed! Maybe those EV’s aren’t so bad after all?! But I’m still not convinced.
Canterbury had the Brooklands to Brighton run on March 1 was nice. Unfortunately, it rained in New Brighton, but we had lunch in the dry and put the hood up on the way home and did the drive between showers.
I was in Nelson for the Vero festival of historic motoring which was great fun. The weather was amazing, and it was nice to travel some different roads. The festival was well organised and apart from a few meal and traffic issues getting in and out of the venue all at the same time it seemed to go quite well. The Lagonda performed well which was great! We trailered it up to save time and wear on the vehicle. Plus, it was handy having a modern for going out in the evenings or a few side trips. We were watching the fuel prices increase daily so that was a topic of conversation among many. We did the shorter runs every day as they suited our car. There were about 30-40 cars on that run the first day. The next day about 120 turned up due to the long driving day before as well as saving $$ I suspect! It was nice seeing different cars join each day. There were lots of Canterbury members – in fact the highest number of entrants from any other branch. So, while it was nice to catch up with familiar faces, we also got to chat to other members also. The Lagonda’s first official rally was in February 1996 when I accompanied my dad, Ian to Nelson for the Pan Pacific rally I think it was in those days. We drove it up there over a couple of days which was interesting. Nice to have it back there 30 years later. There were a few commercials on the rally also. A lovely 1907 Darracq Royal Mail delivery was there from Southland – owned by the SVCC. The 1915 Renault Charabanc was there from Auckland which was a real charmer. There were also a few privately owned trucks on the run too.
One of the lunch stops was at Higgins Heritage Park which had a great collection of tractors and Jowett Bradford pickup’s and a 1924 International truck similar to our own club truck.
The ferries were causing some headaches for some of the entrants. Cancellations were a problem for the north island entrants getting to the rally in Nelson and if that wasn’t bad enough, they had issues getting back as well! Both Interisland line and Bluebridge are having their share of issues! The Nelson branch were very accommodating and offered assistance with storage,
rides to airports etc until people got themselves sorted. Commercial Rally winners below:L to R Graham Evans – Over all winner. Michael Quinn – Field tests. Arthur Bodger – timed section.
The March Commercial Noggin was held at the Richmond Working men’s club. I wasn’t there so can’t report on how it went. The April commercial noggin on Wednesday 15th. We are booked in at the LTSA CAPTIF Road research centre. Cnr of Logistics Drive and McLeans Island Road. Parking on Logistics Drive. Please arrive between 7pm and 715pm. This is where they test various road surfaces and tyre wear. Should be very interesting.
**This is a strictly No Alcohol facility**. If you want to bring a soft drink or juice that will be OK. Tea and Coffee will be provided after the tour. I won’t be there as I’m supposed to be going to Hamilton for my daughter’s university graduation. But who knows as flights are getting cancelled at will these days! Colin Hey is the contact for this Noggin this time.
Coming events: The PV/PWV/P80 group rally will be on April 12th assuming there is fuel to run our cars on – please get your entries in – commercials in the era can join in too!
I have a few Noggin options for other places coming up when it’s lighter in the evening, but Winter proves to be a struggle for options. If any club member has a venue or suggestion, please let me know.
See you out on the road, Michael
Hearld/Vitesse Project
Twin Carbs and manifolds to suit 13/60 motor
Wooden capping's to suit doors and read tub or some to us as patterns
Ally front bumper over covers esp curved end ones
Happy to travel anywhere south island
Contact: hairyman7623@gmail.com
Car Painter wanted need roof and boot area resprayed call Mike 0275446440
EARLY BUICK CON ROD wanted for engine rebuild. Just over 300mm between the centre of the little end and the centre of the big end. Big end diameter approximately 50mm (2”). I have found three in the spares shed, but I just need the last one.
Philip 022 025 9924
I have a 1925 Overland 6 cyclinder which needs a new gear box. (3 speed plus reverse) Can anyone help with this? Phone 0212223338 Trish.
Trish McLaughlin member 05/24949
Wanted 23inc tube (new) mike 0272593335
OTHER BRANCH and ORGANISATIONS EVENTS
See Notice board posters for more information.
Entries for our 2026 Art Deco event are now open www.cognitoforms.com/VintageCarClubHawkesBay/ HBVCCARTDECORALLY2026
2025-2026 Representatives
Motorcycle Convenor
Paul Ainsworth (Joss) ainsworth.electrical@xtra.co.n z 027 432 1391
Velosolex Group
Royce Baker (Janice) whisky17@xtra.co.nz 03 322 5529
Parts Dept. Rep.
Wayne Stocks waynestoxy@gmail.com 03 383 1380
9—90’s Co-ordinator
Ken James kenjj10187@gmail.com 03 980 0547
Grounds Maintenance
Peter Blacklock (Chrisy) c.p.blacklock@gmail.com 021 181 3491
Bar Manager
Andrea Dallow (Gilbert) regmad1957@gmail.com 027 224 1465
Barn Bookings/ Camping
Kevin Clarkson (Shona) kevinclarkson1@gmail.com 02102706525
Swap Meet/Beaded Wheels Reporter
Colin Hey (Jenny) heywolseley699@gmail.com
03 359 8737 021 883 807
Swap Meet Sites
Neil Shaskey (Louise) swapmeetsites@gmail.com 03 352 8802 027 289 6201
North Canty Noggin
Alan Hill (Barbara) abhill@usnet.co.nz 03 313 6008 021 161 5866
Trophy Custodian & Librarian
Leigh Craythorne (Tony) craythornes@actrix.co.nz
03 342 9110
027 772 8660
Assist-Librarian
Michele Little henry.little@hotmail.com
03 327 5471
027 425 1765
New Members’ Liaison
Jack Porter (Dorothy) jackhporter@xtra.co.nz
03 352 6672
027 432 2041
Branch Vehicle
Custodian
Mark Drury markdrury54@icloud.com
03 342 9297
Building Maintenance
Pete Merrifield petemselwyn@gmail.com 021 435 118
VIC Representative
Chris Leith 021 217 7140
Joseph McClintock 03 322 4676
Barry Jones 021 310 458
Chairman
2025-2026 Main Committee
Neil Shaskey (Louise) neilandlouise@snap.net.nz
03 352 8802
027 289 6201
Secretary
Catherine Tibbles canterbury@vcc.org.nz 021 225 87338
Treasurer
Robyn Cox (Eric) robyncox99@gmail.com 021 237 6777
Club Captain
Katryna Shaw (Bryce) katonwheels66@gmail.com 021 0277 2375
Asst Club Captain
Henry Little (Michelle) henry.little@hotmail.com
03 327 5471 027 288 8277
Vintage Convenor
Jeremy Wise jeremywiseuk@hotmail.com 021 0222 8317
Veteran Convenor
Colin Hey (Jenny) heywolseley699@gmail.com
03 359 8737
021 883 807
Commercial Convenor
Michael Hedgman (Claire) hedgesonholiday@gmail.com
03 745 9240
027 516 0029
‘P’ Group Convenor
John Enright (Debbie) jenright51@yahoo.co.nz
027 439 6572
027 355 8387
Hub Editor
And Web Master Brodie Williams brodie@vcccanterbury.org.nz
027 848 7775 (Text)
VERO CIS—telephone 0800658411
Canterbury Branch Agency Number 300130
This number needs to be quoted when taking out insurance for Canterbury Branch to benefit.
Open Hours Monday to Friday 8:00am—5:00pm
We now stock cloth tape for vintage vehicles. Several widths.
