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Chairman’s Report - February 2021
by David Tomlinson
February’s club night, our first for 2021, had Jim Maud’s 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500SL roadster on display. After a good talk on the car we went through the various branch and other events over the next few months hoping 2021 would be less disrupted than the year just past.
The Ellerslie Concour d’Elegance did take place as planned, with a fairly good turnout, including a large number of Japanese cars not seen in years gone by. While this did manage to go ahead, Auckland entered lockdown by the end of the day, so people like me had to scarper fast. I took my 1993 Bentley Turbo R, and the Judd’s displayed their 1967 Jaguar E Type. As this was the event’s 50th anniversary, many clubs displaying concentrated on models celebrating anniversaries this year. Jaguar had the E Type, celebrating 60 years, and Mercedes-Benz focussed on the R107 series roadsters (like our December car in the room) celebrating 50 years. There were a few surprises, including a Bugatti Veyron on display (there were many Bugattis there), and other notable vehicles were a new Aston Martin DBX SUV, a Jensen 541, several Volvo P1800s and many of the past winners of the Master Class event. This year the winning car was a left hand drive Mercedes-Benz “pagoda” roadster. Other cars in the Master Class included a Jaguar XK-120 and a Holden HQ Premier. The new 50/50/50 event aimed at younger people only attracted 14 entries.
Our BBQ Run was held the following week, and attendance was down a little as many club members were involved in other activities (including the truncated and ultimately cancelled Art Deco weekend), and others travelling our own country far and
wide. Those that did take part went on an epic drive up to the coast near Te Puke then along many sealed forestry roads before returning to the club rooms for a BBQ dinner. Thank you Kevin and Terry, and all others who put this on. It was a long day, but well worth it.
I was looking forward to Brit-Euro too, but this was postponed due to Auckland’s lockdown, and is now planned to go ahead on April 11. I still plan to attend with two vehicles, and I believe the Judds are also going. This really is a great show, with over 1200 cars on display (only British and European marques).
In March we will have the Harper’s newly complied Studebaker Golden Hawk as the car in the room (gearbox willing!) and it will be a very interesting talk I am sure, as it already has a very impressive history in New Zealand, despite being in the country less than 12 months. Don’t miss March club night.
Our March club run is set back a week, as Fleur and I will also be travelling around the South Island in the middle of March. The run will start and finish at my workshop in Ngongotaha, to avoid clashing with an athletics event at the clubrooms car park on the day. Be there by 10.30am for a very short run, a mix of rural and urban, all sealed roads, with the plan to all be back by midday for a “free lunch” at my workshop. It is a very short run, followed by free food, you have no excuse not to take part! See you all there!!!
Between club night and the Chairman’s Run the delayed “Not The Spring Tour” will be travelling the southern length of the North Island, so there will also be the opportunity to talk to the returnees about their experiences on the run at the Chairman’s Run luncheon.
In April we will have club night, the Night Run and midweekers, and then in May our club night will also be our AGM. May’s
club run is already planned, so there is a lot to look forward to, crossing our fingers that we don’t get caught in the claws of Covid-19 again. Hopefully this will be our last year of disruptions, and they will be very few and very far between.
Regarding the AGM in May, this is a chance to have your say, and also for considering being a part of running of the club. Although we finally have a Club Captain after years without one, there is still room for more helpers at the committee table, and new ideas can freshen things up. If you leave it all the same group to do things all the time, you will get dished up the same stuff! Think about playing a more active role in the branch.
The Swap Meet is getting closer too, it will be our July club activity, and I have gazetted the July club night to be a week earlier than usual so we can finalise anything that needs sorting out only a few days before hand. I am sure we will have the volunteer board up no later than our May AGM night.
Lastly, I survived a very frosty week at home after inadvertently purchasing another Rolls-Royce in early March, so those attending the Chairman’s Run will count at least one more in the workshop than last year. I also helped a person in Whangarei buy Bob Mowbray’s former Rolls-Royce, so my excuse was I was just correcting the equalibrium of one car leaving the area.
Jensen 541 at the Ellerslie Concours
