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Monthly Newsletter of the Wairarapa Branch of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand July 2021
Midwinter Greetings from the Chair As I write this we are hunkering down to our first snowfall for a few years. I have a feeling that this year it will not be the last, so keep warm and dry everyone. As we pass the mid point of the year, we are celebrating the fact that in a few weeks we should be basking in sun again. This Sunday 4th July, we will share our postponed “Upside down Christmas” at the Clubrooms (or perhaps, for post-colonials, Independence Day in the U.S. of A). Hopefully the weather will be kind to us. As it was on the Winter Wander – what a glorious day that was! A really lovely day and many thanks to Simon and Hugh for organising it. The day after was our AGM – a good turn-out, thank-you to all who came. I am afraid that you will have to put up with me for another year, but hopefully next year I can become the Immediate Past Chairperson. We were very pleased to welcome Brian Billing to the role of Club Captain to replace Hugh who is remaining on committee. We also welcome Dave Patten and "bikie" Kevin Sullivan, who, I am sure, will bring a bit of balance to the
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committee. I also want to acknowledge and thank the two departing committee members, Willie James and Simon O'Hara, who between them have contributed years of service to the club and committee work, and no doubt will continue to support when they can. It looks as though we have a busy year ahead, with lots of activities planned – don’t forget the gentle mid-week run on July 7thas well as July Clubnight on 6th. Looking forward to seeing you, Happy motoring, - Tina Goodin
From the Club Captain I have been a largely non contributing member of this branch: I'm only here to get what I can out of the club to further my own interests'...Sound familiar? So, guiltily, I thought it only proper to attend the AGM. Immediately upon entering the clubrooms I was shanghaied into standing for the position of club captain. The vote was unanimous, and I know why....no-one else wants the job... I understand only too well that in any club, only 2% of the members play active roles in running the affairs of said club, the other 98% of the members have differing degrees of participation, and they all have their own personal reasons/excuses. Everyone has their own expectations/wishes as to what they want the club to provide. Unlike in many other districts, this particular branch prides itself in running at minimum, one rally per month. Also, has a very strong motorcycle following, accordingly runs at least two motorcycle rallies per annum. There 'seems' to be a general consensus that this is what you, the members. desire. If you have ideas of anything you would like us to incorporate, please notify either myself as club cap't or any member of the committee. We, and I speak on behalf of the committee here, would relish hearing what you, the membership, would like to see evolve in the coming months. If you don't tell us what you want, how are we to know? All of us are trying to do the best we can, but, if we don't know what you want, how can we even attempt to accommodate such wishes? Sunday, 27th June, was originally scheduled to be our mid winter Christmas lunch...then Covid level two was thrust upon us, consequently, this has been transferred to the following Sunday, July 4th. Monday, 5th July is of course club night, 7.30 at the clubrooms. A most informative presentation from Wellington free Ambulance. Let's have a good turnout ....Val has also organised a mid week run, culminating at Eketahuna School, to take place on the 7th July. Meet at QE Park at 10.15 to participate in a leisurely run through to Eke. Details within this Zenith. Please give thought to attending this, it can only help to instill interest in vintage cars among the younger generation. Then, Sunday, 11th July, there is our annual 'gravel challenge', organised by last years winner, Francis Pointon'. Hugely popular, the concept is that the organiser has to incorporate as many miles of gravel road as possible within a 3
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hour journey. The winner is to organise the next years event.... This rally is Fun with a capital F, ideally suited to older vehicles with ground clearance. Entrants depart from Masterton Town Square at 10.00. No need to wash your vehicle beforehand...Then, Sunday, 25th, Kevin has organised a garage raid. Should be interesting. Details within this Zenith. A rather full schedule to get you out and about this winter. Enjoy!! - Brian Billing
Recent Events Club AGM On June 14th 37 hardy club members turned out on a cool winters evening for the 52nd Annual General Meeting. The usual annual reports were presented - it was very good to see the Club finances essentially breaking even despite the cancellation of the National Motorcycle Rally. Other matters covered included endorsement of an update of the Club Rules, election of the new committee and officers (listed at the end of this newsletter), and presentation of awards. The Torque Hudson Trophy for the most consistent member of the club based on their performance over the past year was awarded and presented to Simon O’Hara by Club Chairperson Tina Goodin.
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Long Service Awards 35 year long service badges were awarded and presented to Tony and Myrna Lane.
25 year long service badges were awarded and presented to Frank Lipinski (below left) and David Stewart.
35 year badge was awarded to Ruby Holmes 25 year badges were awarded to Lorraine Lipinski, Scott Thomson, and James and Lynn Laird. These will be presented at a future date.
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Winter Wander This year's Winter Wander attracted an entry of 27 cars. including a couple of Martinborough cars that joined partway through. The route, organised by Simon O'Hara, took entrants from the clubrooms to Escarpment Winery, where unfortunately no-one was home, however Club Captain Hugh Hunter filled the gap with a brief impromptu talk.Then it was on to Kahutara Hall for lunch, followed by a visit to the Taxidermy Museum nearby. The final destination was to the Fell Engine museum in Featherston where some members also enjoyed tea and scones. As is becoming the pattern, some Wellington branch members joined us for the run, a pleasing development that brings in interesting new cars and people, Wellington club captain Neale Ryder said that due to traffic congestion it is becoming difficult to organise runs in the capital so we'll be seeing more of them. Wairarapa is extremely lucky with its endless charming country roads. - Kevin Ball
The long shadows reflect both the early start and the morning chill, especially for those in open cars
Paul & Debbie Hodder in their 1957 Austin Healey
A real mixture, DKW, Daimler and 39 Chev coupe.
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Owner John Kennedy and Rob Jones discuss the
Bobbette Odell and her children pose while Dad,
tyres on the Rolls Royce
Bernard gets a photo. They all crammed into a 1957 DKW
Hugh Hunter speaks to the group at the deserted winery
Upcoming Rallies and Events Sunday July 4th Mid Winter Lunch: postponed from June 27th Wednesday July 7th Mid-week Run to Eketahuna, postponed from May Leave Queen Elizabeth Park at 10.15. Travel on run to arrive at venue about 12ish. Bring lunch and chairs, If it is fine we will be able to park on the grass inside the school gate. Children have twenty minutes to see the cars and then they go inside for lunch. As before the staff kitchen and loos will be able to be used by us.
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Sunday July 11th 2021 GRAVEL CHALLENGE You are invited on Wairarapa VCC’s “Gravel Challenge” to be held Sunday 11th July 2021 Approximately 3 hours motoring over interesting sealed, gravel & unsealed roads north east of Masterton finishing with lunch at the Eketahuna Inn. A simple no tricks run – the “challenge” is for you to keep a tally of your mileage over those gravel/unsealed roads. Assemble at Masterton’s Town Square (next to the Town Hall) on Chapel Street. Drivers briefing at 9.30am All cars departing at 9.45am If you love driving your older model vintage car on our back country roads, this is for you. For more information contact Francis & Gaye Pointon 06 3786710 or pointonmotors@xtra.co.nz Sunday July 25th Garage Raid organised by Kevin Ball Details will be circulated closer to the date Sunday 15th August Back of Beyond Rally. Organised by Chris Giles This will be a two stage rally, with a vague nod to the Monte Carlo. The first stage will be an exercise in navigation and timing. Participants can start from wherever they wish, whenever they wish, and will travel to a named venue, which will also be the lunch stop. They will need to arrive at the venue within a defined time frame, and will have visited a number of other locations during the journey, answering questions about each location to show they actually went there. After lunch, the second stage will be a more traditional timed rally route using back country roads. There will be a fair bit of gravel, but if that does not appeal, then doing only stage one will be just fine. The rally will finish at the Clubrooms for afternoon tea and prize giovimg. There will awards for stage winners and an overall rally winner. Sunday 22nd August Daffodil Day Run. Fundraiser organised by Val Ball This year's Daffodil Run will be on the same day that all Vintage Car Clubs do something to raise funds for the Cancer Society in their region. We will be running our usual Car Drive through the Wairarapa towns, stopping for a while before continuing onto Solway Show Grounds for a picnic lunch and a chance for the public to view and vote for the car they liked best. There will be odd prizes for different classes. For the ladies, or the men, it would be fun to dress in the period of the
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age of your car. Sponsorship has been applied for from Beehive Premier Bacon for sausages and Breadcraft for bread. This will mean that we can sell the sausages and raise more funds. The aim of the day is to raise as much money as we can for local Cancer society and also promote our club. As in the past, other car clubs have been invited to join with us. The run starts in Martinbough, travel to Featherston then onto Carterton and onto Masterton. Cost to register is $10.00 per car. Be in Martinborough from 9.15 for registration.
Club Nights Monday July 5th 7.30pm at the Clubrooms A presentation by Wellington Free Ambulance Monday August 2nd 7.30pm at the Clubrooms Games night with the WAI Machinery Club
Events Calendar for 2021 Your committee has prepared a calendar of all club events planned for the year. Copies were emailed out to everyone in February. However changes do happen, so the current version can be found on the our website Home Page: https://www.sporty.co.nz/wairarapavcc and printed copies will be available at Club nights
Welcome to New Members Recent new members: . Steve and Marian Titmus - transferred from BOP A big welcome to you, we look forward to you joining us in the various activities of the club. If you have not received a name badge please contact Mike D'Alton (mickyjdalton@yahoo.co.uk) to arrange this. The cost of the badge is $20 each.
Other Notices and Events 8
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Targa 2021: Sunday 24th October - Sunday 31st October Contact VCC member Rod Corbett for more information: rod.corbett88@gmail.com 027 433 8772 Website: www.targa.nz
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2022 VERO International Festival of Historic Motoring 16-21 January 2022 Planning for our next international rally in Taranaki is well underway. Come join the fun more information here
Bluebridge Specials for VCC Members Bluebridge is again offering special prices for VCC members. Details can be found on our website: Click Here
Market Place - Buy, Sell or Swap If you want to advertise something here, send an email to: editorwaivcc@gmail.com Engineering, Welding, Lathe and Milling Work undertaken, specialising in vintage car, motorcycle, machinery repairs. Excellent discounted rates for VCC members Contact Brian Billing Ph 021 242 6240 email; billing.au@gmail.com For Sale 1936 Morris 12, 4 cylinder. Body, paint and running gear in good condition Contact Ian Palmer 06 378 7892, Masterton. Wanted to Buy Parts for a 1929 Buick 6 Contact Marion McConachie, Otago Branch Secretary. email: bmmcconachie@xtra.co.nz The Spare Parts Department is open on the 3rd Sunday of the month from 9.30am to 12 noon, and the first Tuesday in the month from 9am to 12 noon, or you can contact Frank Lipinski (06 379 7167) for a private appointment.
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PLEASE NOTE To access other club newsletters go to www.vcc.org.nz. Scroll to ‘news from our branches”. Hard copies of newsletters are no longer mailed out.
Wairarapa Branch of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Clubrooms: A&P Showgrounds, Chester Road, Clareville Postal Address: PO Box 7, Masterton 5840 Branch Website: www.sporty.co.nz/wairarapavcc Club Night: First Monday of the month (except January) and June (second Monday) at 7.30pm.
2021/22 Committee and Office Holders Chairperson: Tina Goodin - 020 410 99552, tina.goodin@hotmail.com Secretary: Mike D’Alton - 021 137 2395, secretarywvcc@yahoo.com Treasurer & Vice Chair: Graham Hodder - 06 308 9087 027 226 3738, g_jhodder@xtra.co.nz Club Captain: Brian Billing - 06 370 1230, billing.au@gmail.com Publications: Chris Giles - 021 433 995, chris.giles64@gmail.co.nz Social Convenor: Val Ball - 06 377 1236, wtakevin@xtra.co.nz Librarian: Pat Dutton - 06 379 7918, betyjo29@gmail.com Spares: Frank Lipinski - 06 379 7167 Custodian: Earl Goodin - 0204 062 4986, tina.goodin@hotmail.com Motorcycle Liaison: Kevin Sullivan - 022 377 8443, kevsully52@gmail.com Hugh Hunter - 06 306 9847, j.h.hunter@xtra.co.nz Dave Patten - 06 306 9006, dave.patten28@gmail.co Beaded Wheels Scribe - Kevin Ball - wtakevin@xtra.co.nz - 06 377 1236 Spares Frank Lipinski - 06 379 7167 Barry Wells - ljandbjwells@gmail.com - 06 377 1152 Jeff Percy - j.percy@xtra.co.nz - 06 377 4622 Vehicle Inspectors Francis Pointon - pointonmotors@xtra.co.nz - 06 378 6710 Graham Reidy - g-a.reidy@xtra.co.nz - 06 372 7855 Hugh Hunter - j.h.hunter@xtra.co.nz - 06 306 9847 © 2021 Wairarapa Branch Vintage Car Club
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