RATTLES & sQUEAKS September 2019
Remember when the Far North Tour started from Bernard Street and petrol cost 17.3 cents a litre?
Chairman’s Comment Hello to all Club Members from your Chairman. I went to the NZVCC Executive Meeting and AGM on the 16th and 17th August. This year they were held in Greymouth which meant a fair bit of travel was involved. As I missed the last Executive Meeting in March due to weather conditions cancelling flights, the decision was made to fly a day early to ensure I got there. Three flights each way, Whangarei to Auckland to Christchurch to Hokitika and return. No weather issues this time, just delayed flights both ways resulting in having to run between gates to catch the next flights. However, once I reached the West Coast and was picked up from Hokitika for the road trip to Greymouth, the “Coast” hospitality was evident and it continued all weekend. So left home Thursday morning and got home in the rain Sunday night. For those who don’t know the structure, the NZVCC consists of the Management Committee who are the elected officers who run the clubs day to day activities. The Executive meet twice a year and that consists of all of the club delegates so is the voice of the club. The Executive vote on all important issues and then the Management Committee carry out what needs to be done. Friday night the Executive Meeting started with a number of reports including a draft budget for the year. The club is tracking well with all contingencies allowed for and there is no need to increase club levies. The Calendar of Events was approved and a couple of remits discussed. To briefly summarize, one was to allow the Management Committee to review the intent of any new remits as to whether they meet the aims and objects of the club. In the past any remit submitted was accepted without discussion even if it was against the aims and objects of the club and on occasion an opposing notice of motion had to be raised to manage a situation. The remit proposed the Management Committee can review such remits and refer them to the Executive Committee to give the opportunity to discuss and further refine them as necessary. The aim is not to stifle new initiatives as they are welcome, but rather to save wasted time and resource. This change to the By-Law was passed. As all business was not completed the Executive Meeting was paused to continue after the end of the AGM the next afternoon. Saturday morning saw the AGM open, and there were a number of reports tabled from the Management Committee and Event Organisers. I will not go into a lot of detail about these as you will all receive details of these in your Beaded Wheels in due course. The suggested draft Constitution for Branches of the VCC who need to update theirs was tabled. Although there are still minor tweaks than can be made, we are now able to use this and as our constitution had been under review for some years by a number of club members, we are now closer to something we can use. The Daffodil Day Rally was discussed as the day which showcases the Vintage Car Club and raises money for a good cause and the decision was made to continue to support the Cancer Society with any donations received. This run has been organized by other local car clubs of recent years but maybe it is time we do something again. Who wants to be involved in organizing this, let the committee know. A new Rally called the “Highland Fling” is to run in the Central North Island in April 2020. It is to be run in a similar format to the Irishmans Rally in the South Island and promises Mud, Water and a whole lot of fun . Planning is well underway for the 2021 Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring in Taranaki and the organizers are hoping for 10% of all Club Members to attend. Tony Haycock who has been Festival Director has stood down due to personal commitments and his role has been taken over by Greg Terrill with Tony still available when able to. What is probably not well known is how well respected the NZVCC is amongst the international car organizations and by the NZ Government Organizations. They are continually striving behind the scenes to keep our cars on the road. In many countries, our vehicles are very restricted in how they can be used. The NZ VCC is the recognized Historic Vehicle Authority in NZ and the Vehicle Technical Team are well respected for the job they do. There was considerable discussion on the next 20, 30, 50 years, will we still be able to drive our cars? After the AGM closed the Executive Meeting resumed. The second remit was to allow a local delegate to present the long service awards to club members if the National President or a member of the management team was not available. This remit was rejected because the present rules currently allow the National President to nominate a local delegate if necessary, but she pointed out this would only be done in extreme cases. The next Executive Meeting will once again be held in Wellington in March but this time I will travel the day before to combat any weather issues. The next AGM will be held in Whanganui so the next Northland VCC Chairperson will find it easier to get there. Regards Ron Anderson
Secretary’s scribblings Minutes from the committee meetings: We have now a folder in the library with the minutes in it from the committee meetings. If you are interested just ask Ron, Lynora or me (Ans) and we can hand them to you, hope this will resolve some of the questions we have had asked at the AGM. Name Badges: For members who have not gotten a name badge yet, please contact me (Ans Schoenmaekers) at the next opportunity. Have your name/names clearly printed so we don’t get a misspelling. The cost is $15.00 per Name Badge.
If you like to keep up with other Branches News Letters, they are on the VCC Website. Some branches are choosing to email/post them out to each branch (once upon a time, all branches received a printed copy of other branch newsletters, and these were kept in clubrooms for members to read). The printed ones we get mailed you can find in the club rooms. Some clubs sent me their E-mail versions. I don’t want to overwhelm you all with this, but if you like to read them, go to the website (www.vcc.org.nz) then chooses “News from our branches”, they are all in there. Or the full link is: http://vcc.org.nz/news-from-our-branches/ There are 36 Branches in New Zealand: North Island: 22, South Island: 14 Northland Branch is no.27. NVCC
Jul 2018
Jul 2019
Members
178
182
Total Vehicles
492
497
Vehicles with a VIC in our Branch 61% We have now 182 Members.
Radio New Zealand Interviews Last year Lynne Freeman from Radio New Zealand interviewed Life Member Roger White from Wellington Branch and Diane Humphreys from Waitemata Branch for her Summer Days radio programme. The following are links to the interviews plus there are lots of great photos as well. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/summer-days/audio/2018677152/vintage-car-clubs https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/summer-days/20181227 These links can also be found on the Club's Facebook page. Regards Ans Schoenmaekers Email: northland@vcc.org.nz
New Members Welcome to new members Tony Armstrong, Warwick & Dawn Dahlberg, Geoffrey Thorpe, Trevor & Donald Poyntz, Simon Mahon.
Club Run 8th September Breakfast and run with visit Meeting up 8.30 for an 8.45 start at the North side of the car park in Kensington Stadium. We travel from there via Kamo Road to 205 Three Mile Bush road for Breakfast at the “James Home Stead”. Breakfast is $15 per person and for that you get: coffee/tea and orange juice, bacon and eggs, mushrooms, toast or a roll. The breakfast is catered for, so I need numbers. Best thing to do this is to pay the money into my account and put your name into the ref. box so I know who is coming. Otherwise you can pay me at the next coffee morning Wednesday the 4th in cash. My Bank account is: L & A Schoenmaekers 01-0487-0359102-00 Money needs to be in before Thursday the 5th of September. If you don't wish to partake in the breakfast, you can meet at 10:15 for a 10:30 start at the James Homestead, 205 Three Mile Bush Road.
Club Captains Report Hi Everyone, I am your new Club Captain as Ron very nicely pointed out. I will be very happy to get help from any Club Member. As I have said before the more you put into your Club the more you and everyone benefits. By the time you read this August will be gone and our busy Secretary will have set the September 8th Sunday club run. Please support this event. October Event is being set by New Committee Member Arthur Jenkins. Arthur has not done a run before and is to be commended for putting his hand up. I will be guiding him if needs be. This goes for any Member who needs help, be it events, car help etc. The Club has lots of knowledge available. The event will finish in the Paparoa area. November Event Bruce Cosson has drawn the sort straw. More information pending. Far North tour planning under way. Trevor Reilly’s August event was well planed & very enjoyable. Lunch was at Maungatapere. Nice. Our Chairman Ron & Helen came 1st by 1 point. September Wednesday 4th 9-30am is Our morning tea day, this is very popular. September Sunday 8th is Anns Breakfast & Club run Looks like it is going to be fabulous. September Wednesday 18th Dargaville lunch details in the events calendar. Regards Keith
Dargaville Doings August Mid-week Run. Ngaire and Rob sent ten cars out into the country north of the town. The spectacular flowering heather on the hills was a delight. We duly arrived at the home of Alison and Brent Robertson. It was a sunny day with a keen wind blowing, however the view back to town was amazing. Brent’s hobby is his non-commercial radio station playing easy listening music non-stop – with no adds! Brent told us about his station and we viewed his recording studio, set up to automatically play the file for the day. He has a Saturday morning Jukebox, where you can ring in for a request or dedication. Try it at - Today FM 106.7
We sat in the sun in a sheltered area for afternoon tea while Rob gave us the answers to his music quiz, and, naturally, further chat. A nice day for a chat in the sun. Thank you Ngaire & Rob. 15th Birthday Run – Wednesday 18th September. NOTE : Start at – Selwyn Park (corner of Carrington and Jervois Streets), Time – Leave at 10am. Come earlier if you want a BYO cuppa before we depart. We will be eating (a purchased) lunch at a café, so I would like to know numbers attending by Wed. 11th, please, as they will employ extra staff to prepare orders so we can all be served at the same time. Claudia – Ph. (09) 4397813 or email ladybirdnz@slingshot.co.nz
MotorCycle Report Sunday 4th August. I was the only bike that turned up, So will write of a day trip that I did with my brother in Scotland as I visited there in the month of July. A nephew gave me a loan of one of his bikes, a bit newer than what I am used to - a 2001 1100cc Moto Guzzi. I Don’t know how many people will know the Scottish song “The Day We Went to Rothsay O”. Heading off from a village just outside Dunfermline which is north side of The Firth of Forth. Headed west and crossed the River on the Clackmannan Bridge. From there we could have taken the motorway which goes through Glasgow then on down the coast. We took the back roads skirting Glasgow to the Erskine Bridge across the River Clyde. Then down the Ayrshire coast to Wemyss Bay and the ferry to Rothsay on the Island of Bute. Ferries are subsidised by the Scottish Government so for 2 bikes with riders cost about $22 the crossing took 40 minutes just enough time to have a coffee, no need to carry your own tie downs as is advisable crossing the Cook Strait. There you stepped off the bike and a seaman came and tied it down for you. When I was a boy Rothsay was a destination for Glasgow holiday makers, now it still attracts some people it is mainly day trippers’ like myself. Kawakawa has the Hundavassa toilets. Rothsay has Victorian toilets which have been renovated. They are closed for 10 minutes every hour to let ladies have a look through. We headed to the north of the island and crossed back to the main land on a vehicular ferry similar to the ones in the Bay of Islands. Still traveling north we reached the shores of Loch Fyne at a place called Strachur. Carrying on to the head of the Loch we passed a road to Lochgoilhead called Hells Glen. My Great Grandfather had a coach run from Strachur to Lochgoilhead and the passengers had to get out at Hells Glen and walk for a couple of miles as the coach couldn’t get up the glen full of passengers. Leaving Loch Fyne heading down The Rest and Be-Thankful round the head of Loch Long and onto the banks of Lochlomond traveling south. At the south end of the Loch we were nearly back at the Erskine Bridge. But as we were out for a run we took a road going north east towards Stirling. Skirting Stirling we headed east, joining the road on the north side of the Firth of Forth which we had been on that morning and back to my brothers house. So after a days riding we only used the same road for about 20 kilometres. Cam
Biking around in Scotland
Calendar of Events 2019
SEPTEMBER Sunday 1st.
Motorcycle Run.
Wednesday 4th. plate.
Meet 1pm at Frings, Town Basin.
Morning Tea at VCC Clubrooms 10 am.
All welcome, please bring a
Sunday 8th. Club Run. Details elsewhere in this newsletter - numbers required for catering by 5th September. Please contact Ans.
Wednesday 18th September. Dargaville 15th Birthday Run – NOTE : Start at – Selwyn Park (corner of Carrington and Jervois Streets). Time – Leave at 10am. Come earlier if you want a BYO cuppa before we depart. We will be eating (a purchased) lunch at a café, so I would like to know numbers attending by Wednesday 11th, please, as they will employ extra staff to prepare orders so we can all be served at the same time. Claudia – Ph. (09) 4397813 or email ladybirdnz@slingshot.co.nz
Saturday 28th.
Car and Bike Show and Swapmeet at Hukerenui Hotel.
October Wednesday 2nd.
Morning Tea at VCC Clubrooms 10 am.
All welcome.
Saturday 5th. Settlers Day Matakohe Museum. Free entry all day. Our members are welcome to attend Settlers Day - display your vehicle and be part of the event. The numbers of visitors to the event has been growing for the last two years and the Museum wishes to continue this trend so would welcome your participation. Sunday 6th. Motorcycle Run. Sunday 13th.
Meet 1pm at Frings, Town Basin.
Club Run.
Wednesday 16th. Mid-week Run. – Start 1pm at Dargaville Boating Club Car Park. your own afternoon tea, chairs etc. Bill has planned two “Look-ins”.
Bring
Far North Tour Preparations are well under way for the Far North Tour and entry forms will be emailed and posted out shortly. This year we will be staying overnight in Kerikeri, with the evening meal catered at the Cornerstone in Kerikeri Road. Our Clubrooms and spares will be open on Sunday, for those wishing to call in for a cuppa on the way home.
Parts shed open every Wednesday morning 9-12 noon.