VCC FAR NTH FOCUS MARCH 2023

Far North Focus March 2023

Who’s Who for 2022/2023

Committee: Winston Matthews, Murray Cormack, Warren Mackay, Robyn Mackay, Mike Pooley, Vince Mason, Keith Lyndsell, Tom Deverall, Steve Edwards, Margaret Deverall, Margaret Ilton.

The full list of the elected officers is circulated with the minutes of the 2022 Annual General Meeting.

Club Cleaning Roster

March P O Dell

April M & T Deverall

May M Pooley

June R & W Mackay

July C & M Ilton

August D & B Francis

September N & V Mason

October Everyone

November M & T Deverall

December Winston & Glenis

January C & M Ilton

February R & W Mackay

Caffeine & Classics

3rd Sunday every month 9.30 to 12 at Carlos & CO’s Coffee Cartel

Aurere

Opposite Matthews Vintage Museum entrance

Next date: Sunday 19th March

During the month and preferably before the main calendar event, please give the clubrooms a thorough check over. This includes cleaning the toilets, hand basins, checking kitchen, table tops, window ledges, sweeping the floors etc.

If your cleaning date does not suit you, please swop with someone else.

Thanks for supporting the running of the Club.

Window cleaning, washing walls etc. will be done at working bees.

Take note of any required maintenance and pass on to our Building Officer - Warren Mackay 09 4061955

For any further enquires please contact our club Captain.

The Far North Branch of the VCC has a policy that pets are not brought to any Club events. We do ask that this policy is respected please.

November 8

Pse note:

Calendar of Club Events 2022/23

Monthly meeting 7 pm @ Clubrooms

Tuesday 14 March

Monthly Club Meeting

7 pm Aurere Clubrooms

March 18

Southern Captains Run

March 19

Caffeine & Classics

@ Carlos & CO’s Coffee Cartel

April 15

Brian Parker Trophy

Organised by Keith Lyndsell

May 16

Mother’s Day Run

Organised by Claude & Marg Ilton

Monthly - 2nd Tuesday

Club Meeting @ Aurere Clubrooms

Monthly - 3rd Sunday

Caffeine & Classics

Carlos & Co’s Coffee Cartel @ Aurere

Club Notices

Southern Captain’s Run

March 18 10 am meet.

Please gather at the Awanui Sports Complex car park. This is just over the bridge in Awanui, heading north on SH1 F.

The run will be a short, easy one which will suit our older, or oldest cars.

We are thinking the older cars may be more applicable for those who live in the northern area, BUT…. our keen Southerner’s, can surpise us.

We will travel north and revisit Wayne & Colleen Frost’s truck collection and check on the progress there has been, since our last visit with them.

Morning tea will be supplied a little later, at our next stop, approx 11 am.

Following morning tea, there will be a drive to the Houhora Heads and this is as far north as we will go.

For lunch, please bring meat suitable for cooking on the BBQ. Salads have been organised to accompany the meat. Please bring your chairs, cutlery, plates, cups, mugs. Coffee & tea will be provided. If you have queries, pse phone Marg D, Tom or Marg I.

From now on, you may notice more emails being sent to you from the Club.

Rather than presenting at monthly meetings information about rally events, nationwide information etc, we will email it directly to members as we receive the information which will minimise time delays.

Caffeine & Classics

Starting with the March meet, Sunday 19th , please note the venue change for Caffeine & Classics.

Travel to Carlos & Co’s Coffee Cartel, please, on Beach Rd, at Aurere.

You will find it opposite Matthews Museum entrance & next to Bloomfields Garden Centre & Matthews Coastline.

Vintage Car Club of New Zealand

From the chair…

Just a brief report for the month. Many thanks to Tom and Margaret for organising the February run. It was an interesting run on roads I have never been on & would not look forward to having to drive every day. It was a very appropriate lunch venue with all the memorabilia round the walls and with good food to go with it. Well done.

I think we got off pretty lightly, apart from Steve and Stephanie who ended up with a gum tree on their other house, which their family live in. We hope the damage is not too great and the repairs can be carried out quickly.

Keith Lyndsell will be attending the National Executive meeting which is being held in Christchurch, in March. He will be representing the Branch in further discussions about the new constitution.

See the details in the Club Notices about our March run.

All the best and happy motoring. Cheers.

We were very fortunate to be offered spare parts from Mick Petricevich’s old Empire St garage, in Kaitaia, which has not operated as a garage for possibly 30 years. Even picked up an old warrant receipt book from 1962.

Thanks to Warren and Vince for their support at short notice to help retrieve the parts.

Peter Mason and John McGee have spent quite some time sorting out the parts and there is still more sorting to be done. There are many new, old parts such as fuel pumps, regulators etc as well as books and parts books.

We made the decision to put off the February monthly meeting for a week, due to Cyclone Gabriel.

Northern Club Captain’s Report

Our February Rally was a great success and fortunately having brought it forward by a week, we missed the cyclone and any ‘out the back’ roads that might have been affected by flooding, slips etc.

Our March Rally is being organised by the Ilton’s & Marg and I, for Steve and Steph, who had an opportunity arise to enjoy a weekend of “freedom,’ elsewhere.

It’s a gentle run, suited for those older cars. So, bring them out and give them an airing. There’s only a couple of k’s of gravel road and no hills that will slow your travels.

Thanks for the great attendance at our Feb meeting.

See you on March 18th, 10 am, at the Awanui Rugby Club & Sports Complex.

Omnium gatherum…

Special thoughts and wishes to our members who are not as well as they would like.

Caffeine & Classics

Another perfect day was enjoyed at February’s gathering, with lots of people enjoying time out and a drive.

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."

Robert Louis Stevenson

In the Focus this month we have photos contributed by Margaret D, Rosco & Marg I. Reports & contributions from Win, Tom, Gloria & Marg I.

Thanks for taking the time to add to the interest of our Focus.

Remember when….

Pantry Perks…

Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, Gloria. It is always great to have a straight forward recipe.

Easy Fruit Slice

125g butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla essence

1 cup self-raising flour

1 cup mixed dried fruit

Line a 20 x 30 cm slice tin.

Melt butter and sugar in pot. Mix in vanilla, fruit and egg, then flour.

Fan-bake 160℃ for 25 minutes, until golden. Cut when cold with a sharp knife, or it will crumble.

Marg & Tom were lucky enough to find and admire this lovely vehicle during their recent travels.

Waipapa to Towai Run

Marg Ilton

Saturday 11 March had 25 members gathering at Waipapa for a run planned by Tom & Marg.

Their planned departure time was slightly delayed by a green Humber.

I think the run was being ‘looked after’ with the change in dates, which had it being held a week earlier than originally planned. We all had thoughts of what Gabriel might deal out to our northern region, as we set off.

The run initially took us out through Waimate North to Ohaeawai where we turned and headed for Kaikohe.

A stop was made at St Michael’s church where details of Maori wars in the area, are displayed in the grounds.

Sadly, a not so pleasant shower of rain ended the reading time for some. It was a privilege to be able to take shelter in the church which gave us time to appreciate its uniqueness.

Once driving, we took the Dargaville turn in Kaikohe and went out passed the aerodrome to Ngapipito Road. I suspect when planning the run, our planners thought it may well be a part of the roading

network many folks would not travel often, if, at all.

Initially there was more seal than one would have expected, with the area planted in pines, some natural growth here and there plus the odd farm. It is very rural.

The road followed in places, the old railway line from Kaikohe to Moerewa which is now the cycle trail. Along the way, train crossing signs were still securely in place on the roadside and generally in very good condition. One did wonder just when the last train crossed the road, though.

At Pokapu, just a dot on the landscape, we turned right. The tarseal ended and we travelled for kilometers on metal which had varying depths of corrugations, a selection of surfaces from mud to dust and many one-way bridges. I was glad there was not a challenge at the end the run to tell how many one-way bridges we had crossed.

At the Matawai Rd junction we turned left for Opahi where the only hint of the area’s name was a shearing shed with Opahi painted on it in huge lettering. Presumably there has been more than one lost service vehicle required by them, over the years!

in a correct, orderly & timely fashion. Others, after a stop and a collective chat, turned left. [The scribe by then, having ‘lost’ her sheet of instructions had necessitated the ‘stop n chat.’ Never found the instructions, either!]

To the left, we once again had more signs warning us to be careful of trains crossing our path, more gravel, corrugations and one-way bridges, when we suddenly came to the end of the road!

A few kilometers further on, some obviously turned right and made the journey to Towai

The sight of a handful of vehicles from a by gone era, did have the local folk who were working at their Marae, staring in surprise.

We all did eventually arrived at the Towai Tavern. Some of us too late for the welladvertised pork sandwiches, though.

The Tavern meals were huge and none of us left on our journey home with the slightest desire for more food.

Huge thanks to Marg & Tom for the efforts they made planning the trip.

It will be one we remember.

Now… just going back to the delayed 10 am start!

A green Humber required fuel in Kaeo. While pulling into the service station, the car drew the attention of a group of people who took keen interest in it, and all had stories to share of Humbers in their formative years… some positive and others less so!

In the meantime, a hand reached out for the fuel pump and filled the tank. The conversations ended, fuel was paid for and the trip resumed. It was a leisurely stop as we had plenty of time to spare.

All was perfect until a tad passed the Area School when the sound of the motor changed, and it was noted we owned much smoke!

We of course by this time, were trying to climb a hill which really wasn’t happening with any degree of ease and fortunately there was sufficient verge to pull off the road.

Before coming to a total halt, the cause of the problem was muttered, ‘ …. diesel.” In the boot were tools and a container of petrol, taken just in case, which all proved invaluable. As the tank drained, Vince & Naomi stopped and supported our issue. Thanks to you both for your kind support and team spirit.

With lots of knowledge and ingenuity from the men, oh, and lots of smoke, the motor coughed and died a few times before deciding it would run.

Our drive resumed, with Mason’s as our back up crew and we made it to Waipapa, as if nothing had happened.

Another stop was sadly necessary at a Waipapa service station, where total attention was given to the label on the pump, before gathering with club members who had waited patiently. Thanks Folks.