Far North Focus
January 2019
What better way to start a lovely day out with friends
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The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand
Far North Focus Who’s Who for 2018/19 Chairman
Murray Cormack
m.g.cormack@xtra.co.nz
09 409 3823
Vice Chairman
Winston Matthews
win@matthewsvintage.com
09 406 0203
Secretary
Gloria Cormack
m.g.cormack@xtra.co.nz
09 409 3823
Treasurer
Robyn Mackay
wmackay@vodafone.co.nz
09 406 1955
Club Captain
Naomi Mason
vinomi88@gmail.com
09 408 1376
Editor
Peg Hills
comstockdowns@gmail.com
09 406 1077
Communications Officer
Ruth Reid
r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz
09 4060 392
Welfare Officer
Margaret Wallace
johnandmarga@actrix.gen.nz
09 407 8251
New Member Liaison
Murray Cormack
m.g.cormack@xtra.co.nz
09 409 3823
Beaded Wheels Scribe
Dave Duirs
dave.duirs@xtra.co.nz
09 406 1288
Area Rep North
Ruth Reid
r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz
09 406 0392
Area Rep South
Warwick Woollams
w.woollams@gmail.com
09 407 7494
Committee
Murray Cormack, Robyn Mackay, Winston Matthews, Graeme Moore, Paul Sullivan, Vince Mason, Mike Pooley, Margaret Wallace, Gloria Cormack
Building Officer
Peter Mason
09 406 1409
A full list of elected officers was circulated with the minutes of the 2018 Annual General Meeting
Club meetings on the second Tuesday of the month at the Aurere Clubrooms at 7.30pm.
CLUB CLEANING ROSTER 2018-2019 During the month, and preferably before the main calendar event, please give the clubrooms a thorough check over, as in: Clean the toilets and hand basins, check kitchen, window ledges etc, and sweep the floors. Window cleaning, washing walls etc will be done at working bees. Note any required maintenance and pass on to the Building Officer- Peter Mason, ph 406 1409. If your date doesn’t suit you, please swap with someone else. For any other enquiries please contact the Club Captain.
February George Coulson July
C Brownlie
January
D & P Hills
August
D & D Duirs
February
G Coulson
September
P & Z Mason
March
C & M Ilton
October
Everyone– working bee
April
W & R Mackay
November
G & S Mc Mullen
May
G Moore & M Cornwall
December
P O’Dell
June
R & R Pennell
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Calendar of Events 2018 / 2019 February 16th
Ian & Mary’s Gymkhana
Ian & Mary
March 9th
Historic Adventure
Terry Rogers
April 13th
Brian Parker Rally
Hills & Pooley
April
Whangarei Swapmeet
Anyone
May 12th
Mothers Day Rally
Dave & Dorothy
May 14th
AGM
Everyone
June
Molloy Trophy Rally
Ian and Mary’s GYMKHANA SATURDAY 16TH FEBRUARY Bring picnic lunch, chairs etc
Meet at Bindon’s car park, Waipapa, at 9.30 for a 10am start. If travelling from North turn right at Kahikatataroa Rd (CARTERS TIMBER) If travelling from South turn left. You will see Bindon’s on the corner of Kahikatataroa Rd and Klinac Lane.
There will be a short run to a lookin, where morning tea will be provided – no cost! However it would be helpful if we could have some idea of numbers. Contact Ian or Mary, ph 09 407 9885 or mary_ian@xtra.co.nz Further instructions will be given as you leave the lookin.
Club meetings are on the second Tuesday of each month, at 7.30pm, at the Aurere Clubrooms, unless otherwise advised. The Far North Branch of the VCC does have a policy that pets are not brought to any Club events. We do ask that this policy is respected.
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The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand From the Chair……. Greetings,
rallies, giving participants interesting According to our media it is a race between eco- and varied days. A big thanks to both parties for these events. I am sure the February nomic collapse, melting ice sheets, or general chaos and war. It’s possible however that 2018 rally organised by Ian and Mary will be a cracker. Hopefully many of you will join us. was the best year in human history. Each day world-wide another 295,000 people got access Matters Mechanical: A humble length of soft to electricity. Each day world-wide another wire. Our picnic rally saw one of our vintage 305,000 people accessed clean drinking water. vehicles drop an exhaust pipe and muffler. The Each day world-wide an additional 620,000 ever-resourceful Terry was out and under for people got online for the first time. (Thanks to Ian to secure the exhaust system with a piece of the Australian Financial Review for these dewire. In a world governed by electronic wiztails.) ardry, it is good to know that a piece of wire still reigns supreme. Speaking of good things, the Christmas Rally organised by Peter and Zena, and the Club Pic- Old cars, great friendship, hope you can join us nic organised by Matt and Bev were both great on our 2019 rallies. events. A good deal of thought went into these Murray
These badges are for sale on behalf of the John Osbourne estate. Value from $20.00 to $50.00 depending on age and condition. Contact Winston, ph 09 406 0203
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Club Captain Reporting…..
Well it's that time of the month again. I hope you all have had a lovely start to the New year. We had a very busy New year as we took our daughter down to Palmerston North on the 2nd January, to start a new job on the 7th January. We had a lovely time with our son and grandsons who we don't get to see too often.
Our next event will be 16th Feb. Meeting at Bindon’s carpark, Waipapa 9:30 for a short run, look-in and a gymkhana to finish with. Sounds like Ian and Mary have some fun lined up for us so come a long and join in. We'll be praying for another lovely sunny day to enjoy this event.
Hopefully we will see a few of our members at the VCC rooms on the 1st Feb for a sauit is lovely to finally have such lovely sum- sage sizzle supplied by our club. Sausage mer weather but we know that we do need and bread with sauce for our pot luck tea. a good rain as well to help our gardens and Feel free to bring a long a sweet if you deespecially the farmers need much needed sire. rain. There are a lot of interesting events includWhat a wonderful rally we had last Satur- ing our Trophy rallies coming up so we look day. So relaxing and interesting seeing forward to seeing many of our members at country side we haven't seen for a long some of these events. time and being able to see an area that the Wishing everyone a good New Year this normal public don't get to see. A wonderful year, especially for those who have been un finish with a picnic lunch under a fantastic -well. We are now also included with the shade tree, good friends to share with and oldies and feel the aches and pains that time to visit family on the way home. Many come upon us but keep smiling and keep thanks Matt for organising a lovely relaxing being involved. You can enjoy life if you event. Our thoughts are with Bev, as we want to. hear you are not so well. Praying for a speedy recovery for you. God bless Naomi
Make a note of these dates:
Stuart manned the check point
Terry’s Historic Adventure on the 9th of March, and the Kaipara Cruise on the 18th&19th March
1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket Never made it to production.
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Welfare Report, from Margaret Wallace I hope everyone is coping with this incredible heat we have been having! I know I am finding it a struggle, and feel very fortunate to have a pool to jump into to bring down my core temperature. My problem now is climbing back out again! It’s called getting old! Unfortunately Bev Sharpe has not been too well of late, and was unable to help with the rally that she and Matt had set for January. Luckily, Terry Rogers came to the rescue, and helped Matt on the day. Bev is having her good and her bad days, and is unable to drive at the moment, so is recuperating at home, trying to find a cool breeze flowing through! She is looking forward to a trip away with the Sunbeam Club next month, which will hopefully be a good tonic for her, and help on her road to recovery. We have arranged to take in a movie together, when she feels up to it, either before or after her trip, if there is one that takes our fancy. We all wish her well for better days ahead. Ian Macgregor had to have a small operation to remove a growth from his ear. It is gradually healing, but these things take time. Keep the hat on in this heat, Ian - and lots of sunblock! It was good to see Phyllis out with the Duirs for the January Picnic Run. Nothing like a day out with friends to keep your spirits up, and even if it seems a bit of an effort at times, it is always worth it. It is great that we are all there for each other. Don’t forget to contact me, should you have anything to report, on 09 407 8251 0r 027 298 7322, or email me on johnandmarga@actrix.gen.nz Keep cool and carry on!
Held in conjunction with the N I Club Captain’s Tour– see all details in beaded Wheels or info available from your secretary or editor.
THE CATERING COMMITTEE Mike & Lynn Pooley
Winston Matthews
Dorothy & Dave Duirs
Colleen Brownlie
Margaret Cornwall
Raewyn Pennell
Dave & Peg Hills
Margaret Ilton
G T MULLER State Highway 10, Coopers Beach
WOF CENTRE
VEHICLE IMPORTS
PHONE 09 406 0406
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The Christmas Rally Saturday 8th December A lineup of our cars outside the café at the Taipa resort drew plenty of attention from a busload of tourists who had their cameras clicking steadily. Meanwhile we enjoyed coffees and chats on a stunning morning with the bay looking its absolute best. In due course we drove in convoy through Cable Bay and into Cable Bay Block Road, following it nearly to the end to the home of Cathy and Bruce Henty. Plenty for everyone to see there! Bruce has a large, immaculately kept shed with a collection of classic cars and hot rods, all of which are enjoyed by them both on a regular basis. They have done lots of rallying in the past, but now prefer the less spectacular means of recreation. The expansive garden impressed us with the way it has grown in the four years since planting began, much of it looking well established already. Rocks have been used extensively, as have logs for edging and features, and the variety of plants is huge. With its air of space and its long view out over Doubtless Bay it was a lovely place to be on a flawless early summer day. Thanks Peter and Zena for arranging our visit, and thanks to Bruce and Cathy for having us at their place. Christmas lunch back at the Clubrooms was most welcome by the time we got back there, and the place looked most festive with the seasonal decorations– thanks again Zena and Peter for going the extra mile. Peg
The
The new bridge at Taipa has been in the news lately, with work proceeding steadily. Here’s a photo of the original one, built in 1895 by Thomas Gillibrand. It was 660 ft long, 7ft 6inches wide, and cost $400.00 to build. The present concrete bridge was built in 1940 and cost approximately $4500 dollars. The new one will cost??????? From my Dad’s notes– Ruth.
The finish, 7
And the winners.
The Summer Picnic Rally Saturday 19th January The day started early for us as we had to travel down from Kaitaia to Puketona Junction and be there by 9.30am. Things looked a bit glum and overcast when we left home and also because we had to leave our vintage car bhind and participate in the modern. My turn to be navigator. The road was quiet so no holdups along the way. Well we travelled through Moerewa and turned off just before the three bridges onto Whangae Road. Back to dusty metal roads. Well my dark coloured car looked like another colour at the end of the rally. From Whangae Road we travelled on to McIntyre Road and on to Oromahoe Road, enjoying the scenery. The different farms and properties, all very well kept and such a variety of farm industry and lifestyles. There was an unscheduled event. Instead of a lookin, some members were having a look under. Ian was having exhaust problems which were fixed with a real Kiwi remedy. Good old wire tie up and back on the road again. Back to Highway 10 then just before Kerikeri a sharp right hand turn at the bottom of a passing lane onto Wakelin’s Road. More to see along the way. The road comes to an end at Wakelin Station. Ignore the NO ENTRY and travel the farm road to our lovely picnic spot that was once used as showrooms and tourist centre. Wow! What a venue. The BIG puriri trees provided a wonderful setting for our picnic lunch and get-together. Naomi and I saw a lawn petanque set that was put out for anyone who would like games, so we played that as well as enjoying a nice catch-up with everyone. After lunch Matt gave us all the names of the weeds that we had to try and sort out throughout our rally. We had to sort them out along the way and write them in the allotted spaces on the sheet of paper we had with our instructions. How well did we know our weeds? Not that well. Dorothy, Phyllis and Dave did the best, winning a bottle of wine. Well done you guys. A wonderful picnic venue, with views over the Bay of Islands, Paihia, Russell etc. After seeing this we just had to drive through Paihia and Opua, taking the long way home. It was such a lovely day out.
At the airport check-in counter, I overheard a woman ask for window seats for her and her husband. The clerk pointed out that this would prevent them sitting together. “Sweetie,” the woman replied, ”I just spent ten days of quality time in a budget hire car with this man. I know what I’m requesting.”
Well done Matt, Bev and Terry. Vince
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