June-July 2018
Taranaki Branch Committee Chair Chair VERONICA OLIVER E: Ph: 06 752 2149
Past Chair COLIN JOHNSTON E: cajohnstoncollections@xtra.co.nz Ph: 06 754 6216
Secretary RAEWYNN KRUSE E: taranaki@vcc.org.nz Ph: 06 753 9743 | M: 027 243 8565
Treasurer ROB THOMSON E: railmodels1@xtra.co.nz Ph: 06 758 4881
Club Captain (Acting) Secretary JOHN MUTER E: megandjohnny@xtra.co.nz Ph: 06 751 5554
Motorcycle Rep Secretary ROB GUDOPP E: vintagerob@hotmail.co.nz Ph: 06 751 1395
Librarian BILL DURLING E: elinorandbill@hotmail.com Ph: 06 758 4244
Topical Torque Editor Secretary JIM LOGAN E: logandj49@gmail.com Ph: 06 751 0316 | M: 027 604 4821 Committee
BRIAN BOLLOND PAT STIELLER STEVEN OLIVER
Email: aliebolly@hotmail.com
Ph: 06 753 3313 Ph: 06 754 6096 Ph: 06 752 2149
Topical Torque Editor Historian
TopicalTags Name Torque Badges Editor
ROSE COX E: roselcox7@gmail.com Ph: 06 752 2525 Mob: 027 353 9968
GEOFF BLACKBOURN E: dblackbourn@orcon.net.nz 06 752 7671
Groundsman LES BOGNUDA
Beaded Wheels COLIN JOHNSTON
Ph: 06 754 6216
Parts Committee NEIL ROOK JOHN MUTER PAT STIELLER CES BUDD
Ph: 06 758 6737 Ph: 06 751 5554 Ph: 06 754 6096 Ph: 06 758 7685
Ph: 06 755 2810
Vehicle VIN’s / VIC’s MIKE WILLIAMS Ph: 06 765 4419 Mid Week Coordinators PHYLLIS & DES CORNWALL, 06 765 6505
From the Chairperson The Maunga Moana rally was a great success with the weather and comments made about this rally being a little different from other years. No silent checks during the time sections. The rally headed north as far as Uruti Road through the tunnel to Okoki School for lunch and back over the Bertrand Road Bridge to New Plymouth. Many thanks to Rob and Colin for a great run. There were a number of Taranaki entrants that took out placings with the overall winner being Greg and Jane Oliver with 7 seconds to the next entrant. Well done to you all and hope everyone enjoyed the day. Tony Haycock updated members at the April club night on Rally 2021. He introduced his team that were present; Mark Masters, Mike Hodgkinson, Nick Carter and Amber Brown. Tony also advised that Svan Slager and Greg Terrill were also on his committee. He was to see a representative from Traffic Management the following day to start the logistics of how the traffic flow would work for our type of vehicles entering the rally. There are some good runs in the pipeline for members to attend in the upcoming months so watch the Magazine for details. The AGM may see some new faces to the committee so I wish you all on the committee this year all the best and enjoy the experience. All ideas and comments are welcome to help this Branch work effectively. Happy Motoring and Stay Safe!
Veronica Oliver Chairperson
On the Cover: Kiwi Road Run 2
Club Captain’s Report Last month's Maunga Moana rally was a great success with an entry of 66 vehicles and was enjoyed by all that entered. The route of 120 miles was well thought out bringing in a variety of scenic back country roads, tunnels and bridges not often used on these rallies. Many thanks to Colin and Rob and all the members who helped to make this weekend such a great success.
Upcoming Events: 24th May 27th May 24th June
· 19th July 22nd July 29th July
Midweek run in South Taranaki meet at Normanby Town Hall opposite Allied Concrete. 1.30pm, please bring your Afternoon Tea Club Rooms and Parts shed open from 2pm. End of Registration Run to Stratford Mountain House. This year the band Mid Life Crisis will be playing, some of whom are from the band Count Five that some will remember from our younger days. - Northern members meet at Inglewood Railways Station 11.15am - Southern members meet at Stratford Railway Station 11.15am - Please phone me on 7515554 before 15th June for a reservation Club Night - DVD on 1953 – 55 Australian RED– EX Rally. Breakfast Rally – starting Merrilands Shopping Centre 7.30am. Club Rooms and Part Shed open.
John Muter
From the Editor
Club Captain
Sub Editor Report - Raewynn Kruse
Hi and welcome to this months magazine. Jim is away sailing the seven seas so I am having a go at putting the mag together (big shoes to fill). As mentioned in previous reports the Maunga Moana Rally was a great success with all entrants I am sure enjoying themselves. The Plymouth Hotel was an excellent venue for the event with comfortable surroundings and great meals. Congratulations to those that were awarded the 50yr,35yr and 25yr badges a great achievement. Also congratulations to all entrants who won awards. We certainly enjoyed ourselves, although trying to stop the driver looking for silent checks and driving at the same time was a bit difficult in places. Please do enjoy reading the magazine and hope you can attend some of the great events that are being organised. Regards Raewynn 3
Women in Motoring I thought it might be interesting to look at Women who made an impact on Motoring. The first woman I am going to introduce is Bertha Benz.
Bertha Benz A determined lady from a good family. Bertha was born in 1849, into an age when women were denied access to higher education. Scientists were in agreement that the lighter brain of women was logically unable to absorb and process as much information. Moreover, thinking too much was harmful to their child-bearing ability. However, Bertha already became interested in technical matters at an early age. Whenever her father, a carpenter who had reached a position of considerable wealth, explained the workings of the locomotive to her, her eyes would light up. When she was allowed to attend a school for high-born daughters at the age of nine, her favourite lessons were those on “natural science”. She was all the more shocked when she read the following entry in the family bible one day: “Unfortunately only a girl again”. The entry had been made by none other than her beloved father when she was born. According to the legend, this triggered her subsequent determination to show the world that the female sex is also capable of great things. Adventurous marriage. Bertha Ringer was attractive, clever and socially accomplished when she reached marriageable age. And from a wealthy family. There was a long list of suitors. However, fate decreed that during a coach excursion organised by the “Eintracht” club on 27 June 1869, a penniless young engineer joined Bertha and her mother in their coach. When he brought the subject around to the horseless carriage on which he was working, young Bertha lost her heart to him. Despite his careless appearance and odd manner: Carl Benz was the man she wanted by her side for the rest of her life.
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Brave and uncompromising. She turned a deaf ear to all her father's warnings. He had himself only achieved wealth by hard work and clever real estate transactions. He now warned her repeatedly that the pleasures of the middle-class lifestyle do not come by themselves. And that financial hardship brings problems of which she did not have the slightest idea. But nothing dissuaded her from her wish to be married. She preferred the introverted tinkerer with a vision to a life in keeping with her station at the side of a “good match”. Without hesitation, and even before the wedding, she invested her entire dowry to build up the company formed by Benz. The early years were very hard. While Carl Benz was something of an unrecognised design genius, a talent for business was not one of his strengths. Numerous setbacks followed for the growing family. continued over
Bertha Benz became no stranger to hunger, want and social ridicule. Yet whenever her husband was in despair, it was she who gave him the courage to continue. And despite all the misery, she never left his side. Plan B for Bertha. After decades of hard work and a never-ending series of setbacks, a patent was registered for the Motor Car on 29 January 1886, making Carl Benz the inventor of the automobile. Yet to the surprise of the Benz family, nobody was interested in buying. Was mankind about to dismiss such a technical breakthrough as an “also-ran”? The very thought of this was unbearable to the mother of five. So she summoned all her resolve: Bertha herself would undertake a long-distance journey from Mannheim to Pforzheim, and show the world what the automobile could do. The weapons of a woman. In the early hours of a fine August day in 1888, together with her sons Richard and Eugen, and without the knowledge of her husband, Bertha Benz took to the road with the Benz Patent Motor Car. She was undeterred by the fact that some stretches of the roads, which were normally used only by horses and carriages, were anything but suitable for the automobile. Lack of fuel, clogged valves or wiring chafed-through to breaking point – she found a solution to every difficulty on the journey. She resorted to a garter, a hat-pin, and plundered the ligroin stocks of pharmacies along the route. Even when the fuel ran out completely outside Wiesloch, and the Motor Car had to be pushed for several kilometres, she was not too proud to get down herself and help. And her plan succeeded: while some of the onlookers would prostrate themselves on the road in prayer, fearing this “smoking monster” as a harbinger of the Last Judgement, others asked for a test ride Better late than never. Decades of poverty and scorn now gave way to recognition and affluence. Many years were to pass before the innovation was generally accepted by the mass of the population. But in the 20th century the automobile was to become one of the most important cultural advances of the new era. Nobody would now dare to deny the great contribution to modern life made by the Benz family. And it was not least Bertha who made this possible: with her unshakeable belief, her capital and her bravery she made a major contribution to this success story. On her 95th birthday she was proclaimed an honorary senator by the Technical University of Karlsruhe. Bertha, who was never allowed to study herself because of the social constraints of her time. When she died two days later, she departed in peace. As a woman who allowed nothing and nobody to dissuade her from her visions. Photo courtesy Mr Google
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JULY
Closing date for JULY Topical Torque, 11 June. Please forward articles to the Editor, Jim Logan 76C South Road N P 4310-or email to logandj49@gmail.com This magazine is also available by e-mail as a PDF file. If you would prefer to receive a copy this way please contact the Editor. Pictures are usually in colour. Views and opinions expressed in Topical Torque are those of contributors and not necessarily those of the Taranaki Branch of the V C C of N Z, the Branch Executive or the Editor. Clubrooms: 1040 Mountain Road - SH 3A Inglewood. 6
Coming Events JUNE Local Events 7 Committee meets at 7.30pm 21 Club night at 7.30pm 24 End of Rego Run Other Branch Events 2-3 Double Fifty Waikato 3 Wanganui Annual Rally 17 Winter Wander Wairarapa 23 Malloy Trophy Far North 24 North Shore/Auckland Combined Run North Shore
JULY Local Events 5 19 22 29
Committee meets at 7.30pm Club night at 7.30pm Breakfast Run Clubrooms and Parts Shed Open 2.00pm
Other Branch Events 8 Rotorua Swap Meet
AUGUST 26
Daffodill Day
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Branch Event Reports Maunga-Moana Rally As Rally organiser I would like to acknowledge and thank the many members and non-members who helped make the 53rd Maunga Moana rally the success it was. It was very pleasing to receive 66 entries this year with 1 Veteran and 21 Vintage with all other class entrants represented .Some visiting entrants had travelled from afar. This year we were mindful of our Health and Safety responsibility's with a Safety briefing before the start and we placed the checks in particular areas to allow our entrants to pass by without stopping . For those in the competitive sections this worked extremely well with just a few points to tidy up. All times were recorded using minutes and seconds. My brother in law Peter Croot is to be congratulated for his untiring efforts in bringing together this marvellous way of precise timing and he also imputed all results and gave as the printed result of Overall, Class sections and Fast and Slow sections. This is certainly an excellent way of producing the results. The manned checks were to record the number and time as entrants went by. Thank you so much to all check Marshalls Pat Stieller, Albert Gordge, Mike Hodgkinson, Max Rutherford, Ken Maul, Ian Bleakly, Joe Fraser ,Rob Thomson, Ashley Smith and Neil Rook and the non-members who willing performed their duties in a very professional manner. The lunch stop at Okoki Camp was organised by Rose and Tiddly Cox ably. helped by Ashley and Larraine Smith and Jocelyn Bleakly. Thank you for a job well done. Thanks also to our Tail End Charlie Les Bognuda and Bruce Marshall. Again special thanks to Peter and Eileen Croot for their welcomed help. To my mate Rob Thomson thank you for his untiring efforts in the Rally Secretary's position and his help is very much appreciated and only I know how much work he put into this and also last years, it is a pleasure to work with someone reliable and trust worthy to achieve the highest result. To any other person that helped that I may have left off my list my grateful thanks. Thank you also to the Plymouth International Hotel for the use of their venues for starting and the finish of the rally and their excellent catering for both Friday and Saturday night and for your presentation facilities. You have done us proud. Finally huge congratulations to our Overall winner of the 53rd Maunga Moana Rally, Greg and Jane Oliver driving a 1973 MGBGT. Well done with 17 points lost. Thank You to All entrants. We hope you all had an enjoyable time to our "Back of Beyond" Rally. See photos on next page.
Colin Johnston
2018 Maunga-Moana Rally Organiser 8
Photos
Contemplating the run ahead
Waiting to take off
Under starters orders
Two wise men discussing the morning’s events
Crossing the Bertrand Road Bridge
Last Stop: Okoki School
Situations Vacant Job Description: Branch Custodian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Ensure the security of the Branch premises. Maintain a good standard of cleanliness and tidiness of our clubrooms Ensure the kitchen facilities are maintained and provisions are adequate Ensure extinguishers are in place and maintained Attend to any small maintenance jobs that arise Maintain rally equipment to a usable standard Report any deterioration in Branch assets Maintain wall mounted fixtures, poster's, photo's, displays Ensure Honour and Restoration boards are updated and maintained 9
Health & Safety
Hi all if you attended the Mini Vin and/or the Maunga Moana you would have attended a briefing prior to the event starting. This is something new of our club but will be happening from now on for all club events due to the new Health and Safety Legislation. The briefing will cover safety aspects of the events and expectations from you as a participant and from the Rally organisers. These briefings are to be taken seriously with participants required to attend. The Chairperson will also do a short H&S briefing before meetings and club nights to ensure you are all aware of the toilets, fire exits etc. Any questions please aks. So what is our committee looking at:Health and safety is about the hazards that exist in your usual club environment. Are there fire exits? Are there enough toilets and hand-washing facilities? Do you have a first aid kit and people trained in its use? What will you do in the event of an accident or civil defence emergency? Do you have contact numbers for your members' next-of-kin to ensure they can be contacted in the case of an illness or injury? An important way of ensuring the club is up to scratch with the H&S Act is to develop a health and safety policy. This is the club's statement on how it will ensure the health and safety of anyone involved in its activities. The committee are looking at developing such a statement. A H&S folder will be developed for the club, members will have access to this in the Clubrooms. There will be checklists developed for events. Regards Raewynn 10
Treasurer’s Report The Financial Review for the 2017 year indicates a reasonable year for the Branch finances, with membership numbers remaining static. A small surplus was maintained in the General Account. The Rally Account is in deficit, the result of a Committee decision during the year to shift $5000.00 out of the Rally Account to the Branch Term Deposit account where a better interest rate is to our advantage. During the year, Inland Revenue agreed to our Branch having an exemption to paying tax [RWT] on any interest credited to our three Branch Bank Accounts. An application is being made to the I.R.D. for a refund of RWT. that had been made to Inland Revenue in previous years. Also during the year two applications where made to the TSB Community Trust for funds to augment Branch finances. An Operational Grant Application for $500.00 to complete the painting, etc. of the Washroom and Toilet area of the Clubrooms was granted, the Trust doubling the requested amount to $1000.00. Later in the year a Capital Grant Application was made to the Trust for $3999.00 to enable the Branch to purchase a replacement Ride-onMower. The application was partially successful with a grant of $2000.00 being made by the Trust towards the mower purchase, the remainder of the purchase price being funded from the Branch General Account. The printing costs of the Branch Newsletter 'Topical Torque' have been subjected to attention during the year. Advertising content has subsidized the costs, but increasing difficulty is being experienced in sourcing paper based advertising as the world about us moves more and more into digital / electronic mediums. Postage seems to be an ever increasing cost, increases almost an annual event now, with postage rates to increase by another 20% from July 1st next. As it is no longer a requirement to make available hard copies of our Branch Newsletter to all branch's through the National Office, it has meant the number of paper copies printed each issue of Topical Torque has been reduced. Our Editor now forwards our Branch Newsletter digitally to National Office who in turn display it on the V.C.C. website. Again, sales of parts out of the Parts Shed during the year have been a healthy source of additional income to the Branch funds. Thanks to the Team who oversee the Parts Shed operation. The 2017 Rubber Duckie Rally was again a profitable event, although a small downturn in entry numbers. The Maunga Moana Rally was a successful event this year, a perfect day weather wise 'putting the icing on the cake'. Previously I have commented on possible changes to the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. Necessary changes resulting from this review of the act will be passed into law in the near future, with a suggested time scale of two years for any incorporated body to get their constitutions and book keeping procedures up to date to reflect new requirements. Following a discussion at the May 2018 Committee meeting, it was decided the Branch be pro-active in meeting the proposed requirements, sooner than later. Finally, I wish to record my appreciation of the support I have received from many branch members, and especially the Branch Committee, during the year. In conclusion I move the Financial Review and Treasurers Report be adopted. Rob Thomson, Taranaki Branch Treasurer. 11
For Sale / Swap Future Chair Vintage Car 1989 Mitzi Mirage
Toyota Corolla 1996, 1600cc
130,000km in very good order will be 30 years old very soon. $1200 Phone: 022 601 4245
Manual hatch, 312k, new battery, spark plugs & wheel bearings, needs new clutch plate. Rego on hold, $600. 027 455 7617
Chair 1955 Hillman Californian Restored in mid -80's, Rego on hold, some spares $10,000 ono Phone 027 418 8045
Chair
Austin 8 1947
1964 Hillman Minx 1600cc, road legal, unrestored, tidy, some spares. $4000 ono Phone 027 418 8045
1948 Series “E” Morris Eight
Good general condition. Never Restored. Runs and drives well. Sunroof – original H/Lining, seats and door cards recovered. Will come with new Warrant and Rego. Phone Ian 06 7533691
Full sand blast chassis and body. Panel repairs done & repainted Green and Black. New Radiator. Needs wiring and Interior Assembled. Comes with a donor vehicle. Ph: Bryan 07 7695868 or 021 02322875
Chair 1966 Vauxhall Cresta
Chair Austin A40 Farina 1962
3.3, Auto, tidy, some spares Phone 0275 205 477
GH Spencer, 413 Mangorei Road, NP Phone: 06 758 9529
Austin Ruby 1936
Classic Motorcycle Magazines
Seat upholstery needs attention, otherwise in very good condition. Rego on hold, offers required. Car was based in Taranaki, now in Fielding. Ph Colin 021 131 6699
The branch has for sale some boxed classic motorcycle magazines. $25 each. We also have quantities of Beaded Wheel magazines from the mid 70's.
Chair
Wanted to Buy 1937 1/2 ton Chev Truck or rolling chassis Phone Pat: 06 754 6096 (member)
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The Taranaki Branch of the Vintage Car Club does not take any responsibility for claims made in relation to condition or performance of items appearing in these classified pages.
Neil Carter Phone 06 273 4366
Normanby, Taranaki
The Mad Irish
KEY MAN Email: desyo@xtra.co.nz
E reserva ons@autolodge.co.nz
Accommoda on • Restaurant • Celebra ons • Anniversaries • Birthdays • Reunions
Call Ian, a member of VCC Taranaki Branch
Phone 06 753 3691 or 021 0279 7395