CHAIRMANS REPORT
BOPVCCC UPCOMING EVENTS
IMPORTANT CLUB INFORMATION
MEMBERSHIP UPDATES
JULY 2026 CLUB NIGHT
FUTURE NATIONAL RALLIES
JULY 2026 MID MONTH RUN
CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF PAST CHAIRMAN KEN FREW
JULY 2026 LADIES NAGS N NATTER
JULY 2026 END OF MONTH RUN
MOTORCYCLE ARTICLE BY ALAN MACKENZIE
EDS RAMBLINGS
AT THE 2025 DAFFODIL DAY RALLY FOR CANCER
Guest speaker for August Club Night will be our own Chairman Donn White. Donn will talk about his career as a freelance photographer/journalist of 40years ago when he supplied the majority of NZ leading newspapers and magazines with news from international motorsport meetings. A full slide show will accompany the presentation which will include meetings/interviews with Sirs Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Stirling Moss and former Beatle George Harrison.
Tuesday 4th August at 10.30am is the ladies ‘Nags & Natter’. This is a monthly get together organised by the ladies for all the members partners and is very well patronised. You will be most welcomed. The theme this month is ‘Royalty’ and ladies are invited to wear their ‘Royal Glam’ jewellery clothes etc. Please bring a small baby photo of yourself (no ID) for the game, a small plate and a gold coin for the raffle.
Sunday 23rd August 2026 will be the Daffodil Day Show and Rally. For all display vehicles, entry starts at 8.30am and to be parked up by 9.45am. Public entry is at 10am to 12 noon. Volunteers please be there by 7.30am. The Rally Briefing start 12.30pm. Rally departs from 1pm.
Saturday 22nd August. All volunteers for the setting up of the club grounds for the Daffodil Show Day. Please be on site by 9am. Fencing, gazebo’s and cordons will need to be erected, so as many of you as possible will be required.
Monday 24th August 2026. Volunteers will again be required to clear the grounds of equipment. An early start will be appreciated before we relax at Café Cliff. The committee thanks you in advance.
The BOPVCCC extend a very warm welcome to the following new members
Mark Highsted m.highsted@xtra.co.nz
Mark has a 1964 Ford Zodiac Saloon under restoration 1955 Chevrolet 210 Saloon. Jeff Carline jeffcarline8@gmail.com
Jeff has a 1984 Ford Capri
Timothy Wood timwoodk7@gmail.com
Marilyn Wood mad.maza@hotmail.com
Timothy and Marilyn have a 1979 Ford RS2000 Escort Ross Thomas rossthomas@a1homes.co.nz
Ross has a 1964 Holden EH Premier
Kevin Martin kevin@alberoweb.co.nz
Vicki Martin vicki@macnet.co.nz
It is with deep regret to announce the passing of BOPVCC past Chairman Ken Frew.
We offer our sincere condolences to Ken’s wife Diane and family
Please collect your Club Name Badge and Membership Booklet from the Secretary Michael Thorman All members. Please update your Membership Booklet
Unlisted new members details will be inserted in the next Klaxon edition
Members Please note, failure to wear your badge will incur a $1 fine by Sheriff Tony Hall.
Proceeds to be donated to BOPVCC Daffodil Rally for Cancer
VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION CARD (VIC) & DATE OF MANUFACTURE AND AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT (DOMAS) APPLICATION FORMS
Go to www.vcc.org.nz and in the left hand side panel click option ‘Vehicle Information’
Accessing that will show ’VIC Identity Card’. Print off and complete the required pages also noting the requirements for the photos.
On completion, please email the forms and photos to the BOPVCCC Officer George Howard georgie.boy46.gh@gmail.com before sending the application to the National Office, Christchurch. as paperwork and photos need to be checked by a VIC Officer, against the vehicle, before being received by The Vehicle Registrar.
What another exceptional evening was had by the capacity attendance with what started off with the recognition of Patron Alastair Jones and past Club Captain Kaaren Smylie as Honorary Life Members . Members voted overwhelmingly in favour of these very well deserved Honorary Positions which are additional to the previous Honorary Life Membership awarded to long time member Maurice Nottle. Alastair and Kaaren’s membership extended well beyond the BOPVCC Branch and involved commitments on a national level as well as instigating the inaugural Highland Fling Rally and we are privileged to have them in our branch.
All three Honorary members were awarded an additional Life Membership Badge at this club night event.
Also receiving a presentation, retiring from his many years of support as BOPVCC VIC Officer, was past Chairman Ron Elton. Thank you Ron for the dedication and the effort you have put in through the years.
The next item on the agenda was a riveting presentation and display by guest speaker and member Graeme Collett - sportsman, athlete, race and rally driver.
Graeme exhibited the 1963 MGB, the trophy and awards he won whilst competing with the car over many years.
The slide show that accompanied the presentation was outstanding and gave a great insight into the car racing scene at the time. Great also to see the duelling going on between Graeme and Chairman Donn White during racing and still the two have remained firm friends!!!
Graeme continued his presentation with slides of the Iron Man Event that he entered into late in life. The room was filled with gasps and laughs at acknowledging the amount of effort that he put into achieving the completion of his maiden entry into this major event despite no previous training and limited swimming capability. I felt exhausted just listening to the running and biking side of it!!!
Graeme, thank you so much for your wonderful input into continuing this great evening.
Pauline and Elwyn’s super supper went down well (I think we were all hungry after all that expended energy)
Kaaren Smylie & Maurice Nottle
Above left. Kaaren with family support
Above right. Family support for Alastair
Left. Ron Elton receiving his presentation
The evenings guest Graeme Collett with MGB and Trophies
Graeme Collett with Chairman Donn White
Still best buddies
After many years
After receiving minimal communication from Interislander Ferries over renewal of the discounted fares that expired 15th December 2025, the VCCNZ has made the decision to work exclusively with Bluebridge as our preferred ferry provider.
Bluebridge has provided competitive pricing for club members for the period 1st November 2026 to 31st October 2027 which we should all enjoy.
Regards. The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Incorporated.
Many thanks for your contribution Graham, it is very much appreciated. Ed.
How awesome was Rod Brayshaws property.
To view his collection of MG’s and to see the results of his skills was amazing. Many thanks Rod.
An amazing visit! Well worth the stop off. How about those Cadillac chassis and body
NEXT STOP—FLEGG’S MILITARY COLLECTION
Delicious lunch at De Brief Café then off to view the Flegg Brothers private museum collection of military transport
Couldn’t believe the size of the helicopter at the back of the shed!
Many thanks guys for allowing us to view the collection
MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPLIED PHOTOS AND ARTICLES
GREAT TO HAVE SUCH A SELECTION TO CHOOSE FROM
The service to celebrate the life of Ken Frew took place at The Yacht Club, Tauranga. 23rd July 2026. The service was well attended by BOPVCCC members with a great turnout of club cars as a salute to Ken. It was exceptional the way friends, family and extended family spoke about Ken with Ken’s humour and generosity a definite theme that has followed through his life. Diane, Daughters and Grandchildren all gave excellent speeches from the heart that was felt by all attending.
Ken Frew will be sadly missed
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July morning tea welcomed 15 ladies to a ‘high tea’ at the clubrooms.
As it was Pauline Pirie’s birthday that day, we decided to surprise her with a Birthday Cake and gift for all the work she puts into catering for our club.
Janice Winter produced a quiz which made us all put our thinking caps on.
Jan Cavanagh was the lucky raffle winner.
A good morning was had by all.
If you are hesitant about coming along, please do, you will be most welcome to join in.
Cold morning tea stop at Maketu.
Jane Perkins trying to Warm up on the Gym equipment
A Fantastic Day
Many thanks to Neil Surtees
If you have a motorcycle, then please come along to the events and join in the ride
July has again been a full on month with club night and run activities. The ladies get together (nags n natter) headed off the month with the ladies enjoying Pauline Pirie’s Birthday celebration and having lots of laughs. The royalty theme for the August get together also looks a blast and with the venue now a regular fixture at the clubrooms, it has become a definite high spot in the calendar. Guys, if your lady hasn’t been, then get them there for a great social meet up.
The club night started off with some well deserved Honorary Positions being voted in by a majority vote (75%) and special badges being bestowed on all three worthy recipients. Following was an excellent presentation by member Graeme Collett on his Iron Man entry and international racing, a breathtaking experience.
August club night will again feature the international theme, this time from our chairman Donn White who will showcase his career as a journalist and photographer extraordinaire. Also we will be able to register for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Rally as the organiser Carole Seymour will be speaking about this great male cause. This themed event is specifically for vehicles 40 years or older and the optionable dress style is in conjunction with the era of your car. This will be another club night not to be missed! Get there early for a seat.
The Mid Month and End of Month runs were also exceptional with visits to Rod Brayshaw’s MG Car Co. Trevor Gordons workshop and Flegg Bros. museum and workshop and the EOM run to Neil Surtees property. I was most envious of how much room and equipment these guys had including all of those sheds to spread out In and the amazing amount of stuff they had. Hard acts to follow, but follow we will with the August agenda now upon us.
August will see us with the mid month car display and morning tea at Greenwood Park (always a neat social gathering) then onto a visit with the Coastguard and their boat at Sulphur point and lunch at Tauranga Fishing Club, again a great venue organised by Colin Denize.
End of Month will of course be our Daffodil Day Show and Rally for cancer, a special fundraising cause which will kick off with 1st August fundraiser Dinner put on by our wonderful kitchen wizards Pauline and Elwyn Pirie and their exceptional crew of helpers.
Behind the scenes, Kaaren Smylie has ’spoken’ to the Ford Agencies and they are stumping up with a donation for every car sold during this month, this will greatly increase the coffers and I have no doubt that together this club will exceed the donation totals from the proceeding years. How’s that for beating last months agenda.
July movie night was well received with the showing of old time favourite ‘Genevieve’. The ice cream interval went down well then right on queue (as in old movie theatres) the DVD refused to start, however we overcome the problem to finish off a fun evening. The DVD was supplied courtesy of our Patron Alastair Jones. August Movie Night will be a great way to relax after the busy months schedule so do come along and enjoy a social night at the clubrooms.
Members have been forwarding write-ups and photos of the runs that they have participated in to the Klaxon and I am not only grateful but blown away by the amount of photos and the quality of their submissions.
This, with several articles that I am yet to find space for, shows just how much interest our members have in their branch with the great turnouts for all the events and how much fun they are having.
Long may that continue!!!!
September is also shaping up to be another full on month and fingers crossed, for a continuation of the sunny weather we have been experiencing lately, should again bring out the large contingent of cars and members enjoying our motoring heritage and with the regular social Nog & Natter restaurant events continuing to swell, is showing the camaraderie is in great shape.
Lynn and I am looking forward to the inaugural Coast to Coast event in September, something we have never done before and I have no doubt that it will be an exceptional social get together.
Thanks to forward organising by chairman Donn White, December will again see the car run to the Okoroire Hotel for our BOPVCCC Christmas function. It was the excellent venue for the 2025 Christmas run and the carvery was never ending! ‘so’ looking forward to this repeat gastronomical delight. Make sure you put this on your list of things to do.
Just had to slip in this photo of our Secretary Michael Thorman and wife Jane, our lovely Club night raffle organiser.
I think this might be their new adventurous vehicle.
Cheers, George the Ed.
