THE WAY WE WERE
s Kent Tubman K3 Magnette in the hairpin.
Continuing our series on the origins and very early events of the Vintage Car Club as recalled by Andrew Anderson
NATIONAL HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP 10 MARCH 1951 Our triumphant exit from Modern Motorsport management!
ANDREW ANDERSON VCCNZ FOUNDING & LIFE MEMBER
10 Beaded Wheels
The late lamented NZ Sportscar Club in the persons of Trevor Wickham and Errol Ansell began the negotiations for New Zealand’s Big Hill, Paekakariki, in 1944 and its first event was staged in May 1946. It already had a “name”, having been an active competition in pre-Kaiser War days with an ftd by Sizaire-Naudin! It was a Big Hill of some 1½ miles and 800 ft and attracted entrants from all over New Zealand and Sportscar magazine has in its March 1949 issue the write up of the 12 February fourth event including the New Zealand Hill Climb Championship. In 1948 Ron Roycroft had set a new record of 2 mins 32.4 seconds in his Bugatti midget. The 1949 climb saw Roycroft again, this time with Rubber Duck Austin, Ken Hemus with 30/98 Vauxhall,
BH Clinkard with Speed 20 Alvis from Auckland, Rob Shand, Del Drewery and Bob Christie in MGs from Christchurch and Halsey Logan from Nelson with the Singer Special. Rob was hugely enthused and the murmurings for a South Island Big Hill was on, with the 2½ mile Governors Bay to the Sign of the Kiwi our vigorous target. Our two very successful and slickly run Kiwi climbs had “officialdom” well on side and it could be totally observed from an easily accessible area of the harbour face of Sugar Loaf Hill. A dummy run was organised for 7 October 1950 with an invitation to Canterbury, South Canterbury and Otago Clubs of course with vintage classes. We arranged for Air Training
Corp people with ZC1 radio sets as the best means of communication between start and finish, pits and the many intervening marshal points, saving an awful lot of cable laying! I was posted for a stint in the North Island on business and missed it completely. A good vintage entry involved a 4½ Bentley vs 30/98 Vauxhall duel, this time won by the Vauxhall. Hec McLean in the ex-Sammy Gibbons Invicta made ftd followed closely by Hec Green in the Wolseley. It was a very successful day with a lesson learned that ZC1 radios with their lengthy calling procedure were just too slow and cumbersome as a sole control and communication system for the hill. With all lessons duly learned
