Far North Focus
July 2017
Bright colours, bright smiles cheer up a gloomy morning. Molloy Trophy Rally 1
The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand
Far North Focus Who’s Who for 2017/18 Chairman
Warwick Woollams
w.woollams@gmail.com
09 407 7494
Vice Chairman
Murray Cormack
m.g.cormack@xtra.co.nz
09 409 3823
Secretary
Peter Slawson
netherfields@kinect.co.nz
09 407 3066
Treasurer
Robyn Mackay
wmackay@vodafone.co.nz
09 406 1955
Club Captain
Naomi Mason
vinomi88@gmail.com
09 408 1376
Editor
Peg Hills
comdo@clear.net.nz
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
Committee
Warwick Woollams, Murray Cormack, Dave Hills, Cecelia O’Dell, Robyn Mackay, Peter Slawson, Winston Matthews, Graeme Moore, Paul Sullivan, Vince Mason, Mike Pooley, Margaret Wallace
Building Officer
Peter Mason
09 406 1409
Club meetings on the second Tuesday of the month at the Aurere Clubrooms at 7.30pm.
CLUB CLEANING ROSTER 2017/2018 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.
Naomi and Vince Mason July
Naomi & Vince Mason
January
August
February
September
March
October
Everyone– working bee
April
November
May
December
June
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Full roster next Focus
Calendar of Events 22 July
Annual Luncheon/Prize-giving
27 August
Vintage Car Club Daffodil Rally
THE SOCIAL EVENT OF 2017 Don’t miss the Club Annual Luncheon, Prize Giving and 50 year presentation to Warwick Woollams This will be held at the Palms Bistro, Kerikeri On Saturday 22nd July from 12 noon. The venue is 200 metres from the Kerikeri roundabout on the airport road– Wiroa Road. We will have the Club flag at the gate.
Lunch has been arranged for 12.30, followed by the prizegiving, dessert, entertainment and culminating in the 50 year presentation by National President Dianne Quarrie. Cost (after Club subsidy) will be $20.00 per head, payable on the day, and we would appreciate numbers attending to be advised to;
Peter Slawson, at netherfields@kinect.co.nz
or 09 407 3066
by Monday 17th July So that we can ensure there is sufficient food for you all.
This is your chance to rub shoulders with the rich and famous– DON’T MISS OUT!
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The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand
From the Chair……. The new club year seems to be getting off to a good start. A meeting has been held involving Naomi Mason, Cecelia O'Dell, Peter Slawson, Murray Cormack and myself. The object of this meeting was to plan club events for the forthcoming year. In particular we needed to confirm dates for our “Calendar Events” to be forwarded to the National VCC Office to be included in the National Calendar of Events. These events for our Branch include the Auto Spectacular and the Brian Parker Rally. Obviously we are promoting the Auto Spectacular to attract visitors from all over including other VCC Branches, other Car Clubs and General Public. The Brian Parker Rally is promoted mainly to other VCC Branches as being the Far North Branch's Premier Annual Rally to encourage their participation. Most other VCC Branches have a similar Annual Event. Our thanks to Cecelia and Peter for hosting this meeting (great scones Peter !)
answers before our Pot Luck Lunch at the Club Rooms. An enjoyable day out.
Thanks to Murray for filling in for me at the June meeting whilst I was struggling on a beach in Vietnam trying to decide whether to swim in the sea or in the pool. Quite a few issues were well covered at the meeting. The improvements to the parking area at the Club Rooms are a huge improvement.
Warwick
There is no motoring event for July but we do have our Annual Luncheon and Prize Giving in Kerikeri this month. - details elsewhere. Something that many members may be interested in seeing is the new film about the life of Bruce McLaren. It has been recently released and is directed by Roger Donaldson, who also produced “The Worlds Fastest Indian” and “Smash Palace” amongst other films. It is more of a documentary film than drama and evidently quite challenging to produce because of the lack of recorded film especially in the early years. It is recommended so go see for yourselves. I think it is showing in Kerikeri very soon. Enjoy
It seems like half of our Branch has abandoned our Islands and headed for warmer climates but we managed to scrape up a quorum for the Molloy Trophy on Saturday the 24th. The run was plotted by Peg and Dave Hills and it took us up and down the hills and on narrow back roads (and for some a No Exit Road leading to a quarry), looking for scenes to match photos on our instruction sheet. We ended back at Winston's Museum for more searching for
Everyone turned up in good spirits on that dreary morning, and the Secretary ended his lunch on a high note, although we’re not sure just how high it went.
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Club Captain Reporting‌..
Kia Ora / Hello everyone, Well here is my first report since becoming Club Captain. Thank you Cecelia for all your hard work. I will try my best to continue the good work. I would like to apologise for not being able to attend the Molloy Trophy Rally but we had a family wedding which made it impossible to be there. I trust everyone had a wonderful day and look forward to hearing how it all went. The next exciting event is our Annual Dinner with a special presentation of Warwick's 50th year as a member. What an achievement!! Well done Warwick. This will be a lovely afternoon out and a good time for us all to get together. Don't forget to get your reservations in, in time. You don't want to miss out.
In August there will be rallies organised to raise funds for cancer all through NZ so if you can support the Daffodil Day please do. This is an event that our National Body has embraced and is encouraging all Branches to take part. Thank you Winston and Ruth for offering to take on the organisation in the Far North and also Peter Slawson for being able to organise something for the KerikeriBay of Islands area. Praying you all keep well especially in the cold weather that we are going to get through winter. It will soon be over though as the year is already moving on fast.
Great to hear our NZ boat races went so well. Well done Team NZ, to bring the Cup home to Don't forget to wear your name tags as some NZ. of us oldies forget your names, especially Wishing everyone the best when we don't see each other often enough Regards ( the newer members that we still need to get to know) and it would be neat for them to get Naomi to know us too.
Save the Date
Vintage Car Club National Day Our Daffodil Rally For Cancer is happening on Sunday, 27 August 2017
Don’t forget to book for the Annual Luncheon on the 22nd of July
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THE MOLLOY TROPHY RALLY SATURDAY 24TH JUNE 2017 We met on a cold, showery morning, opposite a great cafÊ with new friendly owners, delicious coffee and wonderful, well priced food. Peg had organised a wet and a dry day option. We used the wet one. There were five cars on the run, four eligible vintage and one modern. This run started with a straight run to Taipa, then instructions and questions began. We had six photos to identify and number in order along the route which our car of four found fun and challenging with much fun and laughter. Most followed the instructions but a few took a wrong turn down a road which fortunately was a short no exit. While one solo driver was distracted with an oncoming vehicle at a one- way bridge, he missed the right hand turn and continued on his own tour all the way to Kaitaia!!! The route took the rest of us in a loop on some interesting roads inland from Taipa, and brought us to the main road near our clubrooms. Here we were directed to Matthews museum for some more questions to answer, requiring a close inspection of the exhibits. Some of us hadn’t been there for a while and found many added items of great interest. On completion we then gathered at the clubrooms for a welcome glass of mulled wine to warm us up, and a wonderful pot-luck Christmas themed lunch. Many thanks to Peg and her helper Dave for organising a wonderful day for us, in interesting surroundings, challenging questions, great company and as always a tasty meal. Terry and Sue Rogers Place getters were: First
Penny and Warwick Woollams
Third Peter Slawson with James
Second Raewyn and Rosco Pennell Fourth
Sue and Terry Rogers
with Bev and Matt Sharpe Many thanks to Winston for opening up his museum for our wet day quiz, and to Mike for photos.
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Welfare Report, from Margaret Wallace This month Pauline Taylor finally managed to get her knee surgery done at Whangarei hospital, after a long time of pain and difficulty getting around. Last Friday I had to go to Whangarei, and as I was down there, I thought I would go up to the hospital to see how she was getting on, and take her a card from the Club. Two days after the operation, she seemed to be progressing well. While we were catching up, the nurse came in and told her she could go home, and did she want to phone someone to come and pick her up! It was a no brainer, and I offered to take her, as I was going straight home to Kerikeri anyway. She reluctantly accepted, after having phoned Murray to give him the news. After obtaining the discharge papers, and equipment needed at home, we set off. I certainly noticed every bump, and uneven road surface on the way, as I was so afraid it would be jarring on Pauline's knee! However we got back in one piece, and apart from being very tired, she was no worse for wear from the ride, and just happy to be home to sleep in her own bed! I keep in touch with Therese Stevenson, and the other day she phoned to tell me she had decided to put her house on the market and move closer to town. Her sons have already started helping her to box up some stuff, and she has looked at a place where she can walk to town. I think it will give her more interaction with other people, as at present she has no one close by to socialise with. We wish her well. Peg tells me she bumped into the Websters one day, and Keith appeared to be doing well, but unfortunately, I have been unable to contact him. We wish him all the best. Please contact me if you have news of anyone needing a boost for any reason, or even if there is anyone with a special celebration! My number is 09 407 8251, or 027 298 7322 or e-mail johnandmarga@actrix.gen.nz
CLUB SHIRTS AVAILABLE: THE CATERING COMMITTEE Mike & Lynn Pooley Dorothy & Dave Duirs
Winston MatthewsColleen Brownlie
Margaret Cornwall
Raewyn Pennell
Dave & Peg Hills
Margaret Ilton
Contact Ruth- see her at a meeting, call her on 09 406 392, email her at r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz There will be samples at the Clubrooms to try on for size. Cost is $30-$35 dollars, depending on size.
Art from old tyres 7
A message from Ross Holden, our Communications & Marketing Officer Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) Phone 021 2638488
Email: comms@vcc.org.nz
The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand now has a new Facebook page. The page will have interesting stories, posts on events and photos of vintage car activities from around the country. To start with, we would like you to do the following: For those who already have a Facebook account: Go to the VCC Facebook page and LIKE it. Posts will then appear in YOUR Facebook stream and you can share them with your friends For those who don’t have a Facebook page or don’t want to set up an account: Click on the link below and then save it in bookmarks in your internet browser. You will then have easy access to the page whenever you want to see the latest posts. Please note that this Facebook page will include notification of upcoming events and stories but it’s not a buy, sell and exchange page. There are other avenues for that information. We would also like you to email pictures and include a couple of words about the photo from club events around the country for posting on the page. This will provide content of interest for enthusiasts around the world. Send pictures and stories to: comms@vcc.org.nz To access the club facebook page go to: https://www.facebook.com/ vintagecarclubofnewzealand/ or type Vintage Car Club of New Zealand into facebook search. This page is your portal for fun stuff that is happening for vintage car enthusiasts around the country. The more stories you supply, the more relevant the page will be.
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Rex has sent us this FOMC article which was published in the Morris Register’s magazine. It was written for Wheel Torque, Issue 25, April/May 2017, by Roy Hughes, FOMC secretary. Countering the Cost of Compliancing our Classics In this modern age of ever mounting obsessions with imposing maximum safety requirements on everybody and everything the longer term wellbeing of our treasured older vehicles is increasingly imperilled. Feedback from member clubs suggests there has been an increase in the excessive or unnecessary costs and . other frustration being encountered by heritage vehicle owners as they negotiate their way through the rules and requirements imposed by some vehicle inspectors and compliance agents. There are increasing indications a different approach to safety inspections for older vehicles is becoming more and more necessary as automotive engineering and technology continue to develop. Many if not most earlier models never did and never will completely comply with modern requirements, but in their own way they are as safe as needed if maintained to the standards prevailing when they were manufactured. Obviously in terms of what they are and what they can do, most of our older vehicles will be no significant threat to the bodily health of either their occupants or the public. For example Morris Minors will never require the stopping power of an Aston Martin or a Tesla. So our more astute and experienced vehicle inspectors usually apply a sensible degree of professional discretion when assessing older heritage vehicles. But like the vehicles, many of those mechanics and inspectors with wide experience of collectible cars are aging too, and their knowledge and shrewd judgement will soon be lost. Research has found that around 14% of our vehicle inspectors are aged over 60 and are therefore expected to exit the workforce in the near future if not quite immediately. There is widening concern that many heritage motorists will probably encounter increased rejections and disputes with compliance authorities as today’s younger automotive technocrats apply tomorrow’s rules to last century’s vehicles. When newer vehicles covering much larger mileages are only inspected once a year, the still required six monthly WoF check for vintage vehicles is being seen
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as onerous and unnecessary. Especially when it is probable many vintage cars may be driven only a few hundred miles, or even less, between inspections. While the United Kingdom has abolished both registration fees and MOT checks (the equivalent of our WoF) for cars 40 years and older, the FOMC believes some form of safety check should be retained for New Zealand heritage vehicles. But only once a year at most. This would encourage owners to ensure their cars were warranted and in use all year round, which would effectively keep them in better condition than leaving them parked up for months to avoid the fees. As well as including this issue on the agenda for its upcoming AGM in Christchurch, the FOMC executive has resolved to discuss possible approaches with the Motor Trade association. We will also be seeking more data from clubs and owners on the annual mileages covered by vehicles aged over 40 years and the kind of difficulties being encountered in getting vehicles approved for road use. And following up on a survey by our sister organisation in the United Kingdom which found the restoration and maintenance of historic vehicles makes a multi-billion dollar contribution to the British economy, the FOMC is considering commissioning similar research in New Zealand. A survey to establish both the number and the details of firms or persons who undertake work to preserve or restore classic and heritage vehicles could be compiled into a Federation Register. As well as using the data to establish the overall value of heritage motoring to the New Zealand economy to support our case when negotiating issues with the government, the register of industry participants could also be made available to clubs for the benefit of their members.
