7th June 2025Sports Car ClubTeretonga Control Tower
27th July 2025 - Mid Winter MealClubhouse
24th August 2025Daffodil Day (in conjunction with Ford)
4th October 2025Post Vintage & Post War
10-12th October 2025 - Canterbury Swap-meet
22nd November 2025 - Arrowtown Rally (note late date)
16th December 2025 - Swap-meet and Open day at the Car Club
Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring 2026
Southland Vintage Car Club
Chairman’s Report
What a difference a week makes. The Waimea Motorcycle run started in nice warm dry weather and only the last part of the run from Winton was wet. However the post 60 & post 80 rally was wet most of the way including the field test at Fortrose.
I am looking forward to seeing you at the AGM on the 29 May, please don’t sit at the back of the room and hope that nobody ask you to participate. Our club isn’t run by the executive we only run the business of the club. Every club member can have a say in the running of our club and the AGM is the right place for you to make a difference, so stand up and take a role in the running of the club. Whether its helping clean the clubrooms once a year or helping with the gardening, every bit helps.
This is my last report so thank you for all your help and taking the time to read this.
Donald
Car Trial and Social Night
Where: Teretonga Clubrooms (outfield) 86 Sandy Point Road.
When: Saturday 7th June starting at 4pm
Southland Sports Car Club members, crew and volunteers are invited along with our VCC friends for the second of our joint socials. Get a car and crew together and join in on a low key fun car trial followed by some social banter and refreshments afterwards at the SSCC club rooms. Meet up at Teretonga at 4pm, from there you will be sent on a short car trial that will have you ending up back at Teretonga. Cash bar will be open and light food provided. Please note some gravel roads may be included in the car trial course. To get an idea of numbers could you please RSVP to Jeremy Dawson either via email jeremy@southlandfarmservices.co.nz or phone/txt 0274908741
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Wednesday Run: 4th June
Next run is Wednesday - 4th June 2025
The next SVCC Wednesday Run will be on 4th June 2025. Leaving from the Racecourse at 10:30am Cost: $25 Please ring Elaine or Angus on 03 212 8956 or 0273104239 by Sunday evening prior.
Wednesday the 7th May
On the 7th May 52 people left the Racecourse in 23 Cars. It was a great day for them travelling to Kennington, Woodlands, Grove Bush, Browns, Lochiel and back to Invercargill via West Plains Road. The Northern Tavern Sports Bar was our venue for 3 very tasty menu choices.
Bar Roster
31/05/2025
7/06/2025
14/06/2025
21/06/2025
28/06/2025
Tommo
Micheal Burt
Ron Irwin
Russell Jenkins
Wayne Calderwood
Office Bearers 2024/2025
Patron Wayne Nicoll 215 7136
Chairman Donald Ward 027 294 7692
Secretary Carol McGarry 027 277 6878 southland@vcc.org.nz
Treasurer Sheryn Warren 021 712 198
Club Captain Gerry Pethick 0210 298 5620
Howard Kingsford-Smith 027 232 3464
Bulletin Editor Stuart Francis 03 213 0529…. stuartfrancis9@gmail.com
Welfare Officer Barry Hayman 03 216 3639
Southland VCC website sporty.co.nz/southlandvintagecar VCC website www.vcc.org.nz VCC forum www.trash.co.nz/vccbb
46 Ariki Avenue, Otatara, Postal: PO Box 1240, Invercargill 9840
Rumour Notices
Copyright of the contents of the “Rumour” magazine rests with the VCC of NZ (Southland Branch) unless otherwise stated. The Rumour is available by e-mail as a PDF file, contact the secretary if you wish to receive it this way. It also delivered earlier. Views and opinions expressed in the Rumour are those of the authors of the articles and are not necessarily those of the Southland Branch of the VCC of NZ, the Branch Executive or the Editor.
Authors of the articles are responsible for the accuracy of the articles and captions. The Editor does not “Fact Check” any article and will only correct obvious mistakes after consultation with the author. Mistakes will be corrected if possible if they are pointed out to the Editor.
Parts Shed
The parts shed will be open the afternoon of meeting nights between 1 & 4 p.m. The following people can be contacted at anytime if requiring parts or information on parts in our Parts Shed. John Burke 217 8177 & 027 226 0067 or Ray McCulloch 03 217 9667
Library
The library will be open on general meeting nights between 7&9 p.m. Other times by appointment - phone 021 159 8319
Secretary’s Notes - Carol McGarry
Southland Sports Car Club - 7th June
A joint evening run has been organised with the Southland Sports Car Club, meet at the Teretonga Control Tower at 4pm. (see front cover).
Working Bee - 7th June
The sleepers and wood work encompassing the small garden, just in front of the deck area, are rotting away and need to be replaced. Olly Ollsen is in charge of the rebuild. The replacement timbers have been ordered and Olly has organised a working bee for 7th June to replace the woodwork. Please contact Olly (03 236 1408) if you can help on 7th June.
Mid Winter Meal - 27th July (Sunday)
A Mid Winter Meal will be held on Sunday 27th July 2025 at the Clubhouse, further details will be in the next edition.
Daffodil Day - 24th August
This years Daffodil Day Run - 24th August - will be held in conjunction with Ford who have agreed to be this years national sponsor.
Date of the Arrowtown Rally - 22nd November
The Arrowtown Rally has had to be delayed to 22nd November because the usual dates conflict with other major Queenstown/Arrowtown events.
Swap-meet and Open day at Car Club - 16th December (Sunday)
An “Open day & Swap-meet” is being organised for Sunday 16th December, a chance to sell off some bits or buy Christmas presents - more details in the next edition
Two New Trophies - The Family Trophy and The Barn Find” Trophy
Two new trophies have generously been donated to the club. Ray and Janet McCulloch have donated “The Family Trophy” for the best performance by a family during the year. The aim is to encourage families to enter events during the year. It is clear that some families have a head start given the number of generations and extended family members already involved. The Shanks family have donated “The Barn Find” Trophy for the best performance by an unrestored machine. The aim is to encourage unrestored vehicles to be made roadworthy and compete without going through the increasingly expensive restoration process. (editors note- I heartily endorse this initiative - the cost of undertaking a full restoration has gone through the roof {particularly the refinishing costs] - the two rebuilds I am currently working on will be Barn Finds. These two trophies will be awarded at the AGM - no doubt who constitutes a family member and what is a true Barn Find will no doubt be discussed at length!
Wiamea Motorcycle Run
12 keen motorcyclists (5 club eligible bikes) left for the Balfour Tavern at 10.30 to get a warmer start. Tony Warren’s 1928 BSA said no more and finished the journey keeping Brian Dunick company on the backup trailer. Tony not to be deterred went home and got his modern out to continue his journey meeting us for lunch at Balfour.
I can strongly recommend the Bacon and Egg burger from the tavern. Most of the club eligible bikes went over the Glenure Summit and continued to Winton where the bikes needed a watering stop. The weather was really great on the run except the last sprint from Winton.
The publican’s choice was David Sycamore’s 1971 Yamaha 350R
The overall winner was Ross Pavitt riding a 1962 BSA Rocket Goldstar
Thanks to all the riders that turned up and made this run successful.
Donald
Car WOF testing
Full Workshop Repairs
Trailer Hire
Tyre Sales and Repair
Post 60 & Post 80 Rally - 24th May
The post 60 & post 80 Rally was run in a different way this year as part of the Clubs Captain’s initiative to increase numbers on the rallies. The main difference was the rally didn’t start until after lunch, the first vehicle away left the clubrooms at 13:30. Twenty three vehicles entered but at the start only twenty took part, with a fairly even split between the two groups. Braving the elements, the post 80 group included Ray McCulloch on his motorcycle, .
The weather gods were not in a good mood, the run started in cold, wet, and windy conditions. The first part of the run was a devious route out to Kennington via Lorneville, then onto Seaward Downs, followed by Mataura island, and through Waimahaka to Fortrose.
The field tests were held on the outskirts of Fortrose; in the wet overcast conditions it was very easy to miss the VCC Sign. For those that did see the sign, the field tests consisted of a vehicle length test and an egg balancing test whilst driving over judder bars.
After looping out towards Waimahaka, the route back to Invercargill was relatively simple coming into town on the Otermaika road and crossing seven (yes seven) roundabouts on Tweed street , Stead street and Dunns Rd, before arriving at the clubrooms.
Sheryn did an excellent job collating the results and printing up the certificates. The catering team put on an excellent pea, pie and pud, topped off by a superb sticky date and cream pudding.
I think this new format for the post 60 & post 80 Rally was a success, the cars of this era are faster, more capable, and more reliable, so a relatively fast afternoon run, over a longer distance, suits them down to the ground.
Post 60 & Post 80
Rally
David Sycamore (Overall winner) collecting one of his three awards from the Club President.
For Sale
2001 Jaguar Daimler Super- charged V/8, 4 litre, long wheel base. 93,000 km. Very tidy and runs well. Heaps of grunt. Ex Steve Thomas. $16,000.00 ono. Contact Barry on 021949531
1995 Jaguar XJ6 3.2 litre, long wheel base. Travelled 141384 km. Light green metallic paintwork. Tidy car. Ex Steve Thomas $6,000.00 ono. Contact Barry on 021949531
1964 Hillman Minx, Current WOF and rego, Kevern & Jenny Cummings, Ph. 027 599 1002
1960 Austin Westminster. It has been looked after wonderfully so it’s in lovely condition. The rego is good till the 04/03/25 and recent Wof. Time for another good owner to look after it, $15,000 ono . Contact Kavindu on 0274830972.
1952 Morris Commercial. Sandblasted and painted. Brakes relined and overhauled. Everything available to complete. Open to offers. Truck in Woodlands. Phone.0274322154.
1925 Dodge Tourer. Good hood, new hood bows, new tyres, fully assembled, motor freely turns, upholstery good...Complete assembled, near drive away car! Very little work required to have a very popular usable vintage! Currently in Dunedin, the rego has lapsed, but there is good documentation. Quick sale required before house move, open to offers around the $15,000 mark, but is negotiable for a quick sale. PLEASE RING TONY STEVELY, 021 045 3533.
1973 Triumph Dolomite $3200
Three Triumph Dolomite projects with 3 regos + trailer load of parts $2000 the lot.
1937/8 Desoto car parts or restore $800. contact Bruce Edington Ph 03 2140426.
1984 XJ900 Yamaha, current registration and warrant, also available a spare parts bike. &
1983/4 XJ650 Yamaha, rego on hold, Needs mechanical attention. Offers for both machines Ray McCulloch 03 2179667 mccpac1@gmail.com
1962 Austin Cambridge A60 early restoration, Black Plates, drives well, $6000 - contact Ken 027 414 3377 WANTED
Socket either 33ml, or Whitworth ¾ inch, or BSF ⅞, or 1⁵⁄6 AF Phone Mac McGarry on 021 081 72672.
Annual General Meeting 30th May 2024
Minutes
Present: Chairman Donald Ward, Secretary Carol McGarry, Treasurer Sheryn Warren and 33 members.
Apologies: Kevin Brown, Don Carter, Paul Hamilton, Stevie Randall, Peter Pryde, Peter Shanks, Peter Hardy, Rae Wilson, Alan Black and Louisa Black.
Moved the apologies as read be received.
Moved Tony Warren / Seconded Janet McCulloch Carried
Minutes: The minutes of the 25 May 2023 Annual General meeting were read.
Moved that the minutes of the 25 May 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Southland Branch Inc. were a true and accurate record.
Moved Dave Birss / Seconded John Burke Carried
Matters Arising: none
Chairman’s Report:
The Chairman, Donald Ward read his report for 2023 - 2024
Welcome to the 2024 AGM and thank you all for attending.
It has been a fairly quiet year for rally attendance in spite of Gerry and his team’s best efforts to increase numbers. I don’t know if the economy is at fault for the low attendance at rallies, but the numbers are certainly down. The Saturday night drinks have been very well attended which is good news for the club.
Unfortunately, we have lost some club members this year but on the flip side we have also gained some new members. We are currently the fourth largest branch behind Canterbury, Auckland and Waikato. It has been my pleasure to present our patron Wayne Nicol and Roger Dickson with their 60-year service awards. We have been having some good results with our timing system and that will make the rally organizers’ job a lot easier with less people needed to get results.
As with any club it’s the people in the background that make the club run smoothly. I would especially like to thank the executive for helping me get through this year, Brian in particular for staying in the chairman’s role till Carol could get here. Carol and Sheryn for all their work to make things run seamlessly. Ken Officer and his team have done a good job with the food at rallies this year. All the wives / husbands that have been willing to let their partners spend time helping run our club.
I would like to thank all the people that are stepping down this year including Dave Calvert in the parts shed and Dave Anderson who has mowed the lawns for most of this century and only stopped when we employed a contractor to take over. This was done because it was cheaper to employ a contractor than buy a new lawn mower.
As we move forward it’s good to see our club in a good financial position helped by all the hard work put in by current and previous members.
I would especially like to thank Gerry Pethick and his team for trying a new format for rallies this year. Please be patient with trophies as we need time to sort these out. It is good to have a bulletin editor again.
I would like to thank Errol Sherman for removing the stump and Laurie Henry for cleaning years of built-up crud at the back of the parts shed, to get the foundation back above ground level.
Donald
Moved that the Chairman’s report for 2024 be received.
Moved Donald Ward / Seconded Brian Dunick - Carried
Annual Accounts: Sheryn Warren presented the Annual Accounts as prepared by McCulloch and Partners Accountants.
Moved that the Annual Accounts of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Southland Branch Inc. be adopted. Moved Sheryn Warren / Seconded Geoff Ellis - Carried
Matters Arising: None
Signatories: To be remain the same – Chairman, Secretary & Treasurer.
Moved that the signatories for the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Southland Branch Inc. remain the same – Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.
Moved Dave Birss / Seconded John Burke Carried
Election of Officers:
The following Officers were elected as there were no other nominations.
Position Nominated Proposer Seconded
Chairman: Donald Ward
Secretary: Carol McGarry
Treasurer: Sheryn Warren
Social Convenor: Ken Officer
Club Captain: Gerry Pethick
Rumour Editor Stuart Francis
Brian Dunick Mac McGarry
Brian Dunick Ferg McDowell
Donald Ward
Carol McGarry
John Burke
Carol McGarry
The following people were voted on to the Executive/Management Board: Nominated Proposer Second
John Burke
Brian Dunick
Dave Birss
Howard Kingsford-Smith
Olly Olsson
Ray McCulloch
Patron: Wayne Nicoll
Brian Dunick
Mac McGarry
Dave Birss Ferg McDowell
Carol McGarry
Carol McGarry
Dave Birss
John Burke
Appointments
Social Committee: Peter Pryde, Tony Warren, Wayne Calderwood
Additional Bar volunteers: Paul Hamilton and Mac McGarry
70th Anniversary Rally Committee: no appointments made.
Brian Dunick
Brian Dunick
Brian Dunick
Ann-Marie Francis
Howard Kingsford-Smith
Dave Birss
Ken Officer
Janet McCulloch
Parts Committee: John Burke, Brockie Pearce, Graham Denny, Ray McCulloch
