BAY OF PLENTY DAFFODIL CHARITY RUN

There are 36 branches of the Vintage Car Club ( VCC) scattered around New Zealand and most of them, if not all, organized an event on the same day to amass enough cash to make a sizeable donation to the Cancer Society.

The Bay of Plenty VCC rose to the challenge and, under the calm guidance of Ken Frew, invited as many local car clubs and owners of any interesting cars as it could to participate. And participate they did. Besides the many VCC members, the clubs represented included those of the Alfa Romeo, Morris Minor, Jaguar, MG, Rover, Mustang, muscle cars, Zephyr and Zodiac, and Sunbeam marques, as well as many individual owners.

Long before the advertised start time, the grounds of the club rooms in Cliff Road were solid with vehicles of many makes and models. Latecomers — anyone who arrived after the 12.30pm assembly time for the 1pm off — were obliged to park anywhere they could out on the street. The combination of the opportunity to contribute to a good cause, fine weather, and a little bit of mystery as to the destination proved irresistible.

After paying our entry fee and attending a brief briefing from Ken, we were led off by a 1950 Mark V Jaguar sporting a very large daffodil fixed to its grille. Marshalling 125 cars out on to busy (even on a Sunday) Cameron Road took some time, and, from fairly well back in the convoy, where the Alfa Romeo contingent was, it appeared that the whole length of that main thoroughfare was filled with magnificent vehicles.

After clearing the city, we motored up into the hills to the south via Pyes Pa and Oropi. It is amazing that, only a few kilometres away from the hustle and bustle, there are still country roads that are rarely used. Maybe that is because some are still unsealed and present a challenge to low-slung sporty types. Of course, many of the VCC cars, like the 1938 Ford V8 that we followed, were born to be used on unsealed, potholed roads.

Mid-afternoon, we arrived at the afternoontea refreshment stop. By then, the convoy had grown to more than 130 vehicles, and, what with passengers swelling the numbers to well over 200, the organizers were a little concerned that the catering might not be sufficient. However, there was no need to worry — the catering done by VCC members was magnificent, and the tables were laden with edible goodies of all sorts.

The venue was the No. 2 Road Hall, Te Puke. This hall was built in 1882 and beautifully restored in 2013. Luckily, it has a big grass field as a carpark, enough to accommodate everyone, and so became a car show in the most idyllic surroundings.

Jim Smylie, Bay of Plenty VCC chairman, thanked Ken and club members for their efforts, and all the participants for joining in the run. He declared the club’s intention to do it all again next year before wishing everyone a safe journey, whereupon the car show dwindled as participants trickled away homewards.

If all of the other VCC charity runs were as successful as the Bay of Plenty’s then no doubt the Cancer Society is going to be the recipient of a very large cheque.

Many will recall the days of the biennial South Island Mainland Classic and Winter Challenge — Coasts and Passes tours operated by Dunedin-based couple Christine and David Mehrtens. The tours were always well organized and planned, and the Mehrtens and their support team always turned in a polished performance and put huge effort into running each event.

A big factor in the tours was the level of support throughout the journey from myriad community groups, organizations, and schools — which usually arranged meals and tea breaks as fundraising opportunities — along with a host of sponsors helping to run the tours. Such was the enthusiasm for the event that representatives of sponsors often brought their own classic cars along on the tour or borrowed one in order to take part.

The Mehrtens still run the Autumn Colours Outing every April, under the Mainland Classic Events banner, and, with the 30th anniversary of their events coming up, they decided to set up something special, something with a family connection to the Aoraki / Mount Cook area.

“My late father, Geoff Mehrtens, always made an effort to go on the tour to Mount Cook organized by the South Canterbury Vintage Car Club [ VCC], so I thought we could organize something similar that would attract classic and interesting faster vintage cars,” David explained.

Geoff Mehrtens was an early member of the Canterbury VCC, and his interest in vintage cars grew when he moved to Timaru in the 1950s to work with Mobil Oil. He was instrumental in forming the South Canterbury VCC branch in 1954. It was in Timaru, too, that Geoff formed a close friendship with Mount Cook Tourist Company founder Harry Wigley, who used Mobil products in his Cadillac tour vehicles and aircraft. It was at the suggestion of Harry that Geoff helped establish the Aoraki Car Rally in 1955. The rally, which runs to this day, commemorates the first tourist vehicle to travel from Timaru to Aoraki / Mount Cook, around February 1906.

In 2015, Geoff Mehrtens’ 60 years of continuous paid membership were acknowledged by the New Zealand VCC. He was also involved for years with the Dunedin–brighton Veteran Run, the running of the Dunedin street race, AA Otago, and the Otago Motor Club Trust, to mention just a few.

David and Christine have set a firm date of 2–5 November for the first running of their new biennial tour into the Southern Alps: the Aoraki / Mt Cook Spring Classic. There are already 20 confirmed entries for this year’s event, which will be limited to 40 vehicles of all makes and types.

“This premium event will have a strong fellowship factor, making it a very memorable and relaxing time away, with the hope that many will want to come again!” David said.

The Mehrtens hope to attract entrants from throughout New Zealand and overseas. They are particularly keen to have faster vintage vehicles enter — ones capable of completing 150km per day. “Members of the Dymond family of Penrite Oils are coming over [from Australia] and are keen to take part in the event,” David said.

The itinerary will kick off in Dunedin with a sign-in on Friday evening and a get-together, while the start will be on Saturday morning at a yet-tobe-disclosed location. After stops for meals along the way, the tour will stay in Aoraki / Mount Cook on Saturday night, with an opportunity to enjoy sights, flights, and planned activities in the area on Sunday, followed by an evening meal.

Coincidently, 1955 was not only the year that the VCC Rally started in Timaru, setting off from outside the Mount Cook Tourist Company offices and heading off to Aoraki / Mount Cook; it was also the year that Geoff Mehrtens helped Harry Wigley to develop his ski-plane for a world-first snow landing with a passenger on the Tasman Glacier. After hanging from the ceiling of Queenstown Airport for many years, that Auster aircraft, registered as ZK BDX, is now on display in the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre at Aoraki / Mount Cook.

For more information, go to mainlandclassic.co.nz, or enquire at mainland.classic@ outlook.com