Remembering Bob Oakley
THIS has been a sad week within the Otago motoring fraternity, with the passing of Bob Oakley. An early member of the Otago Sports Car Club, Bob was the driving force behind the Dunedin Street Race. Held for the first time in 1953, the event ran in its original form into the mid1960s. At around the same time, Bob initiated the annual DunedinBrighton Veteran Car run, which is still held to this day.
Not content with the challenge of establishing events, Bob was also a keen participant. He contested the saloon car races at the original Dunedin Street Race in his VW Beetle and was a stalwart of the DunedinBrighton run, in the 1912 Regal purchased for wife Judy as a wedding present. Sometimes in the Regal, but also in their more ‘‘modern’’ 1930s Alvis Speed 20, Bob and Judy travelled the length and breadth of the country on Vintage Car Club and Alvis Club rallies over the years.
A flair for organisation and a knack for getting things done, by decidedly unconventional means if required, also saw Bob in demand as a motoring committee member. He served in various roles for the
Vintage Car Club and Automobile Association of Otago.
When the country’s regional AAs’ were amalgamated into a single national entity, Bob was part of a group instrumental in ensuring that AA Otago’s assets were retained locally — via the Otago Motor Club Trust — to support Otago motoring and road safety initiatives in perpetuity.
Bob’s love of motoring as both participant and organiser has been carried on within the family, notably by sons Norman and Roger.
The muchloved patriarch of a family whose motoring interests have been intertwined with those of my own family over four generations, Bob has been highly influential in my own motoring life; early memories include exciting times riding in various Oakleyowned motor cars. Riding in cars was later elevated to driving them, and more recently, serving as a Trustee on the Otago Motor Club Trust which I count as a special honour; not just that I was asked to take on the role, but because the invitation came from Bob.
Once the day’s committee work or motoring was done, there was always the privilege of spending time in Bob’s aftermatch company, where he shared a knowledge of motoring that was deep and broad, and delighted with his acute powers of observation and famously dry sense of humour.
Failing eyesight cost Bob the ability to drive some years ago, but motoring matters remained important. Whether as a passenger on a classic car run, joining a bunch of us younger folk to watch a motoring movie or event, or simply to chew the fat on automotive matters over a drink or two, he remained up for the occasion.
A full obituary will appear elsewhere in the Otago Daily Times, but these are a few personal reflections about a highly respected member of our driving community, who will be sorely missed.