Festival hums to sound of history
A solid crank of the handle at the front of Phill Ward’s red and black 1914 Model T Ford and its 2.9L motor rumbles to life.
Two curious children climb across the front seat of the vintage car, on display at the Hamilton East Heritage Festival yesterday, live music from the nearby stage humming in the background.
‘‘It’s just a matter of lifting on the handle and it’ll go because it’s got trembler coils and they fire all the time. It’s easy to start,’’ Ward said.
The Hamilton member of the Model T Ford Club of New Zealand has owned the car for about 25 years. He put a speedometer in it and it’s been all over the country multiple times, but he has no idea how many miles it’s done.
‘‘You’ve got to rebuild things as they wear out,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s never had a total rebuild. The body is aluminium – there are steel mudguards and things, but the rest of it is aluminium.’’
Polished brass fittings and shined timber round out the car. The wire spoke rims and wheels are narrow – no more than the width of a hand – but the car travels nicely down the road at 80kmh.
‘‘But you don’t go that fast, because it only brakes on the back. There are no front brakes. You’ve got to stop it or the little [front] wheels will soon spin wild.’’
Within the first hour of the festival, which morphed out of a previous food and wine festival, more than 300 people had arrived.
Children rode on the back of a train and played on bouncy castles; military enthusiasts planned a battle recreation; folk singers got people dancing on a the lawn; and stall holders fried chips in hot oil and scooped ice cream to cone.
Hamilton East Community Trust cochair Chris Rollitt said it was one of the best turnouts since its inception and a celebration of the diversity Hamilton East has on offer.
‘‘One of the driving themes is its heritage. Hamilton East is the most historic part of Hamilton,’’ Rollitt said.
This year’s event was the fourth. The last was cancelled due to the death of Waikato regional councillor and Hamilton East stalwart Lois Livingston in 2016.
‘‘This is our first one since Lois,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s in her memory that we do it.’’
‘‘This is our first one since Lois. It’s in her memory that we do it.’’
Chris Rollitt Hamilton East Community Trust co-chair, left