Taranaki couple Rolls up to lead tour
When a dozen of New Zealand’s most elegant cars tour Taranaki this month, it will be a locally owned 1908 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost at the front of the pack.
The rare car is the pride and joy of New Plymouth hoteliers Joelene and Nyall Simkin, who restored it over decades from a pile of rusted parts they discovered in Australia in 1988.
It wasn’t until 2015 that the car was roadworthy, just in time for the bridal party of their son’s wedding.
If you didn’t see it then, or some time in between, your next chance to catch the Silver Ghost in action will be on October 15.
That is when it will lead a dozen other cars from the New Zealand Rolls-Royce and Bentley Club around the region before parking up at the Te Rewa Rewa bridge car park so people can have a look at the vintage vehicles close up.
A fully restored Silver Ghost can sell for seven figures, but Nyall preferred to avoid exact details on how much it cost to restore and how much it was worth now.
‘‘New Zealand’s very good for restoring and making things. If you could make it then, you can make it now. Machinery is a lot better than what it was,’’ he said.
The car is one of a collection of vehicles owned by the couple. All beautifully restored, the cars come from another age.
The floors feature plush carpet, the beautifully grained wooden trim is highly polished and seats upholstered in richly coloured leather. One of the cars even has its own mini bar, complete with crystal decanters.
Driving the Silver Ghost is quite the luxury with its opentop and leather seats, but despite its elegance, the experience is a little bumpier than gadding about in a modern vehicle.
After an extensive startup ritual, much more involved than turning a key or pressing a button, the car is then carefully manoeuvred on to the road before bumping and screeching as it drives.
The horns on either side of the front two seats were no exception to the already loud vehicle, letting out an oldfashioned ‘‘awoooga’’.
The car does not get out on the road that much, but the couple have offered rides in it for such events as Daffodil Day.
‘‘If there is anything for charity, we really try and do it,’’ said Nyall.
The two have been attending
‘‘New Zealand’s very good for restoring and making things. If you could make it then, you can make it now.’’ Nyall Simkin
car events with the New Zealand Rolls-Royce and Bentley Club for the past 30 years.
Derek Evennett, national treasurer of the club, said the event in Taranaki was to showcase the vintage vehicles.
‘‘We are just so proud of our cars,’’ he said.