Source: Radio New Zealand
Cars lined up for the teams relay as part of the Vero International Festival of Motoring Samantha Gee/RNZ
There have been flashbacks to the past on the roads around Nelson this week, with hundreds of veteran, vintage and classic cars hitting the streets as part of an international motoring festival.
The four-yearly Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring has drawn people in from all over the country, with some even shipping their beloved cars from as far as the US and Europe for the occasion. It was last held in Nelson in 1972.
The Auckland Veteran and Vintage Car Club brought a blue 1915 Renault Charabanc, known as Angelique, down for the event.
Club member John Stokes said vehicle was found and restored by the club in the 1960s. It had originally been used as a truck to haul timber, then as a speedway vehicle, before it became a farm hack and was left to disintegrate in a paddock.
The 1915 Renault Charabanc named Angelique which is owned by The Veteran and Vintage Car Club in Auckland. Samantha Gee/RNZ
“This type of vehicle was very common probably between about 1910, maybe earlier, and the Second World War. They largely disappeared after World War II.”
The crank start Renault was doing laps as part of a relay challenge at the festival on Friday, where teams of up to 30 vehicles compete to achieve the greatest collective distance over a four hour period.
Stokes said its comfortable cruising speed was somewhere between the 30 and 40 kilometre per hour range and it was maintained by a group of five to ten club members who met once a a month.
“Although it’s probably going to need a bit more maintenance after today when it gets back.”
Jim and Lynn Hefkey also made the trip down from Auckland in their 1975 Bricklin SV1 and Jim said didn’t want to think about how much the fuel had cost, given they still had to get home.
Jim and Lynn Hefkey with their 1975 Bricklin SV1. Samantha Gee/RNZ
“I’m hoping they don’t start shutting the pumps off, you know, when you’ve got a big American V8, they’re fairly thirsty.
He said the Bricklin were built in Canada for the American market, and with their gull wings, bear a striking resemblance to the DMC DeLorean.
“They all say, oh, back to the future, but no…This is the back, the DeLorean is the future.”
The Hefkey’s Bricklin which they drove from Auckland to the festival in Nelson. Samantha Gee/RNZ
Hefey said there were only two other Bricklin SV1’s in New Zealand, both in Christchurch and the couple would head there after Nelson to meet their owners.
Mike White is on the festival organising team and said there were around 1200 participants and 560 vehicles, with people travelling from as far as Czechoslovakia, Canada, the USA and the UK to take part.
“Not all of them have brought vehicles, but some have, some have shipped their Packard’s and the like out, it’s pretty amazing.”
Mike White with his 1955 series 1 Landrover. Samantha Gee/RNZ
The week-long event was tipped to inject $4.5 million dollars into the region.
Rally directors Jim and Kyra Wareing spent hundreds of hours compiling runs – so entrants had the chance to tour the region,
Their aim was to ensure festival-goers could see the region’s three national parks – Abel Tasman, Kahurangi and Nelson Lakes, travel on back roads, and visit places of interest like the Higgins Heritage Park, Gardens of the World and the Port Māpua Maritime Museum.
Jim and Kyra Wareing in their 1972 mark II. Samantha Gee/RNZ
“We’ve encouraged them to go to Marahau and get out of the car, walk across the boardwalk, and touch the [Abel Tasman] national park and same at St Arnaud, they were right at the [Nelson Lakes], so we encouraged them to go for a walk in the bush,” Jim Wareing said.
He said there were several runs each day, short ones to cater for small veteran cars which were over 100 years old, and longer runs to cater for newer models.
Nelson man Jared Dacombe is one of the younger festival attendees, at the age of 28. He owns several vintage cars and said his 1989 Nissan Skyline GTR was also among the newer vehicles.
Jared Dacombe with his 1989 Skyline GTR. Samantha Gee/RNZ
“Anything 30 years old is club eligible. It’s kind of a bit controversial but it has its own in history as well and that’s that’s what this thing is about – cars in history.
Dacombe, who owns an automotive business, said his love of motoring came from his great grandfather.
“We we did a lot of touring together both in vintage and classic cars, but the first one was a big international rally down in Invercargill.
“It was just awesome, as a kid, six years old, cruising on the back of a 34 Dodge, it was great touring from Nelson down the coast route and staying in different accommodation, it was just a big buzz.”
Nelson man Stephen Caunter has a 1937 International D2 truck, a 20-year restoration project that he said cost a bit to run, given the increasing cost of fuel.
Nelson man Stephen Caunter with his 1937 International D2 truck. Samantha Gee/RNZ
“There will be people that will go, is this an appropriate thing for the use of fuel at the moment? And, you know, this has been in the organisation stage for years, and did we know what the price of fuel was going to do the month before the event starts?”
He said some vehicles were more fuel efficient than others and a survey of fuel usage among those attending the rally was being done, in order to understand the total consumption.
Caunter said his truck had been in Nelson for years, it was used as a tow track during speedway racing and still had Tahuna Beach Auto Services painted on the side.
“Everyone takes an immense amount of pride in whatever sort of vehicle that they’ve got and I think their ability to share it with the public is one of the joys of vintage motoring.”
Festival director Ray Robertson said the event was several years in the planning and there had been a few recent curveballs – the fuel crisis, ferry cancellations and several car breakdowns.
Festival director Ray Robertson. Samantha Gee/RNZ
“We’ve really had a lot of influence over what happens in the Middle East, you can’t do anything about it.
“Could we have postponed it? Sure, we could have, but why would we?”
The festival finishes tomorrow with a public vehicle show at the Richmond A&P Showgrounds.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
