Pre-1965 Land Rovers Caravan To Hawke's Bay New Zealand
Sixty-Five Series One Land Rovers caravaned to Hawke's Bay New Zealand to celebrate the huge contribution Landies have made to Hawke's Bay's rural economy.Sixty-Five Series One Land Rovers caravaned to Hawke's Bay New Zealand to celebrate the huge contribution Landies have made to Hawke's Bay's rural economy. Land Rover Series One Clubs from all over New Zealand get involved. . . . This article was originally produced by Mark Warren for New Zealand 4WD with images snapped by Tarsha Hosking.
Sixty-Five Series One Land Rovers caravaned to Hawke's Bay New Zealand to celebrate the huge contribution Landies have made to Hawke's Bay's rural economy. Land Rover Series One Clubs from all over New Zealand get involved.
Land Rovers Engender A Love/Hate Relationship
Old Land Rovers can engender a lover or hate relationship.
Love, because many of us gladly remember riding on bare, cold aluminium benches in the back of ragtop Landies in our young years, along with exciting trips skiing, camping or other outdoor adventures.
Hate, because the harsh-riding, slow, cold uncomfortable mode of travel meant sore bottoms, jammed in the back sharing precious space with loose fencing tools, or wet, smelly sheep dogs.
Whatever the memories, they were well revisited by the Series One Land Rover expo at the 150 year Hawke's Bay centennial A & P show (one farmer was caught just opening and slamming the door to just relive the sound!)
As part of the celebrations of Hawke's Bay's rural history I wanted to pay respect to the huge contribution Land Roveres have made to the rural economy, so as it was 65 years since the first Land Rover had come to Hawke's Bay, it was decided to run a Series One Landi expo to get 65 pre-65 Landies on show.
Getting The Land Rovers Together For The Caravan
The response form all over NZ was very encouraging, and with the help of Peter Marr, of the LRSOC (Land Rover Series One Club,) and Leon Zwetsloot from Land Rover Group, we soon had registrations coming from afar. Due to some old Landies being "piggybacked" on more modern Landies, it was decided to expand the expo into interesting and unusual Landies as well.
To show off Landies actually doing what they are meant to do, I also built an extreme off-road course with a 20-ton digger on the hallowed show pony grounds in front of the main grandstand - you should have seen the faces of the horsey set when they saw a two metre deep hole being dug in their precious show ring!
Land Rovers Of All Types Showed Up For The Caravan
The Landies ranged from a 1948 full-restored immaculate 80 inch belonging to Philip Avery (which I am led to believe was the first Land Rover in Hawke's Bay), teamed up with one of its brothers (three numbers different on the serial number) belonging to Ian Latter, contrasting in its original working clothes
Also starring was a very original 80 inch as a family heirloom originally from farming legend Dick Gadum, of Kereru, now in the care of the Gadum/Lee family. When asked what was special about this Landie, a family member was heard to say that he thought he was probably conceived on the front seat.
There was a number of perfectly restored 86 inch SWBs balanced among some very original ones.
We even had our own Land Rover bar, and as bar leaners we had Allen Hoskin's perfectly resotred 1957 LWB flat deck, and in contrast paired up with probably the most-used (abused) 107 wellside that was used by de Latour to break in the Te Wahangai station. It was calculated that it did the equivalent of 750,00 road driving miles, mostly off-road.
To keep them company Allen had brought along a superbly-built 86 inch battery-powered replica that won the hearts of many featuring in the grand parade. Allen said he had to get out and streth his legs halfway around the ring as cram had set in driving it in the tiny seat.
Touring Hawke's Bay With The Land Rover Caravan
On the Thursday evening we had a sundowner tour to the top of the Havelock Hills looking out over the whole Heretaunga Plains to Neil Chamber's Kopanga Station, getting a bit of red knob driving in before being given a guided tour of the 100-year-old homestead, before retireing to the local watering hole.
On the main day of the show, Friday, many visitors marvelled at seeing such old vehicles gracefully complete the off-road course.
We were even graced with a visit from the British High Commissioner, Vicki Treadell, who admitted to being a huge Land Rover fan, and who jumped at the opportunity to hop (as much as you can in glamorous high heels and pristine white trousers) into my '53 Series One for a spin around the off-road course.
On Saturday most of the collection ventured out to Ocean Beach and along the Cape Kidnappers predator-proof fence to admire the conservation work of the Lowe and Robertson families, before descending down through Clifton Station. After a history lesson fron Angus Gordon at the historic homestead, we retired to the Clifton Beach cafe for a long lunch. Amazingly not one breakdown among all the ageing Landies on the entire trip.
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