New Zealand Rolls-Royce & Bentley Club Inc - The Enthusiasts ...

Mainland Comment
Well, let’s just forget 2011, with its disasters natural, man-made
and man-exacerbated; the losses of family and friends, livelihood
and material; so here’s to 2012 and its opportunities. So far the
summer in The Mainland has been dry and pleasant (unless you
are a farmer) while in parts of The Appendage we hear that it has
been quite wet. One advantage of being on holiday is the absence
of news, whether papers, radio, or television, and no longer is
there the need to reach for the off or mute buttons once members
of the Click family (or their relatives the Argh-Clicks) appear.
We spent a week with family in Sydney, where New Zealand was
not mentioned at all in the news, and the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation’s classical station was featuring the compositions of
some of the American songwriters from the era when they were
worth listening to.
During our last afternoon we visited the home of Margaret and
Barrie Gillings. Time passed very quickly during the tour of the
garden, where Barrie specialises in bonsai trees and about sixty
varied citrus trees, and has devised ingenious irrigation systems
draining from large rainwater tanks with micro-switches activated
by the difference in weight between dry and wet “wettex” cloths.
He is the world’s leading authority on Rolls-Royce mascots, and
showed us the process he where employs his dentistry skills to
reproduce duplicate mascots on commission. These are used to
replace the originals, which can then be placed in secure storage,
and the cars used happily.
We went for a drive in Barrie’s very early Bentley T Type.
Chassis SBH1288 puts it in the first three hundred Silver Shadows
or Bentleys built. It was bought new by a visiting Australian in
1966, and well cared for over a low mileage since, with Brewster
Green paintwork having replaced the original grey. There was
time to look at the Rolls-Royces in the basement. They comprise
“Christopher,” the 1910 40/50 Chassis 1492 (get it?) which Barrie
bought in 1958, ‘Mona” the 1930 Phantom II Hooper Limousine-
Landaulette 147GN which they bought in Britain in 1961, and the
1926 20 h.p. GZK12, re-bodied in 1934 by Martin and King as a
saloon in place of its original Barker tourer body.
Barrie and Margaret had invited other Sydney based members of
the Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club of Australia over that afternoon,
and it was a pleasure to meet David and Diana Berthon; Brian
Crump and Steve Berveling; and David and Linda Neely.
Margaret Gillings edits the New South Wales Newsletter London
and Derby and was the first contact your editor had with the sister
clubs beyond New Zealand. That was particularly important in
our raising and maintaining the standard of our magazine. David
Berthon has taken over from Margaret the editorship of the
quarterly Newsletter of the 20-Ghost Club Australian Chapter
(Inc), our member David Neely was of course editor of the
RROCA’s Præclarvm for seven years, and Brian Crump is the
new President of the N.S.W. Branch of the RROCA. As a strange
coincidence, there were two copies of the Rolls-Royce Phantom II
catalogue to hand, and in this photograph David Neely and Brian
Crump are noting the differences in listed coachwork and prices,
while Barrie Gillies is ready as always with his camera.
Before we had to dash away on great-nephew retrieval duty, it was
a pleasure to be part of the obvious fun this group of enthusiasts
and friends have. The N.S.W. Branch is organising the Federal
Rally during the autumn of 2014, and what fun it would be to be
present, even as observers, at that event.
As we go to press the Vero Rally is under way, with many Club
members participating and organising, and it should be a great
event. The cover picture was taken by John King during the 1972
Vintage Car club of New Zealand’s International Rally.
We are priviliged to have permission to reprint Tom Clarke’s
article about Neville Minchin on Page 7 in this issue. Tom is one
of the leading Rolls-Royce historians of our generation, and it was
a pleasure to meet him, as well as Bernard King, at the RREC
Annual Rally at Castle Rockingham last year.
Our new member Alan Race has advised that the image on Page
3 of 11-6 is not of their Silver Spirit SACSZ003FCH13705, but
depicts its replacement in Henry and Joy Green’s motor house.
Sorry, Alan and Jill; here is Alan’s photograph of the correct car,
taken on a recent visit to Oamaru.
The following notice has arrived from an Auckland friend: “Latest
petition to save Western Springs Speedway in Auckland. If you
don’t like the way people move close to circuits and then complain
about the noise, the Western Springs Speedway in Auckland is one
the ‘THE’ venues you/we all must try to protect. Please follow
the link below & sign the petition (and don’t forget to forward
the petition to other people you think would like to support this
historic venue) http://www.speedwayclub.co.nz/signpetition.php”
Ray and Sandra White
P.O. Box 109177
Newmarket
Auckland 1001
‘Phones (09) 420 4881 and 0274 886 186
2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed
New Members
Geoffrey Going
42 Carlton Road
Pukekohe 2120
‘Phones (09) 238 0685 and 0274 511 4341986
1986 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit Chassis SCAZS0001FCH13038
Registration 1 ROYCE
In June 2013 the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club is organising a Centenary Celebration of the Rolls-Royce success in the 1913 Alpine Trails.
Their Past Chairman, Tony James, writes: “If you or any of your colleagues would like further information, please contact the prime organiser of the
rally, who is Len Meades - e-mail lenmeades@btinternet.com or Tel: +44 (0)1346 730 373.”
NZRR&BC Issue 12-1 3