Ashburton Courier: October 10, 2019

Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Ashburton’s The Courier, Thursday 10 October 2019, Page 13
Red letter club day
Past and present members
and invited guests of
the Mid Canterbury Vintage
Machinery Club got
together to officially open
their club rooms at the
weekend, on site at the
Ashburton A&P Showgrounds.
It was a celebration
many years in the making
but one which has
exceeded club members
expectations.
President John Stewart
and past president John
Hall both spoke of strong
bonds shown by the 110
club members to get the
new building up and running.
The final building
was part of a long
journey.
‘‘Previous committees
investigated sites at The
Plains (in Tinwald) and
South Street (in Ashburton),
but asuitable outcome
couldn’t be found,’’
Mr Hall said.
‘‘The Ashburton A&P
Association were
approached and they
offered the club a site
which would be suitable.
As we are afarm machinery
club this site suits our
aims and ideals.’’
Mr Hall said to fund
the expense of the building
the display area was
being hired out to agricultural
firms for training
people in servicing farm
machinery and also for
displaying new machinery
to clients.
‘‘The A&P grounds are
ideal for these activities,’’
Council CEO Hamish Riach comments
We are now in the final
days of the local body
elections, and come Saturday
afternoon (12
October) Ashburton District
residents will have
their first indication of
who their representatives
around the Council table
will be for the next three
years.
If you are yet to cast
your vote, it isn’t too late.
You still have time to
drop your completed ballot
papers into the Council
office. In fact, you can
do so right up until noon
on Saturday.
Although local government
elections are conducted
by postal vote, it
is now too late to put
your ballot papers in the
mail and guarantee they
will be received on time.
It is now very unlikely
that papers dropped in
he said.
Mr Hall said over the
years there has been
great support to complete
the build debt­free.
Among those he thanked
were club member
Greg Donaldson for his
time and commitment,
and Phil Williams of
Structure Wise for sticking
with the group though
many site changes along
the way.
While the initial funds
came from a bequest
from the late Arthur
Chisnall Estate club
members had ‘‘grown it
from there’’ and also
secured funding from
The Lion Foundation,
Mid and South Canterbury
Trust and Rotary.
‘‘I am sure you will all
agree we have a fine
building to go into the
future,’’ Mr Hall said.
‘‘Thank you to all the
the mail today or
tomorrow will make it to
the Council office in time
for counting. Remember,
the deadline for voting
means papers must be at
the Council office by 12
noon, not simply in the
mail.
The Saturday just gone
by (5 October) was Vote
Day – a date we, like
many other councils, promoted
to encourage
committee members over
the past few years for the
support you have given.
We look forward to many
years of enjoyment at this
site.’’
Mr Stewart said members
encompassed people
from all walks of life that
have an interest in vintage
and classic tractors
and machinery.
He said there were
classic trucks now at the
clubs events.
They held regular
Tuesday morning cuppa
tea get togethers at the
clubrooms ‘‘which is great
for members to have a
yarn and put the world to
right,’’ he said.
There are also monthly
meetings, on the first
Wednesday of each
month, which attracts
around 50 people. It is
usually followed with a
guest speaker.
Different route for Skinner ride
The Skids for Skinny ­
Memorial Bike Ride
next month, tocelebrate
the life of Paul Skinner,
who died unexpectedly
last month, will nowtake
adifferent bike trail.
The event, onNovember
23, will start at the
Mania­O­Roto Scout
Park, at the south end of
Chalmers Avenue, Ashburton,
and take in a
short loop of the river
trail before returning
back tothe scout park.
Co organiser Brad
O’Brien says the ride, to
celebrate the life of Paul
Skinner and raise money
for Paul’s son, Jacob’s,
future endeavours, will
go ahead on the same
day but from adifferent
location.
‘‘Meet at Mania­O­
Roto Scout Park at
10:30am for a leisurely
cruise for a short loop
around the River Trail
Loop.’’
‘‘If you don’t want to
ride but want to join in
feel free to meet at the
Mania­O­Roto Scout
Park at the designated
area where we will enjoy
asausage sizzle (on us)
and adrink (BYO).
‘‘We suggest $10
donation per rider if
possible, any donation
voters to complete their
papers and get them in
the post in plenty of
time for the 12 October
deadline.
Iwas pleased to see a
surge of votes made
over the weekend.
Thank you to those who
used this opportunity to
play your part and have
your say at election
time.
At the time of writing
this, the data shows that
34.37 per cent of eligible
voters in our district have
cast their votes, which
sits slightly above where
we were this time in 2016.
Ashburton is typically a
district of higher voter
turnout than the national
average. In fact, during
the last local body elections,
we had one of the
highest in the country:
just over 53 per cent of
Annual activities
include the ploughing
match at Wakanui (a
qualifying match for the
New Zealand final), dinners,
tractor treks and bus
trips visiting farms, businesses
and vintage collections,
around the Ashburton
District and further
afield.
Members also take part
in community events such
as Wheels Week Plus, the
Ashburton Santa Parade,
the Mayfield and Ashburton
A&P Shows. And
there are bi­monthly newsletters
and Wheat and
Wheels Rallies ­the next
one at the property of
Anthony Hampton at
Lauriston in April 2022.
Photo: Club president
John Stewart addresses
the crowd at the club
premises official opening,
watched by past president
John Hall.
amount willbegratefully
received.’’
Donation buckets will
be circulated at the
Mania­O­Roto Scout
Park prior to leaving for
the ride and also at the
end of the ride.
There will also be a
bouncy castle (gold coin
donation) and a coffee
cart onsite.
AGivealittle page has
also been set up.
voters took part in the
2016 elections.
When voting closes at 12
noon on Saturday, aprogress
result will be posted
on the Council website
(ashburtondc.govt.nz/elections)
as soon as available
that afternoon. The
official results will be
advised no later than 17
October.
In these closing days of
the elections, I strongly
urge anyone who still has
their voting envelop sitting
around their house, to take
it out, select the candidates
you would like to elect and
bring it to the Council
office at 5Baring Square
West, Ashburton no later
than 12 noon this Saturday
12 October.
This opportunity only
comes around every three
years, so please play your
part and be counted.
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