Car Rally

 Proud owner, George with his 1928 Studebaker President.  He got married in it.

Below, Neville's beautifully restored Rolls Royce Phantom - only warranted the week before.

As part of its pedigree, a prior owner Grandma Brown came 5th in the 1957 10,000km Ampol Trial around Australia

The car competed three years running.

In the 1958 Ampol Trial, it experienced a rare mechanical failure - a piston burned out. The beautiful old engine ran very roughly on only five cylinders, and Granny's son didn’t like the vibrations running through the whole car. So, stopping in a small village in South Australia, he dropped the sump and removed the offending piston and connecting rod. Knowing the engine would then be seriously out of balance and would probably shake itself to pieces, he cut a piece from a farmer’s discarded ploughshare and taking a good look at the crankshaft, welded the piece onto the shaft to act as a balance weight. He then replaced the sump and pressed the starter. The old Rolls was back to its smooth self again - down on power but no vibrations!

I had a fraction of a second's fame on Seven Sharp just after the rally - me sketching, and a picture of my best side (my back).

Taranaki Speedway

 These proudly displayed Taranaki Speedway midgets were well attended.  Apparently pre 70's the Speedway was the place to go along with the movies.

Maori Artifacts

 Puki Ariki museum has an excellent Maori section.  Here are a few items:

Taranaki Radio Controlled Cars

Today at the Nationals of the Taranaki Radio controlled cars: The workshops were a hive of industry

North Egmont Farm

A magnificent view of Maunga Taranaki from North Egmont could be seen close up at this Dairy Farm.  Trevor and I had an expedition out to the farm today.

Some Friesian crosses waiting to be milked - I should have bottled the odour to share with you., The ear tags were most colourful.  Also this farm vehicle parked up ready to go.

PUKEMARA GARDEN

Alan Morris'  garden , PUKEMARA. Alan is one of the Taranaki Sketchers and offered us the chance to draw in his  New Plymouth garden - see it in the upcoming 2018  Taranaki Garden Festival 

Photo was by Barry Mills ( imagebarry@gmail.com , 027 255 4408) taken at the car show at New Plymouth's East End beach reserve. My partially finished sketch is of a beautifully presented 1936 Ford Coupe. MLB

Maori Artifacts

 World Wide Sketch Crawl day today - our local theme was Maori and Colonial.

Hei Tiki - Hei means to suspend and tiki is human form.  Often made from an old adze its shape tended to be tomahawk shaped.  Made of Pounamu traded up from the west coast of the South Island it was considered treasured.  Taonga - treasures tended to gain their value/ mana from who had owned them previously.

Patu - whalebone mere.  Note that even the little figure inscribed is  also holding a mere.  More used as a stabbing hand to hand weapon.

Putorino flute often made from two pieces of Mati (black pine) lashed together.

Paepae - carving likely from a bench in front of a meeting house.  In local style with pointy heads and pungawerewere (spiderweb) decoration.

Maori Arifacts

Drawn by Patricia - Puke Ariki

50th World Wide Sketch Crawl

World Wide Sketch Crawl day was initiated by Enrico in San Francisco back in 2004.

Our theme was sculptures, monuments, murals etc in context, in situ.

Clocktower

 War Memorial

Moving stone sculptures at the end of the carving symposium
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/294056/stone-art-transforms-new-plymouth-waterfront

Trevor got several pics of some of us before we set out

Motonui Epa

Forty years ago these Motonui Epa (back panels of a storehouse) found in a swamp were spirited out of the country to a Bolivian collector for USD65.000.  The government bought them back for 4.5 million this year, and they were returned to Taranaki.  Distinctively our style with serpentine bodies, the pointed heads and pu-werewere (spider web) decoration.

A challenge to draw as the display was slowly rotating, so we had much exercise over the hour's drawing. 

Brian suggested trying a dark background to 'pop' them out.

St Andrews Church , New Plymouth

St Andrews Church , a view from the southern side .  MLB

Fun with Flax - Raranga

A very hospitable visit to Te Wananga o Aotearoa Rangiatea - with some special flax weaving 

Far North

10 Day trip to the top of the country to see where the two Tasman meets the Pacific - well worth seeing!

Waikato stares

Alan's tractor

Cape Reinga Light House

Dave's Slushies - Kaitia Market

Hobbiton - Matamata - sans hobbits

Kupenga - Our Kemp House Kerikeri guide

Waka training Lake Ngatu

Mangonui - from the famous fish and chip shop - Colonial fishing village

1836 Kerikeri Old Stone Store

Opononi fishing with the locals

The catch

Revogue - Waikato

Thai Resturant - Tuk Tuk Russell, Bay of Islands

Dog tucker - Waikato

Waitangi meeting house guardian

Pou-toko-manawa supporting the ridgepoles

Indian Jeep

This Willy's Jeep with roll bars is an Indian made Mahindra C-4.  There was only one real prototype Willys Overland CJ-4 ever built.  Consequently dubbed the 'Forgotten Jeep'. This 1979 model was spotted at the Lepperton School country fundraiser.

Mahindra started life in 1945 as a steel trading company and won the contract to produe the Willys in 1947.  Based in Mumbai, they now have 180,000 employees world wide and are the biggest tractor producer globally and have fingers in many pies including aerospace.

CJ = civilian jeep
Jeep was said to have been coined by slurring the initials GP (General Purpose or Government Purposes).  Another theory was that it came from comic character Popeye's jungle pet, 'Eugene the Jeep', which was small and able to solve seemingly impossible problems.

Lepperton Fundraiser

A country town's fundraiser - in all its sunny glory

(Sketched by Patricia)

AmeriCARna

 

Detroit was heavily represented in the 500 cars to descent on Taranaki this weekend.

 



John from the Auckland Corvette Club, kindly let me sketch his C5 retro convertible.  Although 5th generation, it has a 1953 1st generation grill.  A magnet for me.

This 1965 is a first generation Ford Mustang, the class was known as the pony car.  This particular car was one of the very first Mustangs which were produced through till 1973 and proved wildly popular. 

Peggy Gordon's Cetlic Bar, which last night was host to the Magog Motor Cycle Club's 40th anniversary concert.