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Annual Holden Car Show exceeds last year’s funds for charity

16 June, 2014

 

Back in March, the Holden Special Vehicles Club Inc, in association with Ebbett Hamilton, held the fourth annual Hamilton Holden Car Show as a fundraising event for the club’s nominated charity — the Bruce Tronell Motorsport for Life Trust.

The event saw 114 pre-registered entries, however because of the bad wether (Cyclone Lusi time) about 20 of the pre-registrations didn’t attend. There were still enough enthusiastic Holden owners keen to make up the numbers which, in the end, reach 125 nicely-presented Holden cars on display. This exceeded last year’s entries. There were 15 category awards up for grabs, plus the coveted People’s Choice Award which was won this year by Steve Fabish’s customized 1989 HZ Holden Kingswood ute.

Hosted by Ebbett Hamilton in its Anglesea Street service yard, the show provided the chance for Holden fans to get close to a vast range of cars dating from a 1948 FX Holden to a 2012 VE Walkinshaw. The workshop held a selection of race and muscle cars, including both Greg Murphy’s ex-Tasman Motorsport V8 Supercar and Scott McLaughlin’s BNT V8 SuperTourer, and a Holden Caprice  drag car. Static memorial displays of memorabilia were on show for the late Jason Richards, including the first Team Kiwi race car he ever drove as  a professional race car driver, and the late Mark Porter, who was tragically killed in a race accident on Mount Panarama in October 2006.

Even though the weather caused an impact on the number of people through the gates the gold coin donation for public viewing raised more money than the previous year’s show. Last year the show raised $2500 and this year $2900 was raised for the charity. Local businesses were very supportive and donated goods and merchandise towards the event which contributed to its success. Local ban Red Rock ‘n Blue played throughout the event, free of charge, to help with fundraising as well.

The Bruce Tronell Motorsport for Life Trust supports special needs children, with funds raised from previous Hamilton Holden Car Shows going towards helping young cancer sufferers to enjoy the trip of a lifetime to Disneyland with the Koru Care Trust.

The 2014 weekend event was extra special this year with the Holden Special Vehicles Club organizing a second fundraiser the following day to raise money towards the Education Fund set up for the two children of Jason Richards, Sienna and Olivia, after he succumbed to cancer on December 15, 2011, aged 35 years. The Club had designed and printed commemorative T-shirts and window stickers for a Jason Richards Memorial Cruise from Hamilton to Drury which, together with a raffle, blind auction and donations, raised a further $1800-plus for this second charity. Between 45 and 50 cars took part in this charity drive to the Murphy’s Law bar for lunch.

Club President Jim Cooper acknowledged the hard work of the show’s organizing committee and the support and generosity of all the businesses, individuals, and members of the public who contributed to the sucess of the event, in spite of the  bad weather.

“When Cyclone Lusi threatened to gatecrash our party the organizing committee decided we weren’t going to let an itty-bitty storm wash us away; these things often don’t turn out to be as bad as they are predicted and we crossed our fingers that Lusi was going to be just a breeze with a bad attitude, nothing more. The Chiefs had turned it on for us on the Friday night and we knew that a lot of people were looking forward to the car show. [Next year] will be our fifth anniversary show and we are hopeful that funds raised from next year’s event will exceed a combined total of $10,000 for Bruce’s Trust over the five years,” he said.

NZ Classic Car magazine, November/December 2026 issue 408, on sale now

18 October, 2026

Star status for classic Porsche
A long search ends: finding the right car
Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963, the Porsche 911 heralded an iconic lineage of sports cars, known for their exceptional performance, remarkable racing reliability, and adaptability, second to none.
New Zealand Classic Car, in conjunction with Star Insure, recently conducted a photo competition to find 13 suitably impressive classics to grace the pages of the magazine’s 2027 calendar. A flood of entries showed that Kiwis recognise eye-catching designs and restorations. Many are handy with a camera, too, and have entered some outstanding results.
The choice was not straightforward, with multiple stunning entries, and Geoff Long’s immaculate 1990 Porsche 911 (964 Factory designation) took top honours. Fortunately, Geoff had Ethan Hanlon handy to take the accompanying photos while working in his office.
“I’ve got a young employee who is doing work experience in my office at the moment, and he’s a very avid photographer. So, I said, I’ll buy you breakfast and then why don’t we go and take some photos. He found the right spot, and he spent over an hour photographing.”
Originally sold new in Japan, hence the right-hand drive, the Porsche was resident there for four years before being exported to New Zealand, as Geoff recalls.
“I bought it two-and-a-half years ago, but I looked for it for over two years, because it’s just the colour scheme, interior and exterior I was after. The service file that came with it is extensive; I mean, it’s been beautifully looked after, which is what I wanted to continue, as it does get driven. It doesn’t sit in the garage.”

Classics on the green

16 October, 2026

Many pretenders vie for the title, but the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gets my vote as the biggest thing since sliced bread.
The 71st edition of the world’s pre-eminent and best-known concours event featured 28 classes, judged by a 180-strong jury, which also chose the recipients of 26 special awards.
The size of the event, the number of visitors, and, most mind-numbingly, the sheer number of amazing cars, is almost overwhelming. There are so many quality cars to gaze upon, and so many people gazing at those cars, that it is almost impossible to cover everything.
Notable among the many attractions were the centenary celebrations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an elegant Talbot-Lago Grand Sport, Hermann Graber’s Swiss-bodied cabriolets and coupés, the jewels of Otto Vu Italian V8s, early Alfa Romeos, Lincoln and its centenary, and cars with unorthodox propulsion systems.