SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

The Great Queen’s Birthday Market: a British transformation in Auckland

22 February, 2016

There’s a right-proper celebration happening this Queen’s Birthday weekend (June 4–6) at Auckland’s spectacular waterfront spot, Queens Wharf.

The Great Queen’s Birthday Market will see lower Shed 10 transformed into a thriving hub of stalls and performances, at which you can stock up on specialty, imported British, and Scottish products, along with countless New Zealand treasures, thanks to popular local craft, art, fashion, and accessory vendors.

Fun carnival fare with classic seaside carnival games — including laughing clowns and rides — will also be on offer to keep the young ones satisfied, or they can get crafty at the children’s workshops. The real kooks in the family can try the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. In addition, there will be performances from The Puppet Man marionette show — side-slapping fun for the whole family.

Vintage car displays will be revolving daily, with a broad selection of historic motors in attendance. Clubs that have displayed in previous years include the MG Car Club, Humber-Hillman Car Club, Daimler Lanchester Owners Club, Land Rover Owners Club, Jowett Car Club, and Jaguar Drivers Club Auckland, plus luxury British cars from the Giltrap Group, including McLaren, Aston Martin, and Bentley. And keep your eyes peeled for Robbies Double Decker Fun Bus rides touring the downtown area throughout the weekend.

Three great family films will also screen over the weekend, alongside an array of refreshments for anyone who just wants to kick back and relax. The Cloud will play host to a high-tea offering upstairs, for a touch of class, while there’s a relaxed bar and restaurant area downstairs.

So, make the most of the best long weekend in winter and get the family down to Queens Wharf.

Super affordable supercar

9 April, 2026

The owner of this 1978 GTV, Stephen Perry, with only a skerrick of wishful thinking, says through half-closed eyes, “It is not dissimilar to the Maserati Khamsin”.
The nose is particularly trim and elegant from all angles, featuring cut-outs for the headlights echoing Alfa’s own exotic Montreal. The body is unfussy, lean with lots of glass, and the roofline shows a faint family resemblance — although on a much more angular car — to the curved waistline of the earlier 105s. The slightly hunched rear means there’s much more space in the rear seats than in the cramped rear of 105s — very much a 2+2 — and a generous boot. These more severe lines are not quite as endearing as the 105’s but they are still classy and clearly European.