Newspaper Article 2012 – Event has wheel nostalgic touch

Event has wheel nostalgic touch

By Christine McKay
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Clive Boyden was on a nostalgia trip, Betty Walker was keen for a haggle and Bill Gunderson [Gundersen] was searching out history on wheels.

Whatever their mission, hundreds flocked to Wheels with Attitude in Dannevirke on Sunday.

Organiser Ken Mills estimated between 400 and 500 vehicles were on show.

“It was fantastic. A very, very successful day,” he said. “We received plenty of congratulations and it was a real pleasure to put on such a great day which appealed to so many.”

Betty Walker of Marton, said the Dannevirke Wheels show is the best of all such events and she should know, she’s been attending them for more than 30 years.

“I was first through the gates again this morning,” she said on Sunday. “I wouldn’t miss the Dannevirke show for anything and I hope to be here again next year.”

Betty retired in 1975 from her job wrecking cars, but she wasn’t just under the bonnet of the vehicles, she was also behind the wheel, driving stock cars for 10 years and knows a fair bit about vehicles and what they’re worth.

You can’t catch Betty out, she knows the value of her stock and can haggle with the best of them.

“When I retired, I had all this stuff hanging around gathering dust and cobwebs,” she said. “It’s all been lying around for years so to come to an event like this and see cars which have been restored, well, it’s a good job I kept some of these bits and pieces.”

But swap meets aren’t just a place to bargain for Betty, it’s a chance to catch up with old friends.

“The social aspect it important to me and I’ve got my granddaughter, Eva (Harris) learning the ropes too. Me, I’m just hoping John Key’s revenue gatherers aren’t catching up on what I’m doing these days,” she chuckled.

Betty’s great love has always been Fords.

“I used to own Ford trucks, one tonners and wellsides. I found them the best work horses,” she said.

When Clive and Shirley Boyden of Woodville purchased their sports, red MG Midget recently, work wasn’t on their minds, instead it was nostalgia.

“Shirley and I owned one of these in 1964. We did our courting in it and 48 years later, it’s been pretty hard finding the exact same model. But we have,” Clive said.

When Clive purchased his first MG Midget in 1964, it was a complicated process, “I bought it using overseas funds because it was quite rare to buy something like that in those days,” he said.

Although he tried hard to find his original MG, Clive wasn’t able to track it down, so he was delighted when his current model surfaced in Foxton.

“It’s in great order. I haven’t had to do anything to it, because the former owner was an old chap who was very fussy. He’d owned it for a long time, but was finding it hard to get in and out of as he wasn’t as agile as he had been.”

Getting in and out of the slim MG may not be a problem for the Boydens but leaving it locked and secure is almost impossible.

“They didn’t make them with locks on the doors or windows, it was the 1960s after all. No one cared,” he said. “But that’s not stopping Shirley and I having fun and getting out and about in it.”

Local historian, Bill Gundersen, was checking out bikes with attitude, found in scrap heaps by his mate, John Tacon.

The late 1930s and ‘40s unrestored trikes were attracting plenty of attention, as was the more up-to-date 1950s model.

The rusty, old pedal cars brought back memories for Bill who can remember his son playing in one in the 1970s.

But Bill wasn’t just looking on Sunday, he had a family 1930 Model A truck on display.

“It belongs to my uncle. It’s been rebuilt a few times after three accidents going home from watering holes,” he said. “This is a great day out, plenty to see and plenty of people to natter to.”

Photo captions –

BETTY’S BARGAINS: Wheels with Attitude stalwart, Betty Walker (left) from Marton, with her helper Dean Harpur at Sunday’s car swap meet and show in Dannevirke.
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ANY OLD IRON: Dannevirke’s Bill Gunderson (centre) and John Tacon discuss the vintage of John’s bikes with attitude.
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ZIPPY: Ken Mills organiser of the Dannevirke Wheels with Attitude Show, makes his rounds on his 1975 motorised bike.
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FUN DRIVE: Clive Boyden of Woodville in his 1964 MG Midget at the Dannevirke Wheels with Attitude on Sunday.
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