The Vintage Car Club of NZ caters for motor vehicles of all types that are over 30 years old. The Club is centrally administered from Christchurch and has 36 Branches spread throughout the country, which hold regular meetings and events for local members. Altogether there are over 8,000 members, and nearly 300 of these belong to the Wellington Branch. You do not have to own a vehicle to join the club, anyone with an interest in old vehicles is welcome to join. A Club Member can participate in events run by any of the Branches, and Wellington Branch members attend events all around the country. There are a small number of National Events held at a different location each year, and every four years a very large International Rally is held somewhere in the country.
For more detail on eligible vehicles refer to the National website - Click Here. How to join the Vintage Car Club of NZ - Click Here

In summary the classes are mainly by year-to-year periods:
Veteran:          Up to 1918 inclusive.
Vintage:          1919 to 1931 inclusive.
Post Vintage:     1932 to 1945 inclusive.
Post War:         1946 to 1960 inclusive.
Post 60:          1961 to 1980 inclusive.
Post 80:          1981 onwards but over 30 calendar years old.

There are also categories for Factory Built, and Historic Racing Vehicles, Period Specials and Authentic Reproduction Vehicle.
Most events are for all vehicle types and ages but some events are for particular ages or vehicle types such as motorcycles, commercial vehicles or veterans.

A Brief History - Activities

The Fifties and Sixties
On Tuesday 8 July 1958 an item in the Public Notices column of the Evening Post invited “Veteran Car Enthusiasts” to attend a meeting at Manthel Motors, Taranaki St to discuss the forming of a veteran and vintage car club in Wellington. Chas. Maxwell, Len Southward, conveners. Within a few weeks the Vintage Car Club of NZ had a new branch in the capital city. Prior to this the Wanganui Branch actually covered the whole of the North Island so the Wellington Branch was formed from 18 existing members of the Wanganui Branch plus over 20 new recruits residing in the Wellington – Wairarapa region. Club meetings were held at various locations and the Southward factory later became the regular venue.

The inaugural rally took place on Saturday 22 November 1958 with 19 cars plus one motorcycle and sidecar, running from Upper Hutt Railway Station to Petone Esplanade via Hutt Hospital. Membership grew quickly with over 60 members by 1959. Rallies were held locally and at other locations including 12 members attending the third National Rally in Waikato.

In 1960 the VCC took the first steps to catering for vehicles newer than 1931 with a proposal for “Post Vintage Thoroughbred” cars to be accepted.

Vehicle restorations increased markedly when, in 1963, New Zealand won the right to host the 6th International Vintage Car Rally in 1965. This was true throughout the land. The “Haast Rally” was originally intended to celebrate the completion of the Wanaka to Hokitika Haast Pass road – but the road wasn’t complete. Some 300 cars and motorcycles from around the world gathered in Christchurch for the first International held outside Europe. Many entrants camped on this round trip from Christchurch to Mt Cook, the southern lakes, Invercargill and up the East Coast. This was a very arduous and often wet event, with the overall winner Len Southward in his 1912 Buick.

Enthused by the International, Wellington hosted the 1966 Easter National Rally, attended by 105 cars and trucks plus 10 motorcycles. Then, in February 1967, Wellington hosted the first National Veteran & Vintage Motorcycle Rally in the Wairarapa. This year also saw the formation of a motorcycle section and the setting up of a Wairarapa Branch of the VCC. Another first was the establishment of panel beating courses at Wellington Polytechnic under the tutelage of Stephen Roberts. Many Wellington restorations owe their success to this course. Also in 1967 the first steps to have club premises were taken. See the section on clubrooms below.

The Seventies
In 1972 the branch bulletin was named Motoring Spirit and became a formal publication. It still bears that name today. Branch membership was around 380 people. A strong Wellington contingent took part in the 1972 International Rally, which was a Monte Carlo style event with numerous routes finishing in Nelson.
A 1928 Dennis fire engine was donated to the club by Len Southward in the 1970s and by 1979 the motor & transmission had been reconditioned and the chassis painted, but it was not until September 1981 that it made its debut, fittingly at the Petone Fire Brigade celebrations.
The 1978 Branch 21st celebrations were in conjunction with the National Easter Rally and were centred at Todd Park in Porirua. As a fundraiser, six child-sized models of the veteran Darracq “Genevieve” were made for raffles. One model remains at the clubrooms. The rally saw 100 vehicles assembled at Todd Park.

The Eighties
Another International Rally was held in Rotorua in 1980. This time it was a hub event with over 900 vehicles attending. So of course there were a lot of restorations/refurbishments with some completed at the very last minute. Some things never change. And 1982 saw another significant date – the 25th anniversary of the branch.
In 1984 the branch supported a notice of motion for the National body to accept post-war vehicles. This proposal was voted in resulting in vehicles up to and including 1960 being accepted into the club.
Another milestone date was 1985, the recognised centenary of motoring. To mark the occasion 100 cars made a commemorative tour through the whole country from Bluff to Cape Reinga. Wellington was one of four branches selected as an Easter Rally host centre for the tour, while two Wellington members took part in the 2093 kilometre tour. Centenary celebrations culminated in February 1986 with another “International” rally. Because the international body would not grant formal International status it was named the Pan Pacific Rally and was a hub rally based in Christchurch from 26 February to 6 March. There were 800 vehicles and 2000 participants in the rally, which included a 21st reunion for participants in the 1965 Haast Rally.
In 1987 our inaugural Veteran Rally was held in conjunction with the Summer City festival and Nissan Mobil 500 street race. No, they didn’t race around the circuit but drove from the Southward Museum to Mercer Street in Wellington to complete driving tests before returning to Paraparaumu.
Easter Saturday 1988 saw 80 cars lined up for the start of the North Island Easter Rally, with 200 guests at the dinner and prize giving. In 1989 the branch joined with the Tiger Moth Club for a combined celebration.

The Nineties
April 1990 saw a “40 years on” celebration at Ohakea commemorating the first Ohakea race on 18 March 1950. This saw a strong contingent from Wellington including the Southward Indianapolis Stutz and Maserati 250F. New events on the agenda include British and American car days, while the 1990 Annual November Rally attracted a record 75 entrants. Branch motorcyclists travelled to other southern North Island branches and to the 12th National Motorcycle Rally in Christchurch, and again to the 13th National in Gisborne.
The 2nd Pan Pacific Rally was held in 1992, in Palmerston North. This time it was a Monte Carlo style rally and 350 vehicles started from Wellington. In total 900 vehicles took part.
The 50th anniversary of the NZVCC was celebrated in 1996 in Christchurch. There were 63 entries from Wellington. In 1998 the Wellington Branch hosted another Easter Rally, and hosted or was involved with events celebrating the centenary of the McLean Motor-car Act which was passed in October 1898. This act allowed motorists to drive mechanically powered vehicles on NZ roads. The speed limit was a heady 12mph! This was of course the 40th year of the branch.

From 2000
The well-established list of local events continued into the new century with around ten calendar events plus some informal activities.
In 2000 another “International” rally, the Royal and Sun Alliance Rally, was held in Hamilton with a strong entry from Wellington. The next major event was the 2006 Vero VCC Diamond Jubilee of NZVCC with an international event held in Invercargill.
The branch celebrated its 50th annual rally in 2007 and its 50th “birthday” in 2008.
Wanganui was the host of the next Pan Pacific Rally, in 2012. For 2016 Dunedin hosted the international Festival of Historic Motoring.
The 60th Annual Rally was held in November 2017, rallying on Saturday and displaying cars on Queens Wharf on the Sunday.

A Brief History - Clubrooms

In June 1967 NZ Railways accepted the branch tender of £100 for the Khandallah bus garages, and after Petone Borough offered land at the Gear Island site at the end of Jackson St (Halford Place) the huge job of dismantling, shifting and building the “new” club building began with the big shift of building parts happening on 17/18 August 1968. The intent at the time was to provide a workshop and garages but this changed even as work progressed.

After much work by members and some by hired tradesmen the building was usable but not complete by 1970, with four garages available to members. It was August 1972 before it was officially opened as clubrooms, with heaters installed and 100 chairs donated by Southwards. By 1973 the club had purchased panel beating equipment for the clubrooms workshop, and by 1976 there were panel beating sessions in a well-equipped workshop. In 1978 the kitchen was revamped and a stairway to a loft room added.

In 1980 Petone Borough granted approval for a further extension to the clubrooms. This major extension and upgrade proceeded through the early 80s to add a library, extend the parts area and gib the walls.

From 1999 plans were laid for further alterations and extensions to provide a better kitchen, adequate toilet facilities, an enlarged library, and to put the fire engine on display. Major electrical work was also required. After fundraising and obtaining consents the new clubrooms were officially opened in December 2003.

The final clubroom extension was first conceived in 2009 to add an extension to provide a new workshop area and allow the relocation of the library and archives area. It took until 2014 to complete this work with the archives moved into the old library area in September 2014. There will be no more extensions because the Halford Place club area is at maximum permitted building coverage.