There are many 'Morries under Ian Hope's roof. Photo / Warren Buckland
There are many 'Morries under Ian Hope's roof. Photo / Warren Buckland
Roger Moroney continues his series on the things Hawke’s Bay people love to collect.
For Hawke's Bay car collector Ian Hope it all began with one fine little Morris Minor.
It was about 36 years ago and his uncle Albert wanted to buy a car for his wife Doris, and Mr Hope, who was a mechanic then, heard of a Morris Minor going for sale in Palmerston North that would fit the bill.
He checked it out, found it was fine, and so the deal was done - with his uncle telling Mr Hope "you have to look after it for aunty".
So he did the regular checkups through until 1986 when the couple both passed away.
More and more great nieces and nephews kept arriving and accordingly, seeing he'd promised the first a Morrie, so too did the Morris Minors.
He's got 20 great nieces and nephews now...and a Morris Minor for all of them when the time comes.
But that's only a fraction of what he has since collected and put on show at his British Car Museum on the road to Te Awanga.
He now has 38 Morris Minors on display, although all up counting the others used for parts and the like, he has about 70 of them.
And some rarities, like the 1962 model dubbed "Tickled Pink" as it arrived in that colour and was one of the very first to arrive here.
And the equally rare utility versions and the "woodies" with their varnished wooden rear structural work.
Seeing them all lined up is remarkable, but so is a wander through the entire museum...an experience that leaves many people simply speechless with awe.
He has more 450 cars, vans, trucks and stationwagons...there's even a hearse in there.
"That's what they'll take me away in," he said.
When you get over the sea of Morries you are confronted by his collection of Vauxhalls...just over 50 of them.
"I learned my apprenticeship on Vauxhall Vivas so I started collecting them."
On one occasion a visitor approached him and said he was from the Vauxhall museum in the UK.
The many, many 'Morries' and other intriguing vehicles under Ian Hope's roof. Photo / Warren Buckland
"He told me that I had more than they've got."
There are some memorable cars within the equally memorable great hall, which also has display of everything from old petrol bowsers, oil cans, tools, lanterns, hubcaps, old signs, bicycles and even a few hundred model aircraft in a giant net overhead.
There's a 1962 Wolesley Hornet, a '57 Austin Westminster, a '61 Austin A55, a row of Vanguards, Bentleys, Morris Eights, Morris Minis, Humbers and an Alvis.
There's also a couple of fire engines, including a 1923 Dennis which was used at the time of the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
And don't forget the horse-drawn grader the roading folks used to use around the Hastings area.
In the earlier years he would seek what appealed to him through newspapers, as well as word of mouth and today he is always on the look-out online.
"There's a little 1100 ute on Trade Me at the moment and I've made them an offer - have to wait and see."
Mr Hope said what he had put together was effectively the biggest British car museum in the world, and it is set to remain that way as he has no intention of selling even one of them, despite the many often generous offers.
"Never," he said.
"Wasting their time...because if I sold one then I'd just have to go and buy another one."