Rebel Round-Up bringing vintage cars to Central Hawke’s Bay

Classic cars nestled under the autumn oak trees at Central Hawke's Bay's Easter Motorfest to raise funds for the cyclone clean-up. Photo / Paul Taylor

Calling all car lovers to Central Hawke’s Bay for the Rebel Round-Up on the second weekend of March 2024.

The three-day event on March 8, 9 and 10 will host a range of pre-1980 Australian, European, and American vintage cars, along with boats at Back Paddock Lakes.

Car enthusiasts entering the show will be able to arrive on Friday March 8 to camp with the public car show being held on Saturday March 9.

The event will include pageants such as the pre-entry Miss Rebel Round-Up and Miss Rockabilly New Zealand, for those dressed in 1950s and 1960s outfits (entry on the day).

Rebel Round-Up offers up an all-encompassing family-friendly experience for the community.

Putting together the event are Kulture Shock’s managing directors Brett Forlong and Jessica Caulfield.

“Apart from checking out all the cool cars, there will also be some vintage boats on the lake”, said Forlong.

Vintage cars are a passion for Forlong, who works in construction and decided to put on a car show in Central Hawke’s Bay in April after Cyclone Gabrielle.

“I think being involved in the construction industry and going out to the places where the clean-up was, it was pretty bad,” he said.

The first show in April brought about 300 to 500 cars to the region and raised $5300 to help flood victims and volunteers.

Prima National cars will do a flag drop drag race display.

“That went into fuel, and to fuel the volunteers’ machines, we wanted it to actually go and do something,” Forlong said.

“Both of us have a huge passion for cars, basically it’s hereditary, my father was a petrol head and I believe my grandfather was, Jess is the same with her father and grandfather - it’s kind of in our blood,” he said.

With the show in April put together quickly, this time Rebel Round-Up offers up an all-encompassing family-friendly experience for the community to get involved with.

″You’d think you were in the 1940s and 1950s,” Brett Forlong said.

“There is a really good amount of old cars around this area,” said Forlong.

“The show we put on in Easter, we got to meet a lot of these people who we hadn’t met before, because it was an open slather type show, where Rebel Round Up is more specialised,” he said.

“So we have part of the show called the New Zealand Petrol Head car show, and then we have another part of the show called Prima Nationals, and the Prima Nationals are about traditional old hotrods and customs.

“If you walk in the gate and you saw the Prima National cars you’d think you were in the 1940s and 1950s.

“So with some of those Prima National cars we will do a flag drop drag race display, so we will have our flag girl or guy drop the flag.”

Rebel Round-Up has had five shows to date and the flag drop component of the show was incorporated after the first show.

“When you have the cars in motion people see and hear them, that’s the beauty of it,” Forlong said.

“It adds a uniqueness to our show,” said Caulfield.

“You might only be interested in one aspect of the show, or not have seen the other aspects but then it opens your eyes,” she said.

For those not camping but wanting to put their cars in the show, cars need to be parked by 10am on Saturday with a prizegiving at 2pm.

Camping will be available for entrants only by booking with Kulture Shock through email or private message on Facebook.

For more information on booking camping and information about the event, email kulture.shock@outlook.com or follow Kulture Shock on Facebook.