So taken was he by this experience that Priest decided to form the Wairarapa Four Wheel Drive Club. Advertisements in the Wairarapa Times-Age and on radio drew a "fantastic" response and the club became a reality in late 1971.
Priest was the inaugural president of what is believed to be the first four-wheel-drive club in the country but stood down after one year because of work commitments and a pending promotional transfer to Huntly. Allan Rayner took over the presidency.
Priest said the main objective of the club was to promote four-wheel-drive events but they were also keen to involve families in the likes of day trips and picnics. He remembers a long weekend being spent at Waiouru after permission was received from the army to use their land.
The support from the then Wrightcars-Toyota dealership, of which the late Bert Wood was manager and Roger Southey sales manager, was a huge assist to the club in those early days and there was similar support from the late Frank Booth of Scott Motors, the Land Rover dealership.
Priest recalls early stalwarts of the club as being Ken Stratford, James (Butch) Martin, Vince Bicknell, Norm Bengston, Warren Forbes, Frank Gulliver, Tim Johnson, Allan Rayner, John Gedye, Peter Finlay and Graeme Wilton, some of whom have passed on.
Membership of the Wairarapa club grew rapidly and in May 1973 they hosted their first rally on a farm just south of Eketahuna. It received entries from all over New Zealand. Many of the competitors assembled in Masterton for a parade through Queen St. The rally was a huge success and the venue was used several times after that.
After his departure from Masterton, Priest lost touch with his mates at the club but admits to often wondering how they were going and whether the club was still in existence.
Then two or three years ago, he was staying at a hotel in Rotorua and bumped into Norm Bengston and his son Tony. A good chinwag over a beer and Priest learnt the Wairarapa club was still going strong and had a good membership base.
It was this chance meeting which prompted Priest to make contact with the club last year and, after hearing they had a healthy membership of over 60, he decided to present a trophy to mark the happy memories he had of his time with them. And who better to be the first recipient of it than club president Peter Pope, who has held the reins for the past six years?
Pope was rapt with his success and praised Priest for his foresight in starting a club, which now had a healthy membership and continued to strongly emphasise the importance of family involvement.