Transported back in time

MASTERTON farmer Alan Buick is a foundation member and former president of the Wairarapa Vintage Machinery Club. His wife Mary is a vintage Austin nut, member number 24 of the Vintage Austin Register, to which hundreds of people belong.
So it's not hard to guess how the couple spent their holiday in Britain in July and August. Another Wairarapa couple with similar interests, Peter and Nola Groves, joined them on the trip.
The main occasion was the celebration of 100 years of Austin cars, followed by the Great Dorset Steam Fair. The two couples rented a house for some of the period between the two great attractions, and in between-times toured England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
A third Wairarapa couple, Will and Ruby Holmes, from Greytown, attended the Austin celebrations, before returning to New Zealand to organise our own Austin party.
The six Wairarapa enthusiasts made up half the Kiwi contingent in Birmingham, where the Austin celebrations were based.
The trip got off to a wobbly start, when Mary felt an "earthquake" in London. It wasn't an earthquake and it wasn't the "power surge" initially blamed; it was the Edgware Road bomb that claimed so many lives. Apart from being caught up in the ensuing traffic snarl-up that was as close as they got to the drama.
There were three major elements of the Austin occasion ? a black tie dinner, a ceremonial drive through Birmingham of 100 Austins (one for each year) and a massive display of 2500 old Austins. That included a gathering of 500 of the tiny Austin 7s. "Mind-boggling," said Mary. "You got sick of looking at them ? there were too many," said Alan.
There were displays by 30 Austin-related clubs. The New Zealanders recognised some exhibits, restored New Zealand cars which had been sold overseas.
A star exhibit was author Val Biro and Gumdrop, a 1926 Austin Clifton Heavy Twelve-Four tourer. Gumdrop was the star of a very successful series of children's books written by Biro.
(The cover of one of the books features Gumdrop and a steam traction engine, nicely connecting the Buicks' interests).
The black tie dinner was notable mostly for the presence of motorsport giant Sir Stirling Moss and the length of the speeches. The drive through Birmingham saw cars go off at minute intervals, which must have removed any significance of the occasion.
The Great Dorset Steam Fair featured so many vehicles, ranging from cars to heavy haulers, that a giant pall of smoke hung over the 600 acre display site. The carparks were so vast that they were advised to tie ribbons to their car aerial, so they could locate the vehicle at the end of the day.
The Kiwis watched, fascinated, as pairs of traction engines parked at either end of a paddock drew reversible plough to and fro between them. "You'd have to run to keep up with them," said Alan. Another huge machine parked in a corner with a cable passing around the paddock did the ploughing all by itself.
There were huge tented display areas. One was full of collections ? crafts, policemen's helmets, bedpans, irons, musical instruments and so on.
There was even a sideshow area featuring 40 steam-driven "showmen's engines" and all the fun of a long-ago fair.
"I was a bit iffy at first," said Nola, "but it was just amazing, these great big grunty engines and the haze of smoke everywhere ? I suppose you wouldn't be allowed to do that in New Zealand.
"And the showmen's engines were beautiful at night, all lit up."
Further afield, the New Zealanders came across another machine (also steam-powered) threshing wheat then bundling the stalks for thatching roofs. Worthwhile work for the old machines, and as a thatched roof lasts only around 10 years, there's an ongoing need for the raw material, despite a growing shortage of the craftsmen to do the work.
For Peter Groves, a highlight of the Austin show was finding a collection of Austin 20 at the Austin exhibition. Both he and Will Holmes have examples of this car. One at the show had done 1.2 million miles and was in original condition with original paint. He also found a mint 1973 1300 with just 6000 miles on the clock.
He and Nola also visited Masterton man Mike Warman's father, now 90, who remembered Peter from a visit to New Zealand 23 years ago. They also called in on other people with Wairarapa connections.
They also visited Stonehenge. Last Sunday they visited Stonehenge again ? the Wairarapa one this time ? in a Wairarapa Vintage Car Club trial for the Janice Groves Memorial Trophy.
So much history, said Peter. An example was visiting a pub built in 1028 for the men building a church next door, he said.
His highlight: The steam fair.