Alan Holmes riding his latest creation - a Bronko Bike. Photo / Dave Murdoch
Alan Holmes riding his latest creation - a Bronko Bike. Photo / Dave Murdoch
Matamau resident Alan Holmes has already established a reputation for amazing papercrete and metal creations scattered around his garden and the neighbourhood.
Enough to encourage busloads of tourists to visit from some distances.
When Alan saw on TV1′s Repair Shop programme a creation called a Bronko restored to its fairground fame he decided to make one himself from recycled materials.
A close-up of the Bronko bike’s intricate engineering. Photo / Dave Murdoch
The result is a remarkable two-wheeler bike he calls a Bronko which is propelled by the human seat rather than pedals. Instead of pedals, there are foot rests, the bike seat reversed in direction and attached to the rear wheel by rods which propel the bike forward by the rider sitting on it then standing alternately.
He started with a donated girl’s bike, took it apart, reassembled it with some help of the Menz Shed, obtained tyres from an Auckland supplier of wheelchair wheels, painted it up in colours like the original and after a month of work tested it with locals.
Alan has added a few modifications so that children can ride it. Being a humourist he has a candle on the front and a reflector on the rear to comply with NZTA road rules but the bike has no brakes, bell or horn and so it is not suitable for the roads. Still he jokingly suggested he might win a Nobel prize for it!
He says it takes a bit of exercise to get the bike moving and suggests it is good for someone trying to lose weight. The triallists mastered the technique in seconds in his backyard.
But this is only the latest creation Alan looking to recycle anything into something useful or decorative.
Alan ran a business repairing trucks in Lancashire for 20 years before coming to New Zealand and settling at Matamau with wife Eileen in 2004, creating Holmes Trucks before retiring and passing on the business to his son Gareth.
How his interest started in Lancashire converting two Trabants (model displayed) into a full-sized truck. Photo / Dave Murdoch
In retirement he looked for things to do and recycling appealed. He had already taken on a big project back in England buying up a number of East German Trabant cars after the Berlin Wall fell and converting two into a functional truck.
An early creation – ET on his bike fully visible from State Highway 2 and functioning. Photo / Dave Murdoch
The first sign that Alan was rediscovering his creative instinct was ET on his bike with wheels rotating rose above the trees by his house in full view of the traffic on State Highway 2.
A welcoming mobile driven by wind. Photo / Dave Murdoch
Then he experimented with papercrete making life-sized animals ranging from moas to penguins, flamingos to farm animals and donating them to neighbours and friends. He has even created items to meet requests like the St Joseph’s Church letterbox.
Recent garden ornaments created from old vinyl records. This one is an Elvis memorial. Photo / Dave Murdoch
Different recycled items have inspired creations, the Lion’s Den being a mecca. The latest has been the gifting of old vinyl records from it, the records being heated, shaped and coloured to make intricate designs - one of them a tribute to Elvis Presley from an LP featuring the song Girl Happy. Alan thought it was appropriate as it would have been Elvis’ birthday on January 8.
A papercrete Moeraki Boulder in the process of being repaired from bird attack. Photo / Dave Murdoch
Watch out for the next creations. The penguin already has a chick, the Moeraki Boulder has a new top being replaced as birds were eating it, and next ...?
Dave Murdoch is a part-time photojournalist based in Dannevirke. For the last 10 years he has covered any community story telling good news about the district.
