MG Car Club of South Australia
EARLY EMGEEING IN EN ZEDD
AVID McNABB has continued his
D recent regular ritual of popping over the Tasman every couple of years to take part in New Zealand ' s biennial Pre-56 MG Rally . Alternating between NZ ' s South and North Islands , for 2017 the venue was Wanganui in the north .
This now iconic international event , held over six days late Feb , was notable for being the 21st Rally . Yes , these octagonal gatherings have been going for over four decades , with the first being held in 1977 in Christchurch ( Adelaide ' s Sister City ) where TD McNabb was chairman of the organising committee .
As such , David was kindly acknowledged by the 2017 organisers along with kiwi demi-god Peter Croft ( known as the Godfather ) who was also on the initial 1977 committee . This pair – Croft in his MGJ2 and McNabb in an MGTD were the sole survivors from the entry list that started the whole show , although for this year ' s Rally there were two MGs taking part that had actually been there in 1977 .
Now with new custodians , these were an MGTA and 1931 F1 Magna , both driven a considerable distance from the South Island to arrive at Wanganui .
I heard you asking how the author of this report was competing in a TD . It ' s rather expensive freighting MGs over the Tasman , so David was able to arrange the loan of a good friend ' s brilliantly restored TD based in Hamilton , and he imported wife Kerry ( as navigator / riding mechanic ), so the scene was set for a MaGic Octa-week .
A brief mention of the MG Rally prelude : In the couple of days preceding the Pre- 56 Rally many of the MG folk went to Napier for that city ' s annual Art Deco weekend – a fabulous experience with most folk dressing the part – plus an amazing classic car parade of over 80 vehicles – where the pre war MGs joined in . Only snag was that for nearly three days it poured non stop . Luckily the weather improved a lot after that .
Alongside entrants from Australia , Netherlands , UK , USA , Canada and obviously host nation NZ , we were privileged to meet Paul Plummer ' s replacement as MG Overseas Director Peter Cook – a top bloke – owns an MGB V8 and codrove a TF1500 in the motorkhana . McNabb took delight in being able to Meet & Greet Pete prior to our Easter Natmeet in Adelaide !
22