Petrolheads and collectors flocked to Meeanee Speedway for the annual Marineland Rod and Kustom Club Festival. Video by Duncan Brown
The salivating over the quality of the machinery on display at today's hot rod and classic cars festival between Napier and Hastings went into the evening as organisers marvelled over its success and the size of the crowd.
Parking and display areas across the near 6ha of the Meeanee speedwayand surrounding domain were full from an early stage, with entry of display vehicles having to be stopped by 10.15am, 15 minutes ahead of deadline with the maximum available 602 already on-site.
There were estimates of crowds of more than 4000 people on-site at the peak times, dozens of spectators' vehicles had to be parked as much as 15 minutes' walk away, and traffic came to a standstill outside the Sandy Rd entrance.
Several thousand dollars was raised for the children's cancer charity, including $2000 from the Marineland Street Rod and Kustom Klub ,which was staging the event for a 26th year, and crowd donations which were last night still be counted.
Clive's Nicholas Squires, 9, on a 1942 16H War Department Norton motorbike owned by Jim Thorne. Photo / Duncan Brown.
Club member Malcolm Wilkie said the day was "huge" and there was an unusual peak of traffic he suspected was caused by a grey early morning suggesting rain for the day.
He reckoned those who may have been initially discouraged soon realised and the sun was out and the effect was some usual early-arrivals mixed into those arriving later in the morning.
"All of a sudden the sun was out and our spike of people was a little later than usual," he said.
"We couldn't apologise for the traffic," he said. "It's people. A lot of people just 2-3 to a car at the most."
Nevertheless it's billing as a family event, with regulars in the club comment that the crowd seemed to have greater proportions of children. "We try to cater for everyone," he said.
Brothers Nicholas and Marnu Mynhardt of Havelock North were interested in the 1915 Ford Model T Roadster. Photo / Duncan Brown.
Enthusiasts from more than 40 clubs throughout the North Island were in town for the weekend, which included a hot rod run on Saturday dominated by out-of-towners, many attracted by the pick-up trucks focus of this year's event.
They ranged from at least one vehicle more than a century old to more modern Mustangs and Camaros, but while it was the parade yard of shine and gleam that was the focus, there were other attractions including a fashion show, which attracted 18 entries and was won by Sarah Bauer (show-name Grace Velocette), and the wrecking of a car dropped into the speedway oval from a crane.
