Rally participants line up on Taupo Quay. Photo / File
Rally participants line up on Taupo Quay. Photo / File
As we enter a new decade, we take a look back at some of the biggest stories that hit the headlines in Whanganui over the past 10 years.
Vintage car enthusiasts from around the world - including a member of rock band Pink Floyd - converged on Whanganui in January2012 for the International Vintage Car Club Rally.
The event involved 200 overseas entrants and 500 New Zealand vehicles over 10 days, with the Whanganui District Council stumping up $100,000 in seed funding to ensure the rally came to Whanganui.
Council figures indicated $8.8 million would be injected into the local economy as a result of hosting of the rally, which included trips to Marton, Ratana, Feilding and up the Whanganui River Rd.
Vintage Car Club of New Zealand national president John Coomber told the crowd at the official opening that without the council's funding, it wouldn't have come to Whanganui.
His sentiment was echoed by mayor Annette Main, who said it was a "brave" decision by the previous council.
She said the city was thrilled to host the event and welcomed competitors to "our home".
One of the biggest cheers came when MP Chester Borrows said that, unlike many countries which allowed vintage cars on the road only on special days, New Zealand's roads were open all the time.
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and his wife Annette were the rally's special guests and active participants. The fortune Mason made from music has allowed him to establish one of the best private collections of motoring memorabilia in the world.
The rally base was at Springvale Park, with a host of volunteers making sure the event ran smoothly.
It wasn't just the rally participants who were enthusiastic about the vehicles. An open day at Wanganui Racecourse drew a massive crowd, with organisers saying nearly 35,000 people went through the gates.
Ed Boyd was publicity officer for the event and said the rally organisers were "utterly thrilled" with the public turnout.
"We reckon anywhere between 25,000 and 35,000 went through the gates. And what you've got to remember is that many of those had children under 12 with them and, of course, those kids got in free. It's certainly the biggest thing I've witnessed in the city."
Cars choked streets surrounding the racecourse, many people opted to walk a fair distance to the venue instead of looking for a car park nearby and Steam Inc's train from Paekakariki brought several hundred visitors from the Wellington region to the open day.
People lined suburban streets to watch the rally's farewell drive-by. Photo / File
The evening before the rally ended there was a drive-by through residential streets as a thank you to the city and its people for the way they embraced the event.
Bruce Hutton, the VCC Rally director, said the organisers and entrants had been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of Whanganui.
The drive-by involved many of the 700 rally vehicles and they travelled three different routes to take in as many of the city's suburban streets as possible. Again, locals turned out in droves to watch the parade of vehicles, lining the streets and waving and cheering.
Hutton said sadly this would probably be the last time Whanganui would see a rally of this duration as running costs for the event and vehicles were increasing and the participants were ageing. He hoped the momentum brought about by the international event would motivate local businesses and promote Whanganui as a holiday destination.
