Forty-five old army vehicles were put through their paces at Waiouru Army Museum over Waitangi Weekend. Large crowds watched Loyd and Bren carriers carry ten members of the Historical Re-enactment Society in 1940s NZ battledress to join American and German WW2 troops in a battle supported by advancing Walker Bulldog
and Scorpion tanks. Nicola Bennett, marketing manager of the Army Museum at Waiouru, said that 29 old Army vehicles had now been restored. But, until the museum's big new Tamatea wing was built, the vehicles had to be kept in sheds one km away from the museum, inside the army camp. The Wheels Around Waiouru weekend gave people a chance to see them all in action. Several members of the Military Vehicles Collectors' Club had been putting in many weekends at Waiouru to make these vehicles roadworthy. Sam Hunter, a diesel mechanic from Palmerston North said he and his family had been coming to Waiouru for the past two years, mainly to help restore the M41 Walker Bulldog tank, after an invitation from his boss Graeme Blackly. Mr Hunter said he had wanted to drive tanks ever since he played on the dozens of war-surplus tanks stored on his uncle's land in Australia. As well as the museum's vehicles, there were another dozen restored vehicles on display, brought from all around the country by military vehicle enthusiasts. These visiting vehicles included three more jeeps and three more bren carriers, one of which was sporting a Holden automatic engine. About half of the Historical Re-enactment Society's 40-plus members were at Waiouru for the weekend. President John Taylor said that they started in 1996 with collectors who wanted to display their military gear. Since then they had appeared in many displays and in several films. Their aim was to present New Zealanders' contribution to the Second World War, and to show a comparison to the Kiwis. A German unit representing mountain infantry who fought the New Zealanders in two campaigns, had also been raised. "We are not glorifying war," said Mr Taylor, "We are trying to gain little more understanding of our forefathers' sacrifice." The Rangitikei Ruapehu Army Cadet Unit did a great job of crowd control, and members of the School of Artillery showed the "girl gunners" from the Military Vehicle Collectors' Club how to fire the women's 25-pounder correctly.
