ROBERT COCHRANE: PLENTY TO CELEBRATE IN SOUTH CANTERBURY

Hard at it. Members of the South Canterbury Motorcycle Club have been enjoying two wheel competition and camaraderie for the past one hundred years. PICS: SCMC

On the Labour weekend of 23rd, 24th and 25th October, the South Canterbury Motorcycle Club Inc will commemorate their Centenary with an action packed weekend of events and socials to mark their first 100 years.

The club was formed on September 24th 1909 at a meeting at 7.30pm in Budds Cafe in the Arcade in Timaru with 15 members present. Their aims were to have regular social rides, competition events and to approach the various county councils to improve the roads by building bridges across the many streams and water-races in the region.

Within four weeks the club had held its first competitive event, a hill climb at Grants Hill, Waimataita on October 21st with forty entrants, the club having fifty-two financial members by then (membership subs were five shillings per year - approx 50 cents in today’s money).

RULES & REGS

The rules were very detailed for this important event with (7) being, ‘machines must not be pedalled beyond intersection of Hobbs Lane with Old North Road and no pedalling shall be allowed on the hill. (9) Competition shall be divided into two classes, Class1 Riders over 9st.7lb and under 12 stone, Class 2 Riders 12 stone and over.

Machines were also weighed, they had a clerk of scales, and the winners were calculated with a formula that was, cylinder capacity by time, divided by total weight. There was a prize for fastest time of the day also, irrespective of class.

The entry fee was two shillings and six pence (2/6) with thirty-three pre-paid entries, and a further seven entries received and approved at the committee meeting a few days prior to the event. First prize in each class was three pound three shillings (3/3/-), with second one pound and one shilling (1/1/-), a lot of money in those days.

TRUE PIONEERS

During its one hundred years the club has run a wide variety of road, off-road, social, road and road circuit events and continues to run rounds of the current National Motocross and National Road Race series.

In many ways the club could be considered one of the true pioneer clubs of motorcycling in New Zealand.

The 100 year weekend events include socials, a rally for road riders & tourers based at Levels, with a mystery road trial in the region, classic and modern road racing at Levels, gravel hill climb at Taiko that will have an historic opening but is aimed at four-wheelers and dirt bikes (or ride what ya brung), classic, twin shock and modern trials at Pleasant Point, a vintage, classic and exotic motorcycle display in a marquee at Levels throughout the weekend, a 25th Anniversary classic scramble at Pleasant Point plus modern motocross, and a Gala Dinner on the Sunday night.

OPEN INVITATION

As current Club President Chris Broadhead says; “We are offering motorcyclists from throughout New Zealand the chance to join us for a weekend of celebration and participation, whether you are a modern road rider, a rally rider, classic or vintage road enthusiast, a modern or classic trials rider or motocrosser, a classic or modern road racer, a dirt rider or four wheeler who loves gravel roads, we have an event for each of you to participate in, plus great socials and a dinner with reunions to wind up the weekend.

Come and join us for a great weekend to mark the pioneer spirit of the club founders. They were riding motorcycle events while basic motorised cycles were still evolving into the earliest motorcycles.

You have to take your hats off to these guys, especially when you consider their second event was a 24 hour trial from Timaru to Dunedin, but more on that in the next Kiwi Rider issue.” More details will be on the kiwi rider website and www.100yearsouthcanterbury.co.nz with entry and registration forms available from early June.

Details and entry/registration forms at: http://www.100yearsouthcanterbury.co.nz/ Plus check out the next issue of Kiwi Rider.