Brian Hosking and his wife Kay, of Papakura, Auckland, were on a Riley car ride in Canterbury when they chanced upon an advertisement for Saturday’s car meeting in Oamaru and thought they would rev the engines of North Otago locals with their brilliant red Riley 1951 RMG.
Mr Hosking, a former Ford factory engineer, said he loved cars and appreciated the people who joined motoring clubs and raised money for causes throughout the country.
Fifty-three took part in the day and $1000 was raised.
North Otago club president Wayne Abernethy said this year’s funds would go towards Kakanui School to help the school cope with its increasing roll.
Mr Hosking said what got him into vintage cars was Mrs Hosking’s reaction to their 2005 trip to Napier’s Art Deco weekend.
"My wife saw those old cars and people dressed up in 1930s clothing. She decided we were going to get a vintage car, old clothes and join them. Since then, we’ve been going every year for the past 12 years."
Mr Hosking has been surrounded by cars all his life.
"I worked for Ford Motor Company for 25 years as an engineer. They stopped car manufacturing in 1997. I was out of a job because the government took all the protective tariffs off cars.
"We couldn’t compete with the overseas cheaper ones."
He said watching Australia recently follow New Zealand and lose its car manufacturing industry was a "shame".
"It might be cheaper to have things manufactured overseas, but you’ve got people on the dole and that costs too."
Mr Abernethy said British cars were easier to take care of than their American counterparts.
"Americans are a bit more expensive.
"They also leak oil, which is good for oil companies."
