Three rowers – all former members of the top Eight at College – met up in San Francisco earlier this year. Albert O’Shannessey (14915), who is on a rugby scholarship to Central Washington University, and Cameron Smith (14495), who is on a rowing scholarship to University of California Berkeley, caught up with fellow crew member Monty Batchelor (14533) who was working at some trade shows being held throughout the US. “In 2016 I was lucky enough to be part of the crew that won the Maadi Cup along with Cameron, so it was an amazing experience for me when I was travelling through the US earlier this year to catch up with both Albert and Cameron,” says Monty, who is studying Global Business and Marketing at Lincoln University. “It was great to see how Cameron’s rowing has been going at Berkeley and to look around the Berkeley sports centre, which was truly amazing. It was also great catching up with Albert, and to see him play a game of rugby against a rival school in California. It makes me very proud to be a College boy at times like that!” Old Boys in San Francisco This year we spent the day in the Ohoka district, and by the time we reached Rod (7530) and Sarah Buchanan’s beautiful property Oberau, we had gathered up 29 cars and approximately 65 people. The line-up of cars on the Buchanan’s lawn was most impressive – four Bentleys (including an Arnage RL); Jaguars, most numerous, included a brace of XK 150s, three Mark 2s , an SS100 Replica (people’s choice!), E Type, a new F Type and a new F Pace; an immaculate as-new 1988 Range Rover with only 7700 miles on the clock, just arrived ex United Kingdom; two Morgans, the Plus 4 having been driven from Pigeon Bay, and a Morris 8 Sports from Birdlings Flat. Others included a Mazda MX5, TVR Griffith, a Benz SL320, Ford Fairlane, Chevrolet Corvette, Triumph Stag, Alfa Romeo GTV, Austin 7 and one or two moderns. A huge thank you to Rod and Sarah for their gracious hospitality at morning tea. We were told to expect hot water only (to save our flasks) but were welcomed into their lovely home with full home baking on offer. It was a brilliant day out and, as always, full of surprises. Well done for unearthing such a fascinating couple in Kelvin and Leslie Finlay at Wilson’s Mill, our lunch
Joe Studholme Memorial and Vintage Car Day
stop, and for a glimpse into the amazing passion towards his classic cars which Kelvin evidently possesses. Who else do you know who can strip down a Minerva block, restore a chassis, create a body from scratch with no plans or templates, do the timber work and also the upholstery, then complete the job in his own spray booth? Truly amazing! Kelvin and Leslie spent many years in western Canada where Kelvin worked as an eye surgeon. When they returned to New Zealand a few years ago, Kelvin brought with him an amazing collection of historic American and European cars from the 1920s right through to recent times. Some are in original condition and others are awaiting restoration. All the work will be done by Kelvin, with minimal specialist help. As Kelvin insists he is going to carry out every individual project himself, he has calculated he will need to live to 150 to carry out his dream! There were some truly rare specimens on display in the large barn Kelvin has built, including a Russian staff car from WW2 which had shades of Packard or Chrysler in its appearance, a Pierce Arrow and a remarkably tidy Ford Edsel in gleaming red and cream with of course the regulation white-wall tyres.
College Issue 36 2019
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