South Canterbury All Australian Day Car Show

Coming of (driving) age in Australia infused in me a love of Australian-built cars. Young Italian-Australians used to cruise around and around Fremantle, Western Australia in their immaculate Valiants as slow as can be so everyone would see.

My first two cars were Holden Torana’s 1974 LH (186 bored out to a 192 engine) and 1971 LC (171 engine) models which in all honestly were total rust buckets but I loved them dearly. I cried the day my LH Torana was compacted in the crusher at the wrecking yard. My LC Torana was so full of bog (car body filler) that it used to sink on sandy roads and there was no metal to attach a tow bar onto. Our first cars are often our lifetime love.

Next I saved up and bought a 1988 VL Commodore which was only about 5 years old by then. It was a beautiful sky blue with a 3L engine. I thought I was pretty swish. Since moving back to NZ I had cheap Japanese imports but still had a hankering for the bogan vehicles. After a failed attempt at owning a VL station wagon dubbed ‘the Golden Holden’ (too much rust for W.O.F), I’ve finally got myself the ultimate Aussie car: a V8 Commodore. This time a 1995 VR with a column auto and a cool-as bench seat, and in sky blue again too!

If you too love the Australian cars get along to the South Canterbury All Australian Day at Caroline Bay, Timaru on Sunday 6th September 2015, 10am-2pm. Gold coin donation to see some great Holdens, Fords and Mopars (Valiant/Chrysler). Organised by the Timaru Holden Club and the Timaru Falcon Fairlane Club.

Enquiries to Craig Trimmings 021-511-150 or Murray Stevenson 021-223-1772. All proceeds to Westpac Helicopter Appeal.

I will be taking my V8 to the show with the Holden Club Canterbury. I thoroughly recommend joining a car club. They are great fun.

• Search our catalogue for Australian Automobile History
• Car club listings in Community Information Christchurch CINCH
• Car manuals in our libraries
• Car resources in our libraries

The delusions of the aging

My 13 year old niece came to stay with me in the weekend. I had not been in sole charge of a teenage girl before so I planned shopping and physical activities to keep her happy.

I was told by her mother that the weekend was a success, but personally it left me feeling rather bereft. You see despite having turned 40 I still think I am young. For example I still believe that I am perfectly capable of performing any sporting activity I put my mind to. In this case it was at the YMCA’s Clip ‘n’ Climb where you climb up a variety of high walls in a safety harness. I felt perfectly confident that I could beat my niece in a climbing race, but half way up all I could do was stop and concentrate on not vomiting all over the colourful walls. When did I enter my decline? When did my strength and waist leave me? What can be done?

Well, luckily for us there is help at hand from our trusted health eResources:

• Consumer Health Complete – has a great video showing liposuction using what can only be one of my Grandmother’s knitting needles. Ick!
• Health and Wellness Resource Center – has risk assessment tools to estimate your chances of having a stroke, cancer, diabetes etc. It was almost enough to make me put down my peanut slab.
• Health Source – learn about “stuck syndrome” where you feel like you’re hopelessly trapped in a meeting, at work or social gathering so you reach out for bad food for relief – the story of my life!

We have many more eResources for you to examine as well but in short they all say move it or lose it. This is bad news for someone like myself who wants to spend her life on the sofa reading books yet if I want to be able to scale great heights again without encountering my gag reflex apparently it is time to move!

New Zealand Fashion in Pictures: Our Image Collection

For New Zealand Fashion Week we’re sharing some of our favourite images of New Zealand fashion.

Over the years, Christchurch City Libraries has built up a collection of local images. Many of these are donated from private collections and capture the places and people of Christchurch, and Canterbury’s history. Some of these we’ve grouped into themed image collections, including one on Costume and Fashion.

Our image collection is mostly made up of early 20th century images but is less comprehensive in terms of more recent history. If you’ve got photos that you think we’d be interested in then please contact us.

In the meantime, here are some oldies but goodies in the fashion stakes –

Suits you

Members of the Christchurch Drainage Board and visitors present at the opening of the septic tank, Bromley sewage farm [4 Sept. 1905] CCL PhotoCD 2, IMG0084

A group of Maori women dress reformers [1906] CCL PhotoCD 11, IMG0096

Mr E. H. Hughes, Mr R. E. Alexander (Director of the College), and Mr Walter Macfarlane [1909] Selwyn-P7030226

The diploma winners of 1913. Selwyn-P3051336