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The Warkworth area was enlivened by a certain joie de vivre earlier this month, with the appearance of dozens of French classic cars on local roads.
The reason for the presence of les autos française was the Citroën Car Club of New Zealand’s annual rally, which this year was called ‘Réunir à Mahurangi’ – a Mahurangi get-together – with two days of events, social activities and vehicle displays from March 5 to 7.
Nearly 100 people and around 70 Citroëns of all ages travelled from all over the country for the event, which was hosted by the Auckland branch of the club, including seven vehicles from the South Island.
There were two evening park-ups for public viewing at Warkworth Wharf, plus a large gathering at Point Wells on Wednesday, March 6, where a ‘pride of ownership’ display took place. The cars were grouped by model and age, including several vintage Traction Avants dating back as far as the 1930s, the quirky and ever-popular ‘Deux Chevaux’ 2CVs and the sleek, self-levelling DS series.
The star of the show for many was an immaculate ice-blue 1967 DS21 convertible, hand-built in Paris by Henri Chapron, which was bought from Bonhams’ Grandes Marques auction in Monaco for a sum well north of $300,000 and shipped to NZ in 2021.
One of the organisers, Pete Sinton, said afterwards the get-together had been a great success, with terrific food at event HQ The Bridgehouse and Point Wells Hall, and he expressed his gratitude to Warkworth Lions for keeping an eye on the cars at Warkworth Wharf.
“I hope this is a forerunner of other such car events in Warkworth,” he said. “It’s a great destination for drivers and good for the business community.”
