Presidents Report 2022

It is my pleasure to present the Presidents report for the Volkswagen Owners Club for the year ended 30th June 2022.

The club is in good health, both membership wise and financially. Club membership has remained steady this year, with 117 paid up members at the end of June, compared to 127 last year.  Approximately 29 members did not renew their membership at the start of the year but these were replaced by 19 new members joining throughout the year. The clubs Facebook group continues to be popular with new requests to join on a near daily basis. The page currently has 1175 members. Unfortunately we don’t get to see tooooo many of them at our events / outings !

Our monthly club meetings are held at Qualitat European and we thank them for the continued use of their premises and the parts discount they offer club members, and also thank Vagn Dyson for his time opening up the workshops for us to have a look at what they are working on. Turnouts at club meetings have generally been around the 12 people mark, not sure what we can do to attract more to come along. This year, due to the pandemic, we held several of our monthly meetings in parks and these proved quite popular. One was held on the Vellenoweth Green in St. Heliers and another in the waterfront park by the Onehunga motorway. In both cases the club provided dinner and the evening was enjoyed by a reasonably large number of members.

 The Covid-19 Pandemic and a long Auckland lockdown meant that a lot of events became “non-events” this year.

Our major event for the year, the Spring Jamboree, had to be called off due to the Covid lockdown, we did however have a “socially distanced” ,  “not the spring jamboree” gathering at the Vellenoweth Green in St. Heliers on the appointed date , followed by a drive out to Karaka for a coffee. Had quite a good turnout of vehicles. Hopefully we will be able to have our normal Spring Jamboree this November.

Several other events that we participate in, such as the Raglan run in December, the Ellerslie Concourse show in February, and the Brit Euro show in March were all cancelled this year due to the pandemic lockdown.

In mid January we were able to take part in the Kumeu Hot Rod show , the event was supported by a good turnout of club members.

Other club events held over the last 4 months included a run to Clarks Beach in Karaka, a run to Shakespeare Park on the Whangaparoa Peninsula, a dinner at the German restaurant Mitten Drin in June for the annual Worldwide VW Beetle Day event. Reasonable turnouts at all these events, although the weather on the runs was pretty ordinary !

Thank you to all our members who come along and support our events, it is always good to see you.

Finally I would like to thank committee members who have helped in organising, setting up and running events, without you nothing would happen.  Special mention and THANK YOU to Terry Sawyer for the work he does for the club as Secretary/Treasurer and helping with organising events etc.

Knut Erbs

President – Volkswagen Owners Club ( Auckland ).

Presidents Report 2021

It is my pleasure to present the Presidents report for the Volkswagen Owners Club for the year ended 30th June 2021.

The club is in good health, both membership wise and financially. Club membership has remained steady this year, with 127 paid up members at the end of June, compared to 129 last year.  Approximately 38 members did not renew their membership at the start of the year but these were replaced by 36 new members joining throughout the year. The clubs Facebook group continues to be popular with new requests to join on a near daily basis. The page currently has 1002 members. Unfortunately we don’t get to see tooooo many of them at our events / outings !

The year, while still affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic and several, shorter and more localised lockdowns, has none the less been a busy one with lots of VW club events held throughout the year.  

Our monthly club meetings are held at Qualitat European and we thank them for the continued use of their premises and the parts discount they offer club members, and also thank Vagn Dyson for his time opening up the workshops for us to have a look at what they are working on. Turnouts at club meetings have generally been around the 12 people mark, with a high of about 32 people on the night we had Rob Elliott, the ex Motor Holdings CEO come to talk to us about his days in the motor industry. Not sure what we can do to attract more to come along on other nights. On a couple of occasions we have had our monthly meetings at a Burgerfuel outlet and these meetings also proved quite popular, especially in the summer months !  

Our major event for the year, the Spring Jamboree, was again held at the Vellenoweth Green in St. Heliers and was quite well attended, by both the air-cooled and water-cooled fraternity! It was a fine, sunny day and the BBQ and the bottles of wine for the prize winners went down well! This event is highly regarded in Auckland VW circles and is one way of fostering the Volkswagen marque, which then helps us get support from the VW importers ( use of the EMD BBQ for example ).

We have had several events throughout the year that made use of the monthly Caffeine & Classics meetings in both Takapuna and Hampton Downs as starting points followed by a run around the countryside for a lunch etc. One that was very popular was the one that started at the Papakura Autobahn, went down to Hampton Downs and then carried on to visit the Wrights Water Garden in Patumahoe for lunch and a wander.  Another was the run from Takapuna up to Coatsville village for lunch and an ice cream ! 

In December we joined in with the annual Raglan coast to coast run, which was well attended on a sunny day, and the club fired up a BBQ for all participants which was greatly appreciated. In mid January we again took part in the Kumeu Hot Rod show weekend, having our own site, with about 10 members vehicles on display, including a very nicely restored Karmann Ghia that had been converted to electric propulsion.  Thank you to all members who brought their vehicles and thank you to Terry Sawyer and  Ben Doughney for helping with the site setup. In February we put on a great display of 8 club vehicles at the annual Ellerslie Concourse, followed by a display of 16 club vehicles at the Brit-Euro show in Howick in March.

Other club events held over the last 12 months included the Westy brunch at the german restaurant Mitten Drin and then went there again in June for dinner for the annual Worldwide VW Beetle Day event. Both were well attended.

Finally I would like to thank committee members who have helped in organising, setting up and running events, without you nothing would happen.  Special mention and THANK YOU to Terry Sawyer for the work he does for the club as Secretary/Treasurer but also for such things as club photographer and helping with organising events etc. Most members probably don’t realise how much work you do Terry but it is a lot and is appreciated.

Knut Erbs President – Volkswagen Owners Club ( Auckland )

Presidents Report 2020

It is my pleasure to present the Presidents report for the Volkswagen Owners Club for the year ended 30th June 2020.

The year has been a bit of a mixed bag, with the Covid-19 Pandemic putting paid to a lot of activities throughout the country, including the VW Nationals in Kapiti and the 70th Kombi run around the South Island. Hopefully these events will be able to take place next year. The lockdown did however allow some of our members to spend some extra time working on their vehicles so every cloud has a silver lining as they say !  

Club membership has remained steady this year, with 129 paid up members at the end of June, compared to 126 last year.  Approximately 20 members did not renew their membership at the start of the year but these were replaced by new members joining throughout the year. The clubs Facebook group continues to be popular with new requests to join on a near daily basis. The page currently has  645 members. Unfortunately we don’t get to see tooooo many of them at our events / outings !

Our monthly club meetings are held at Qualitat European and we thank them for the continued use of their premises, and also thank Vagn Dyson for his time and opening up the workshops for us to have a look at what they are working on. Turnouts at club meetings vary from as few as 7 on AGM night (! ) up to 20  on other nights. Not sure what we can do to attract more to come along. On a couple of occasions we have had our monthly meetings at a Burgerfuel outlet and these meetings also proved quite popular, especially in the summer months !  

Our major event for the year, the Spring Jamboree, was again held at the Vellenoweth Green in St. Heliers and was quite well attended, by both the air-cooled and water-cooled fraternity ! Unfortunately the weather forecast was for a dismal day so that probably put a few people off and accounted for a lower turnout than in some previous years ! As is often the case,  it turned out nice and sunny in the morning and  the rain held off until after the prize-giving had been completed. This event is highly regarded in Auckland VW circles and is one way of fostering the Volkswagen marque, which then helps us get support from the VW importers ( use of the EMD BBQ for example ).

We have had several events throughout the year that made use of the monthly Caffeine & Classics meetings in both Takapuna and Hampton Downs as starting points followed by a run around the countryside for a lunch etc. One that was very popular was the one that started at the Papakura Autobahn, went down to Hampton Downs for the Caffeine & Classics and then carried on to Pukekohe where we visited Simon Tippins workshop, Creative Metalworks, for a BBQ and look-see.  Another was the run from Takapuna up to the Cheese Factory Café in Puhoi on the 21st June to celebrate the 25th year of the Worldwide VW Beetle Day event.

In mid January we again took part in the Kumeu Hot Rod show weekend, having our own site, with about 15 members vehicles on display. Thank you to all members who brought their vehicles and thank you to Ben Doughney for helping with the site setup.

Other VW events that club members enjoyed / took part in over the last 12 months include the Bulli camp at Raetihi in November, Handle the Mandel weekend in the Coromandel also in November, and the Run to the Sun in Tauranga in February. 

A club is always appreciative of any sponsorship/support that it receives and therefore I would also like to thank Frank Pronk of Euro Auto Services for their continued support in hosting our website and EMD for the use of their BBQ when available. I have already mentioned and thanked Qualitat European for their support, which also includes a discount on parts for club members.

Finally I would like to thank committee members who have helped in organising, setting up and running events, without you nothing would happen.  Special mention and THANK YOU to Terry Sawyer for the work he does for the club as Secretary/Treasurer but also for such things as club photographer and helping with organising events etc. Most members probably don’t realise how much work you do Terry but it is a lot and is appreciated.

Knut Erbs

President – Volkswagen Owners Club ( Auckland )

Presidents Report 2019

It certainly seems that the club is in good health with good numbers usually turning out for club nights since Vagn, Wayne, Josie and the team at Qualitat European Motors began hosting club nights in a much nicer environment than our old venue, so as I’ve said in the past, thank you to Qualitats for their continued support of the club.

Speaking of businesses who support the club, a special mention must go to Frank Pronk at Euro Auto Services who sponsors the club website, so big thanks to Frank. Remember, while these businesses generally support our hobby because they share our passion for Volkswagens and are enthusiasts themselves, without their generosity, many of the events we all enjoy couldn’t take place without their support (ie; funding). So please support the local businesses who support us. It’s a two-way street.

It’s also worth noting that EMD (Volkswagen New Zealand) has become increasingly closer to the classic VW scene in recent years and have also assisted in terms of manpower, presence and in a financial capacity with  major events such as the VW Nationals, the Spring Jamboree and other events, so thanks go out to the team at EMD for their support.

This year has seen plenty of enjoyable club runs and outings, especially through the long hot summer we had in 2018/2019, and it has been especially pleasing to see plenty of new faces (and new cars) turn out for club events, but we’re always looking for suggestions for new runs, events and outings, so don’t be afraid to speak up if you know of any good venues, destinations or ideas for club gatherings.

It’s pleasing to see that the VW Nationals remains in a healthy state, with clubs around the country continuing to put up their hand to host the event. Unfortunately, I was overseas during the 2019 Nationals in Christchurch, but by all accounts, from those who attended and from posts I saw online and on social media, it was another fantastic event.

Also pleasing is that the guys and girls from Kapiti, a relatively new club, will be hosting the VW Nationals in 2020, so let’s all get behind Noel and the team in Kapiti for what promises to be another great event in the lower North Island next Easter.

As always, I’d like to thank those committee members who help out with arranging events and setting up our gazebo and barbeque at club outings such as the Spring Jamboree etc. Also, as always, a massive “thank you” to club secretary/treasurer Terry Sawyer who keeps us all informed of upcoming events and has become the unofficial club photographer during club outings and runs. So, thanks Terry for your enthusiasm and commitment to continue to keep us all up to date of what’s happening and what has happened in relation to club events.

Lastly, I’d like to thank all club members and the committee for your support during the last three years in my role of sitting in the president’s chair, but the time has come for me to step aside and vacate the chair and let someone else hold the post of president. Of course, I’ll still be heavily involved with the club and give the next president my full support, whoever that may be.

Andrew Bayliss

President – VW Owners Club, Auckland.

Membership Subscriptions for 2019

Membership subscriptions are now due for the 2018 financial year ( 1 July 2019 – 30 June 2020 ). The subscription fee is just $25.

To pay, you can send a cheque along with your name, address and phone number to

Volkswagen Owners Club
P.O. Box 12-538
Penrose, Auckland 1642

or alternatively contact Terry Sawyer at [email protected] for the club bank account details to pay via internet banking.

President’s Report 2017

Despite the decidedly average summer and less than appealing winter, events either hosted by the club or those that the club has been involved with during the past year have seen strong attendance numbers, with many members turning out for many, if not all events.

There have been no fewer than 20 events over the past 12 months that the club has either held or had some involvement with, not including club nights, Caffeine & Classics, DMFV’s bunker nights and other informal get-togethers, which would easily see that number of activities doubled or tripled.

Of course, we’re all jealous of those lucky members who attended Hessich Oldenhorf – a bucket-list event for us all, I’m sure.

While it’s the passion for the cars that brought us all together in the first place, it’s the friendships formed and catching up with a bunch of great people on a regular basis that unites our club, and I thank those of you here tonight, who have braved the cold to come along and have a say in the running of the club, sharing in the passion for the hobby and to and shoot the breeze with like-minded enthusiasts.

Let’s not forget that it’s the members who drive the club along – often unsung heroes who turn up at event after event or who help others keep their car on the road, offering support, advice or just enriching our enjoyment of the hobby by being a part of it, who are the people that make up the essence and spirit of the club.

While we all contribute to the hobby in one way or another, I want to make special mention of one of our oldest and most dear members who we sadly lost in this past year, and that’s Jill Greer who passed away around Christmas time aged 85.

Jill lived the dream, living what some might call an alternative lifestyle, having driven her left-hand drive lowlight bay window Kombi BURTHA for over four decades. Having been a regular attendee at club events for many years, Jill celebrated her 82nd birthday at Bulli in 2013, and she loved being among VW enthusiasts, often bringing her grandchildren along, and she was truly a lovely lady, loved by us all.

A few of us from the club attended Jill’s “funeral” with our VWs, and like the way Jill lived her life, her send-off was something of an alternative affair, and one of which Jill would have been proud.

I’m pleased to hear that Jill’s daughter Hanna has now taken over BURTHA, so it’s nice to see that the spirit of Jill lives on within the VW fraternity, and we hope to see Hanna and BURTHA at future club events.

For me – in my past year sitting in the president’s seat – there are a few special individuals who I believe deserve a special mention.

It’s appropriate to thank those club members and others who have organised events throughout the year for us to enjoy.

Arthur and the DMFV team for Bug Jam, Simon at Kombi Klassic for opening up his shop and providing a barbeque for us all, the Tauranga crew and Naki boys and girls for Run to the Sun and Bulli respectively, and everyone who has organised, arranged and contributed to holding events that keep people interested; thanks to you all. Thanks also to Frank Pronk at Euro Auto Services for sponsoring the club website.

Being the biggest event on our calendar, the VW Nationals is a massive event to organise and run, so a big “thank you” goes to the Kombined VW Club for hosting that event.

It’s a massive undertaking to organise events such as these, and despite the odd speed wobble, every Easter since 1991 has seen the Nationals in one form or another take place. For me, at least, it’s a legacy that I want to see continue on into the future, but it relies on strong clubs and dedicated people to ensure it lives on.

Anyone who has been involved with organising such an event, knows that it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears, peoplepower, planning, teamwork, and not an insignificant amount of funding to put on a truly world-class event, such as this.

This brings me to the wet, wild and largely cold and miserable Wellington Nationals many of us attended earlier this year. (The weather that is; otherwise it was the usual enormous fun, good people, great event it always is).

In the past, we have often known the location of the forthcoming Nationals a few years out. But in recent years, that hasn’t been the case, with many of us wondering where, and hoping that there would be a VW Nationals next year.

So after sounding out a few Auckland club members who were present, the decision was taken on the spot for our club to host the 2018 Nationals.

And then the Christchurch crew promptly expressed their interest in holding the event in their neck of the woods in 2019, so now we have some direction for the next two years at least.

But before I made that announcement on the night, there was one guy I needed to call to make sure he would be in agreement; to look after the cheque book and keep track of the dosh. He’s also always there to photograph the events too, and keep us all informed of club activities, promoting them on social media and via email.

So Terry, I’d like to thank you for all the hard work you have put into many aspects of running of the club, for your help as a first rate secretary/treasurer and fantastic one-man PR department!

Needless to say, Terry was in agreement and so it is that our club will be hosting the 2018 VW Nationals in Cambridge.

Yes, that’s in the Waikato, so along with those who have committed, or are yet to commit to help funding the 2018 Nationals, the club is well and truly indebted to the Waikato VW Club, who have not only offered to assist with running the event, but have generously donated close to $2,000 towards the event – funding that will go towards hospitality at the welcome event on Good Friday.

I’m pleased to say that within our club and the wider VW community, we have a great team of people who I know we can rely on to put on a fantastic show for VW enthusiasts from around the country to enjoy.

Having put up our hand to host the event, progress to date has been quite rapid.

We have secured the brilliant location of Victoria Square in Cambridge to hold the Show & Shine. Mighty River Domain at Karapiro has been made available to us for camping, accommodation and to hold the dinner and prizegiving onsite at Sir Don Rowlands Centre, and we have applied to Waipa District Council for a community funding grant, and are hopeful of receiving some support from the council.

And huge thanks go to Qualitats for coming onboard as the major event sponsor. I know I speak for all of us here in thanking Josie and Wayne Fenton of Qualitat Motors who have generously sponsored the Nationals throughout the years.

Also, thanks to Paul Smith at the V-Dub Shoppe in the Waikato for his sponsorship, as well as Simon from Kombi Klassic, Frank at Euro Auto Services and Wayne at Buzzbug who have all been quick to offer their contributions too, and to European Motor Distributors (Volkswagen NZ), who have indicated they are keen to be involved, as they have been throughout the past few years.

Don’t forget, these businesses have given generously in order that we can all continue to enjoy our hobby and have a wonderful, enjoyable VW Nationals, so I urge you reciprocate and support them in return.

So now, the hard work really begins. A number of people have already offered their support and/or help at the event, and I thank you all. We’ll definitely need an energetic crew to ensure the event runs smoothly, and it seems that Vee Dub people are a keen and enthusiastic lot.

Thank you for your support in the last 12 months, and I’m happy to see that the club continues to thrive and provide enjoyment of the hobby for us all.

That’s it from me.

Many thanks,

Andrew Bayliss
President

Membership Subscriptions for 2017

Membership subscriptions are now due for the 2017 financial year ( 1 July 2017 – 30 June 2018 ). The subscription fee is just $25.

To pay, you can send a cheque along with your name, address and phone number to

Volkswagen Owners Club
P.O. Box 12-538
Penrose, Auckland

or alternatively contact Terry Sawyer at [email protected] for the club bank account details to pay via internet banking.

President’s Report 2016

Greetings to you all. The past 12 months have again seen very large numbers of Club events, all well attended by members and their families. By my reckoning, 16 separate events.

In comparing the previous year’s events to this years, is this the start of an emerging scene? I hope so.

One of the highlights of the year were some 60 VWs escorting Ivan and Beth Hodges from Silverdale to MOTAT. They had bought their Volkswagen brand new in Germany in 1961. After driving it through Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia, twice, they now donated it to MOTAT.

We can look forward to our usually successful Jamboree in October and the return of the Volkswagen Nationals (as we know it) in Wellington next Easter.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank;

  • Terry as Secretary / Treasurer as well as posting the events photos on the club Flickr site
  • Ken and Ben for organising refreshments at Club meetings – wow for chocolate biscuits!
  • Lloyd for compiling the Club Newsletter
  • Deb for organising a large number of the Club events

The last 2 years as your President have been an enjoyable experience and I would like to thank all of the membership for their assistance and support.

Eddie Taylor

Membership Subscriptions for 2016

Membership subscriptions are now due for the 2016 financial year. The good news is that the subscription fee has now been reduced to $25.

To pay, you can send a cheque along with your name, address and phone number to

Volkswagen Owners Club
P.O. Box 12-538
Penrose, Auckland

or alternatively contact Terry Sawyer at [email protected] for the club bank account details to pay via internet banking.