In 1968, the East Coast Bays Lions Club gazed around the North Shore and decided the teenagers needed to be introduced to a sport or hobby which would be inexpensive (todays gear freak shops obviously didn't exist) and give them plenty to do instead of always hanging around those street corners. After much thinking they came up with the idea of a Tramping Club as being ideal for their problem, so they inserted a series of advertisements in the North Shore Advertiser asking for all who were interested in forming a hiking and tramping club to come along to the Scout Hall in Takapuna at 8 pm on a cold night in June.
About four Lions club members arrived that evening and, as they told us later, wondered if they would be the only ones to turn up. They were immensely surprised when seventy-eight people appeared, and the Club was off! A steering committee was appointed (almost all to later become members of the Club's first committee). Our inaugural President, Graham Macgregor, was at that time vice-president of the Auckland Tramping Club. His vast tramping knowledge and know-how on tramping club procedures was our salvation as the rest of us didn't know too much.
In 1970 a General Meeting was held, and members unanimously inaugurated a Debenture Scheme to allow us to purchase larger Club assets, the first one in mind being a Club bus, costing at that stage about $9,000. In 1971 we were offered the CTC (Catholic Tramping Club) bus for $2800 and we were very pleased to purchase this, feeling the CTC would be quite correct when they said it would allow us to run cheap trips, allow us weekend trips and engender a strong Club spirit.
The CTC were of great help to us at this stage and it was largely their persuasion and help that got our Debenture Scheme going.
By the way, when the bus arrived we looked it over with various misgivings on how uncomfortable it would be for long trips. In fact, could you believe it, we went away on our first weekend trip with it set up as for day trips and changed it at Te Aroha for the night. All because we thought it would be too uncomfortable to travel with it as a sleeper!
40th Anniversary Thanks to our famous former club member, AJ Hackett, news about our anniversary in 2008 was put on the front page of the North Shore Times. His comments about the highlights for him of club membership are interesting:
"I'd always been into the outdoors but the club led to a lot of new interests for me. It's where I first got a taste of snow. I've been skiing for more than 30 years since then."
"I really enjoyed it, especially the stream-bashing - running through rivers, scrabbling over rocks - just going hard."
Club Buses
Original club colours were Orange and Black as reflected in the original boot logo. The original bus reflected this style on a Cream base which also underpins the paint jobs of 1981 - 1993. The alternative scheme seems to be Yellow which occured 1975 - 1981 and resurfaced in 1993. It has transpired that the first Ford unit in 1975 was available only as Black, White or Yellow so Yellow it was.
1971 - 1975
CZ9898 - Bedford Petrol
Original bus (hand-painted by club members.) Body white with orange/brown striping and white/black cab with original boot logo on doors. Purchased from Auckland Catholic Tramping Club. Nick name : "Tinkerbell" Ended it's days in a farmers field!
1975 - 1979
HM7801 - Ford Petrol
New chassis & body Body yellow with black signwriting and yellow/white cab.
Built at Takanini, colour was yellow although cream was desired. Cab & chassis ended up with farmer in Pukekohe?
1979 - 1981
JL4545 - Ford Diesel
Ford Diesel: New chassis
Body yellow with black signwriting and white cab
1981 - 1989
JL4545 - Ford Diesel Repainted
New paint Body cream with brown striping and white cab
Sold to Wellington Tramping & Mountaineering Club Inc. It has since been sold to some guy on the Kapiti Coast who planned to use it as a means of carrying his motorbike around, and also to live in it.
1989 - 1993
NW2094 - Isuzu Diesel
New chassis & body Body beige with two tone brown striping and white cab.
Built in Henderson.
1993 - 2016
NW2094 - Isuzu Diesel Repainted
All yellow with boot sole markings.
Sold and converted into a house truck.
2016 - Present
KCY445
New Hino truck and body. New club logo and restyled bootprints.