themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car 33D
uring my recent lunch with Bill Gavin, covered
in previous issues, I told Bill that I’d been given a
copy of his book The Jim Clark Story for my 10th
birthday by my parents. I then recalled that my
aunt had given me a subscription to Motorman
magazine, meaning that I have been reading the words of
Donn Anderson since shortly after I started reading. It was
time to sit down with the guy who has seen everything, met
all our heroes, and performed road tests on both the best and
worst cars ever made.
Donn was typically modest at my suggestion that we meet for
lunch. “Who’d be interested?” he asked.
To which I responded, “I am” — and he eventually warmed to
the idea.Bored stiff
On a miserable July day, we lunch at Aubergine in Takapuna,
where Donn and his wife Lynne have now lived for many years.
I’ve always assumed, incorrectly, as it turns out, that, given
Donn’s career path, and the fact that his brother Rodger was
such a leading light in small-to-medium-sized saloon cars back
in the day, their father must have been a real car enthusiast.
“Dad used to drag us all out to Ardmore. We were there for
the first Grand Prix in 1954, and I hated it — a long, hot day;
you had to walk for miles and I was bored stiff,” Donn says.
This was somewhat in contrast to his brother.
“Rodger is four years older than me and was more
enthusiastic. Eventually, that started to rub off on me but,
bizarrely, the moment we both started showing genuineLunch with
Donn
Anderson
MEET THE MAN WHO HAS SEEN
EVERYTHING, MET ALL OUR
MOTORING HEROES, AND DRIVEN
THE BEST AND WORST CARS
EVER BUILT
Words: Michael Clark Photos: Donn Anderson, Jack Inwood