78 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
tip when he no longer had a use for the Marlborough-
Carlton — or ‘Mrs McCafferty’, as the Power family
referred to it. Mrs McCafferty was a faithful workhorse
for the Power family for many years before being
parked in its final resting place under a tree on their
Te Aute farm.
Sometime in 1960, Charlie Black, a member of
the Gisborne Car Club, stopped his car on the
Te Aute Trust Road to take a look at the derelict truck.
He recognized it for what it was and negotiated with the
then-owners of the farm to have the car/truck returned
to Gisborne as a project for the Gisborne Car Club. The
club then challenged its members to return the truck
to its first incarnation as a car as Birch had driven it
out of his shed in 1929. The cleaned-up and running
chassis was displayed at the Gisborne Industries Fair in- In 1975, the Gisborne VCC came into existence
and, with the other club’s agreement, took over the
restoration of the car.
A hand-built masterpiece
Working bees were held one night a week in a member’s
home, but, over time, interest waned and work virtually
ceased for many years. At that point, a lot of time had been
spent making a frame for the body, using the only known
photograph of the original Gisborne car, which had been
taken at an A&P Show in the late 1920s. Later, a new group
decided to take over the restoration, and it was then that the
task was completed. The original body of the Marlborough-
Carlton was based on the 1924–’26 Studebaker Duplex top,
which had a solid tourer top with roll-down side screens. On
7 October 1998, the Carlton was issued a new warrant of
fitness and new registration.
Unfortunately, a few years later, the car developed an
engine fault, blowing copious amounts of smoke. In 2014,
the decision was made to remove the engine and dismantle
it to find the cause of the problem. The engine was taken out
and repaired, but, as of the time of writing, it is still waiting
for reassembly. Once this has been done, the front half of
the car will also have to be reassembled. Rod Clague, the
current secretary of the Gisborne VCC, hopes that this will
be carried out in the near future.
These days, John North Birch is hardly remembered in
New Zealand, yet this amazing engineer built the first
all–New Zealand motor car: engine, gearbox, and all the
mechanicals. For 40 years, from his arrival in 1905 until his
death in 1945, John Birch designed and built sophisticated
machinery. His ambition was to produce cars on a large
scale, and, to this end, he painstakingly created several
prototypes, each one a hand-built masterpiece. Only a few
accessories were bought off the shelf.
Some of Birch’s innovations are standard equipment in
modern cars, but, because he failed to take out patents, he
has received no credit for them. Similarly, he was a pioneer
in bicycle manufacture and later with motorcycles, and
although he played a part in their development, his specific
contribution may never be fully appreciated.Top: Rodney Clague driving the truck
chassis, 1978
Above right: Rod Clague and
Robin Cameron working on the car
Above: Restored Marlborough-Carlton,
circa 1998