15,000 expected at annual swap meet

Press, 8 October 1988, Page 9

15,000 expected at annual swap meet

By SUZANNE KEEN Everyone from the “sockman” to the vintage car enthusiast will converge on McLeans Island this week-end for the annual swap meet. Between 15,000 and 20,000 people are expected to attend the event which has attracted about 500 stallholders from as far afield as Bluff, Auckland and Australia. According to its organisers, the Canterbury Vintage Car Club, the swap meet is the biggest in New Zealand. Although mainly vintage car parts are sold, it is a bit like a huge garage sale, with items as diverse

as lounge suites and socks to go under the hammer. One annual site-holder is the “sockman,” of Timaru, who brings a busload of socks for sale. Many visitors wait for him to arrive and buy their year’s supply of socks at the meet. About 200 vintage cars will be on show as will displays by the New Zealand Railways, the Army, St John Ambulance, and the underwater club. Candy floss, a sausage sizzle and kiddie castle will add to the carnival atmosphere. The Canterbury Vintage Car Club has been organising the swap meet for 12 years, the numbers

involved continually increasing. An organising committee of 25, led by Mr John Boyd, has been planning the week-end’s event. It will be open to the public from about 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on both days. A member of the organising committee, Mr Jack Yates, said that those enthusiasts looking for the elusive part for their vintage car would be at the gates much earlier. “It could be the fourth door handle or the gearbox. They could have been looking for that part for four or five years to get the car finished and if they find it here they will go away very happy.”