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A Kiwi classic

A Kiwi classic
Photo supplied

It’s 1966. Keith Holyoake is New Zealand’s Prime Minister.

The airwaves are dominated by the sounds of The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel.

The first episode of Country Calendar has aired, and U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson has visited our shores, rallying support for the Vietnam War.

The new Interislander ferry, the Wahine, arrived in Wellington in July, making its maiden voyage to Lyttleton in August, while pirate radio station Radio Hauraki made its debut transmission from the ship Tiri in the Colville Channel.

It's also the year New Zealand's first and only mass-produced motor vehicle—the Trekka—trundled off the production line and into our history books.

The Trekka boasted a New Zealand designed and built body resting on a Skoda chassis, and was manufactured by Motor Lines in Ōtāhuhu with an eye on the rural market.

In a recent Facebook tribute thread to the once-iconic vehicle, one commenter jokingly described the Trekka as "what happens when you purchase a Land Rover from Temu", while another described the colour options for prospective buyers as "karitane yellow or mucus green."

Despite being marketed to farmers and tradies, it was only two-wheel drive, and with a 1200cc motor, it wouldn't win any races either.

It was the car we loved to hate, but at the time, it made car ownership affordable and accessible for the average New Zealander, mainly due to the government's protectionist policies that discouraged the import of assembled cars.

There were waiting lists for new vehicles, and even buying a second-hand car was challenging.

"In simple terms, the whole of New Zealand was locked up with import licencing for pretty much everything," says New Zealand's unofficial Trekka historian and author of  "The Trekka Dynasty", Todd Niall.

"The government controlled how money left the country, and what it bought, and effectively rationed how many cars could be imported, and which ones."

Government policy encouraged local manufacture, keeping kiwi dollars within our shores and providing employment.

The concept of the Trekka was developed by Skoda franchise holder Phil Andrews, who negotiated a deal with Skoda for the mechanical kits to be imported from the then-communist Czech Republic.

"They realised they could take all the mechanical components of a Skoda design, build body in New Zealand, put the two of them together and have a very cost effective New Zealand built car."

With 70 % of the vehicles content Kiwi made, the politicians were happy.

Over a six-year period, around 2500 Trekkas were produced.

50 were exported to Australia, and 100 were exported to Indonesia before payment issues saw that export agreement collapse.

Five were flown to Vietnam to a New Zealand-aided civilian hospital in Quy Nhon.

Domestically, their price point and accessibility meant they were popular.

"In 1966, you couldn't just go out and buy a new car because they were in short supply.

"Suddenly, there was a vehicle you could just walk into a showroom and buy.

"They were cheap, you didn't need much money, and you could just drive off in one."

While the Trekka's shape resembles that of a classic Land Rover, the similarities end there.

"The Land Rover was quite heavy duty, a proper four-wheel drive, whereas the Trekka was like a Morris Miner that looked like a Land Rover."

Despite not being a four-wheel drive, the Trekka was popular with farmers.

"It had big chunky tyres, so you could drive it around your farm, throw haybales or a sheep or two in the back, but it wasn't really for crashing through rivers and doing all the things a Land Rover could do.

"I guess farmers know what they need, and they didn't need everything a very expensive Land Rover provided, and if they understood the limitations of the vehicle, it was an effective solution for them."

As import restrictions eased and Japanese vehicles began to flood the New Zealand market, the Trekka's popularity waned, and by 1973, production of the vehicle had ended.

Photo supplied

It's unknown exactly how many Trekkas remain, but with a susceptibility to rust, it's likely few survived.

Despite this, Niall estimates that around 30 are either restored or being restored, as the vehicle has seen a surge in popularity recently.

"It might have been a bit dodgy, but in a country that no longer has a motor industry and no longer builds anything, there was this thing we designed, stuck a Kiwi badge on and called our own.

Photo supplied

"People still hate them, but that was my fascination.

"It was never a great motor vehicle, but it was an interesting part of our history."

By Claire Inkson