Our rich and colourful past

• The early days of the Hutt Valley Branch
• Tiki Trophy
• Ekin Trophy
• Shran Cup
• Challenge Cup
• Blasts from the Past
• Expenses Annual Beano 1936
• Radio Expo 1974 at Lower Hutt
• 50th Anniversary Luncheon 30 April 1983 Avalon TVNZ Cafeteria
• Winners of the Shran Cup
• Winners of the Tiki Trophy
• Hutt Valley Branch Microphone Test
• Honorary Life Members of Branch 18
• Honorary Members of Branch 18

The Early Days of the Hutt Valley Branch 

(Based substantially on a history prepared in 1969 by Keith Grove ZL2BBT)

 The Hutt Valley Branch had its beginnings in 1932 when Bill Hall ZL2BH and ZL2JS formed the "Giggle Juice Club" consisting of ZL2BH, ZL2CW, ZL2DA, ZL2DH, ZL2JS, ZL2LY, ZL2ND, ZL2NL, ZL266 and D. Jamieson.

The Hutt Valley branch proper was formed at a meeting convened by ZL2BH and held at the residence of ZL2ND on 29 April 1933.

The sketchy minutes available do not indicate where meetings were held in the early days, but from 1937 to 1938 they were held in the Oddfellows Hall in Petone. In 1938, due to a falling off of membership, the branch relinquished the hire of this hall and commenced holding meetings at various members’ homes. This practice continued until 1940 when the club went out of operation for the duration of the World War II.

Branch meetings resumed in the home of Bill Hall in May 1944 and this continued until December 1945 when the first meeting was held in the Hibernian Hall in Victoria Street. Apart from a short period in 1951, when meetings were held in member’s homes, the Hibernian Hall continued for many years to be the venue for branch meetings. In these years meetings were always held on the first Sunday of every month.

It is interesting to note that in the early days, considerable emphasis was put on the social activities. Three quarters of the branch sub was allocated to the Social Fund and this was augmented by raffles and sales when necessary.

The first annual Beano was organised in 1933 and this continued for many years to be a feature of branch activities except for 1993, when a barbecue took its place. The first annual picnic was held in 1934 and this continued until 1953, apart from the odd year when epidemics or the like caused its cancellation.

An early feature of branch activities was the Microphone Test, which commenced in 1935. This piece of prose had to be read by new members, the minutes recorded the successes. It is not disclosed if this had to be read without laughing!

TIKI TROPHY

In the pre-war years, several trophies were donated to the branch. The first was the Tiki, a Maori carving donated by L.G.Petrie ZL2OV, for the annual Hutt/Wellington contest, which originated in 1934. Pre-war and in early post-war years, this contest was between Hutt Valley and Wellington branches. The rules were changed from year to year but those for the first post-war contest in 1947 give an idea of the nature or the contest. Operation was on every second evening between 19:00 and 24:00 over a period of two weeks. Stations could be contacted once only during the contest, phone or C.W. could be used and scoring was as follows:

Power Input under 10 watts

ZL1’s – 12, ZL2’s – 7, ZL3’s – 9 and ZL4’s – 14

Power Input over 10 watts

ZL1’s – 8, ZL2’s – 5, ZL3’s – 6 and ZL4’s – 9

The three highest scores in each branch were totalled and the branch with the highest total was the winner. The highest scoring number in the winning branch held the Tiki for the year.

In later years the operating times were restricted to the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings of one weekend and challenges were accepted from any branch in the ZL2 District.

EKIN TROPHY

In May 1937, Mr Ekin presented the Ekin Trophy, consisting of two mounted shell cases. This was awarded once only to Bert Lippett ZL266in 1938 for meritorious service in judging the Hutt/Wellington contest for that year.

SHRAN CUP

The Shran Cup was donated by Mr. Shran a Wellington jeweller in August 1937 to be awarded annually "to revive the old feeling that made the branch what it was two years ago". In 1938 and 1939 it was awarded to the member who designed and built a piece of equipment most helpful to fellow amateurs and in 1940 it was decided to award it to the member who had done the most in the branch during the year.

CHALLENGE CUP

The Challenge Cup was presented by Bill Hall was presented by founder Bill Hall on behalf of the Amateur Radio Class Instructors. It was to be competed for at the annual picnic and awarded to the winner of the 100 yard race. As far as records show this was awarded once only to Lester McMillan ZL2IK.

The records show that over the years several attempts were made to obtain clubrooms for the branch. In March 1946, Bill Hall proposed holding a raffle to raise funds for building, and a building committee was formed. Discussions were held with the Hutt River Board and the Town Clerk of the Lower Hutt City Council about a suitable site. It was ascertained that no more sites were available on the riverbank by the Ewen Bridge. There was a possibility of a site being made available on the river bank at

Taita, but no guarantee of permanency could be given due to major Public Works in progress at that time. The raffle was arranged and the Building Fund benefited by £175. Bill Hall ZL2BH sold 1400 tickets and was awarded the Shran Cup in 1947 for his efforts.

At the Annual General Meeting in 1948, it was decided to donate £100 from the Building Fund to HQ NZART to run a raffle for the HQ Building Fund. The balance of the Building Fund was transferred to the General Fund as no headway was being made with the building for the branch.

In 1960, an approach was made to the Lower Hutt City Corporation to obtain the use of the disused pumping station in Birch Street, Lower Hutt. The request was declined. Also in this year, the Hutt Valley Tramping Club were asked if the branch could obtain quarters in their building for the storage of gear, training of juniors and for branch meetings. The Tramping Club agreed to a trial period of use of the building for branch meetings but, as they could not offer storage facilities, the offer was declined.

In 1964, enquiries were made about the Annexe building of the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board Hutt Road depot. This came available for tender in 1965 but at that time the branch did not see its way clear to proceed, and the matter was dropped.

In 1963, a donation of £50 was received from a member of the branch, and the committee of the day decided to use this as the nucleus of a building fund. The money was used to purchase items for raffles at branch meetings to build the fund up. By 1970 the fund stood at $625. It was then renamed "Special Purposes Fund" and used to purchase test and other equipment for Birch Street.

Following discussions in 1956 between the branch executive and the Civil Defence Representative from the Lower Hutt City Corporation, the old pumping station on the Birch Street Reserve was allocated to the branch for the storage and maintenance of Amateur Radio Emergency Corp and Civil Defence gear. In addition. Funds were allocated by the Joint Civil defence Committee to renovate the old building and add an amenities block. Work commenced on October 1966 and was all done by voluntary labour from branch members apart from the plumbing and drainlaying, for which tradesmen had to be called in. The work was completed in October 1969 after the expenditure of some 1350 manhours of voluntary labour. In that time the roof and downpipes were renewed, a new floor was cast, windows were reglazed, fittings and benches were installed, the building was painted inside and out, an aerial was erected and an amenities block consisting of kitchen, toilet, store and hallway was constructed.

The branch has been active in AREC affairs for many years. The first Hutt Valley section was formed in 1946, but was disbanded in 1948 when no leader was forthcoming. The AREC ZC1’s were returned to HQ in 1950 and in 1951 the section’s 208’s were sold to HQ.

The section was reformed in 1958 and has been in operation since. The majority or work undertaken has been in providing communications for charitable, sporting and social events as well as practice exercises, but highlights over the years have been:

April 1959 Search in the Tararua

1962 Appeal for the Blind

1968 Wahine Disaster

"Blasts from the Past"

The first 50 Years 1933 - 1983

FIRST DECADE 1933 – 1943:

SECOND DECADE 1944 – 1953:

THIRD DECADE 1954 – 1963:

FOURTH DECADE 1964 – 1973:

FIFTH DECADE 1974 – 1983:

Expenses Annual Beano 1936

[This seems to have set a precedent for subsequent Beano’s though noticeably the quantities of beer never reduced!]

Total £11:12:4

Radio Expo ’74 at Lower Hutt

The Hutt Valley branch of NZART staged an exhibition of Amateur Radio known as "Radio Expo" on Saturday August 24, 1974 to let people see and hear what the hobby is all about.

It was held at the Hutt Valley Tramping Club Rooms in Birch Street, Lower Hutt from 10 am to 8 am.

Exhibits ranged from a simple Morse transmitter to a sophisticated amateur television transmitter and radio teletype equipment. Everything on display was in full working order.

There were relatively uncomplicated home-built transceivers that operate through the (then) two repeater stations on the hills overlooking Wellington and Upper Hutt

The old war-horse of World War II days, the ZC1 transceiver, was there. It still had a role to play, particularly in emergency communications.

At the other end of the scale was a fully operational single side band (SSB) station featuring the most modern commercial equipment available in New Zealand. This station was manned throughout the day and visitors were able to hear branch members talking to amateurs around the world.

A feature of Radio Expo

50TH ANNIVERSARY LUNCHEON 30^TH APRIL 1983 Avalon TVNZ Cafeteria

WINNERS OF THE SHRAN CUP

WINNERS OF THE TIKI TROPHY

Hutt Valley Branch Microphone Test

Among the numerous side shows at a recent N.Z. Exhibition was one at which a man, after putting a cork into an empty cask, succeeded time after time in blowing the cork out of the bung hole in the top of the cask. A reporter of the Hutt Chronicle commenting on this, said:

"It is no doubt a clever performance, but if the man had put his mouth to the cork-hole and then blown the cask out of the bung hole, or if he had put his mouth to the cask hole and blown the cask out of the cork hole, or if he had put his mouth to the cask and blown the bung hole out of the cork hole, or if he had put the cask to the bung hole and blown the cork out of his mouth, or if he had put the bung hole to his ear hole and blown the cask out of the cork hole, or if he had put the cork up his ear hole and blown his mouth out of the bung hole, or if he had stuffed his ear hole up the bung hole and blown the cork hole inside out through the cask hole, or if he had blown his ear hole up his mouth and pulled the bung hole out of the cork hole, or if he had stuffed himself up his ear hole and blown the cask up his bung hole, or if he had stuffed the cork hole and the bung hole in his mouth and blown himself out of his ear hole, or if he had blown the cask hole up his ear hole and blocked his bung hole up with the cork hole, it would have been in his opinion much more extraordinary."

Honorary Life Members Branch 18

7^th July 1935 Bert Lippett ZL266 (died 1966)

1938 H.B Johnson ZL2JS (died 1954)

7^th December 1947 W.H. (Bill) Hall ZL2BH (died 28 September 1950)

Mrs W.H. Hall

Mrs Estell Rothschild.

Mr Bob Sewell ZL2ASO (awarded AGM 2000)

Mr Jack Devenport ZL2AXY (awarded AGM 2001)

Mr Bruce Douglas ZL2WP (awarded AGM 2004)

Honorary Membership Branch 18

1964 Mr & Mrs O’Riley elected honorary members of the branch for 1964

1982 John Clench ZL2ATV (deceased 19 June 2002)

2001 John Wysocki ZL2TWS