Mini Run Set to Raise Record Funds

 

 A  Bream   Bay  family are having an unusual gathering this Easter: driving the length of New Zealand  in two tiny cars over six days, they'll raise record  sums  for  charity and celebrate beating, together, a serious disease.

One  Tree  Point  resident Murray Hemsley bought himself "the hottest  Mini  in  the  Waikato" some 35 years ago. It made a lasting impression.

"It was a swine of a thing! It was modified, had  a  big,  lumpy  cam; it pulled 80mph  in third gear. The motor blew up; it cost me  a lot of money. It was one of those cars   that   your   parents say 'don't   buy',  because it had been raced, rallied and rolled."

Driving lessons
Soon   after,   Ministry of Education employee Murray  sold  the  car  to buy an engagement ring for   his   now-wife,   Annie,  a  nurse.   Together they had four  daughters - Sarah (now 34), Naomi (now McRae, 33), Miri- am (now Tuck, 27) and Hannah (24). A Mini was the preferred option for driving lessons.

Years    later,  Annie bought  Murray  an  identical 1965 Morris  Cooper in Dunedin. Murray coaxed its 997cc engine over a northward  version of the route taken in the "world-famous-in-New-Zealand" movie, Good- bye Pork Pie (from Invercargill to Kaitaia).

Then   in  2009,  Murray and a friend, Northland  resident   Rod  Harris, had an idea: they would commemorate the 50th anniversary of the renowned  car going into production,  with a Kiwi answer to Europe's  "Italian Job" Mini tour. Pork Pie  provided  the  route, and funds raised went to Starship  Children's Hospital.

In  2011,  people  contacted the Hemsley’s asking them to repeat the event,  this  time  in  honour of the 30th anniversary of the film. Again, Starship benefited.

 

New charity, new wheels
This year, the Run has a  new  charity:  Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand  (LBC). Murray says they are on track to set a new Run fundraising record for the new cause.

There are also new wheels. Although they've kept    the    1965    model, Murray  and  Annie have upgraded  to a 2002
Cooper S with a worked, 1275cc engine.

"It was electronically timed at 185kmh, pretty good for a Mini. It's got a different carb, the engine was rebuilt by a guy who used to build race motors in Dunedin."

The   four   girls   will share  the roughly 1,400km drive  in  Naomi's 200 Cooper S. Langs Beach resident Miriam  agrees  on the Mini charm.

"It's like driving a go-cart, they're super-fast. The new one  feels close to the  road,  but  the  old one – you get in and you can feel every part of the road. It's very cool."

It’s personal
The Hemsley’s say organizing the Run is worth all the effort.

"The  end  product   is all   these   happy,   smiling faces driving Minis down  the  road," Murray explains. "And when you get to the next stop everyone's chattering and you're thinking 'We created this'. And they're all raising  money  for  charity,  and  having  a  great time doing it."

This   year,  the   Pork Pie Run is "personal", after second sister Naomi's brush with lymphoma disease around three years  ago.  She  is  now in remission.   The  family says the support  they received from  LBC was "amazing."

"This   [Run]   is   our 'thank   you',"  says  Murray.

"She was very, very sick," he adds. "But she was  brave,  man.  She takes after her mother." Annie smiles: "She weathered the storm."

As this remarkable  local family make their way south over Easter, more storms  will surely  come –  all  the  challenges   of NZ's toughest roads and conditions.  But no doubt they'll weather those too, doing  Bream  Bay proud along the way.

 
„ Support the Run and LBC: www.porkpie.co.nz.