Military Hardware

Restoration

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The Museum is very grateful for the work of an enthusiastic group of volunteers who regularly make the trip to Waiouru to assist with the restoration, repair, maintenance and ongoing preservation of our vehicle collection.

The Museum has 4 storage sheds in the Waiouru Army Base which are home to around 85 historic vehicles in differing states of repair. Amongst the collection are: the 24-tonne M41 Walker Bulldog tank, the Centurion and Valentine tanks (the latter still in WWII Pacific the atre camouflage), a 1941 Canadian Pattern Chevrolet gun tractor, an MB Jeep in its 1942 Long Range Desert Group colours, an M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) painted in UN colours and of the type used in Bosnia, a 1943 Ford F30 truck, and an M816 recovery wrecker truck made by American Motor Corporation in 1969.

George Pycraft, Assistant Curator of Technology says, "Our aim is to maintain our New Zealand army heritage vehicles for posterity. The vehicles are museum artefacts, and have to be preserved as closely as possible to the condition and appearance they would have had when in service."

German Light field howitzer model 1916

In August 1918 the New Zealand Division formed part of the British Army that was pushing the Germans out of Northern France and Belgium. During the New Zealand attack on the town of Bapaume the 2nd Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade captured a Battery of German Model 1916 10.5cm Light Field Howitzers (LFH 16). One of these guns was returned to New Zealand after the war as a 'Trophy' and sat for many years in a council park. These guns, like many of the late war German designs, were assembled from many small parts that were then riveted together. This made them easy to produce, but it also made them quick to rust if not well looked after.

In 1997 this gun was donated to the Museum – in a sad but typical state. The front seats, brakes and other small parts had gone, the wheels had begun to rot and the guns carriage was held together with wire and automotive body filler. After approaches to a number of heavy engineering firms it was Napier Engineering and Contracting Limited who were prepared to undertake the major restoration work required. In 2003 the gun was delivered to Napier Engineering – with photographs, drawings and pictures that showed the missing parts. The wheels were removed and returned to the Museum for separate restoration.

After hundreds of hours of painstaking research, measuring, cutting and forming the gun had been restored to a condition that made it suitable for display. Minor work was continued at the Museum and the gun was repainted to its wartime finish.

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Series I Land Rover Restoration

From left; Mel Street, Lee Clark, Paul Lelieveld, Brent Robinson, Holly Clark, George Pycraft, Dave Clark, Rod Edwards with one of their current projects, the Series I Land Rover.
One of the current projects a dedicated group from the Rotorua Land Rover Enthusiast Club have taken on is the restoration of a 1953 Series 1 Land Rover, thanks to the kind donation of a matching 1953 motor by Trevor Collins of Tauranga. This is a 80 inch short wheel base Land Rover with F Head motor, intake valve and side exhaust valve.

Series 1 Land Rover in Malaya/Borneo similar to that being restored.
This is the 2nd Land Rover of this kind the group have successfully restored, the other being similar to those used by the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) in Malaya and Borneo. The volunteers refurbished the vehicle to its original state with the help of archival photos.

From left; Paul Lelieveld and Dave Clark at work.
The volunteers also regularly work on the general ongoing maintenance and repair of other vehicles within the collection ensuring as many are in working, running order as is possible.

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Coming soon......restoration of a Centurion Tank