On Tuesday the 5th of November 1959, a meeting was convened by Mr. Alex
Pealing at his workshop in Princess St, Onehunga, with the object of forming a
Model Engineering Society. Some fourteen people were in attendance, these
forming the nucleus of a club destined to be one of the largest in the country.
It is fitting that the founder members of the new club be named, and as
our memories serve they included: BASIL WILSON, DAVE WATTS, ARTHUR PERRYMAN,
PHIL ISACC, W.F. PEARSON, B.K. WILSON, GIB. GANE, JACK HOCKING, HARRY FROST,
L.F. DOUGLASS, J.I. DAVIS, JACK RENNIE, L.K. MEEK, and our youngest member, GUY
HOCKING, age 15 years. Finally the man who started it all, ALEX PEALING, named
as PRESIDENT by a unanimous vote.
At this meeting a resolution was passed that this club should be called
the Auckland Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, a title which was to
remain unaltered for many years until the word ‘Experimental’ was deleted. A
committee was formed from the above members of this fledgling society, namely
Mr. P.N. Isacc, Mr. Basil Wilson, Mr. L.F. Douglas, Mr. N..J. Frost, Mr. B.K.
Wilson and Mr. A..L. Perryman with the Secretary Mr. Watts and President Alex
Pealing.
The first committee meeting on the 19th November 1959 produced a set of
rules to govern the Society, these being finally adopted at the General meeting
on the 8th March 1960, as also was the decision to apply for Incorporation.
The 8th of February 1960 saw the first General meeting of the Auckland
Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, with an attendance of some 40 or
more prospective members, proof of the interest that the project had engendered
in the district. A small exhibition of members work was on show, but the
highlight of the evening was the arrival of our Patron, none other than Sir John
Allum, and vice Patron Captain Charles Palmer, both men being very prominent in
the business life of Auckland at this time. There does not appear to have been
an official Treasurer appointed, at this time. Committee meetings were to be
held at the various residences of the above members, with club meetings at the
workshop of the President, an arrangement which continued for approximately one
year until a move to the Happiness Club rooms, Onehunga, eventuated, with more
room available to accommodate the expanding membership.
Occasional open weekends are held throughout the year, the most notable
being our Easter meeting, where, with the aid of various kindred clubs we staged
a four day get together in which the general public supports our efforts by
attendances running to thousands. An exhibition in the club’s basement attracts
considerable interest with favourable comments regarding the quality of exhibits
on display. A friendly competition exists in which members vie for various cups,
medals, shields etc; with the judges being Alec Holmes, Gerry Gerrard from New
Plymouth and Jack Hocking, who so far have not been beaten up, bribed or been
the recipients of poison pen letters. Well not yet! All in all a weekend that
brings the members closer together, these gatherings improving as the years go
by.
An important landmark that must be mentioned was instituted by Geth Creagh
when he introduced the ‘BEEJAX’ nights. This has turned out to be a very
successful attempt to teach and encourage a fair number of our members to take a
positive interest in the building of 5" gauge locomotives. So successful has
been this project that we now see good numbers of these machines operating on
various tracks around the country.
We are grateful to other kindred clubs throughout New Zealand for their
assistance and support during the last 25 years, with further acknowledgement to
the various club secretaries for the material from which this history has been
compiled, with special reference to Arthur Perryman, a foundation member, whose
private notes of our club’s early history have proved invaluable. This brief
record would not be complete without mention of the help and support that we
have received from our wives and other ladies, over the years. Further thanks go
to those members, past and present, who have given so much of their time and
expertise in making this a club which we can be justly proud but now it is up to
our current membership to carry the torch and make the next 25 years even
better!!!