Wanaka Search and Rescue has received $4,500 from proceeds of the OXFORD Land Rover Rally 2021, which was held in conjunction with Wheels at Wanaka 2021.

The rally, organised by Anne and Rod Corbett, comprised three one-day safaris over local high country stations.

Each safari was limited to 80 vehicles - all Land Rovers, and each driver donated $20 per safari.

The star of the show was OXFORD, a 1955 Series 1 Land Rover. The 66-year-old veteran was one of the two original Land Rovers that completed the first overland expedition from London to Singapore.

Although commonplace now, a vehicle overland trip from west to east had never been completed then, fewer than 10 years after World War II. Seven months after leaving London, OXFORD and its companion, CAMBRIDGE, rolled into Singapore, having driven over 12,000 miles through three continents of deserts, jungles and mountains.

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Lake Hāwea resident Gemma Nott was a special attendee at the rally this past week. Her father Henry Nott was one of six Oxford and Cambridge University students who achieved the first overland journey in 1955/56.

Henry was the designated mechanic who kept wheels turning to ensure both vehicles got there - and back. The rally was the first opportunity Gemma had to view and ride in OXFORD, as it led the afternoon parade of more than 120 Land Rovers at Wheels at Wanaka.

Wanaka SAR’s Aaron Nicholson (right) accepts the donation from Rod and Anne Corbett. 

Rally organiser Rod Corbett is well acquainted with the story of the First Overland and the re-discovery of OXFORD on St Helena Island in the South Atlantic. He also knew that OXFORD was touring the USA, and contacted owner Adam Bennett to investigate the possibility of getting it to New Zealand. Adam was agreeable to the idea if a few tricky details like transportation and insurance could be worked out.

Ian Jenner, of Jenners Worldwide Freight NZ, offered to help with transport, and STAR Insurance provided insurance. When Jaguar Land Rover NZ agreed to display OXFORD at all JLR Dealerships in New Zealand, the deal was sealed. OXFORD was shipped to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland late January 2021.

Since then, OXFORD has joined Land Rover owner rallies and events throughout the country, one of which was the National Land Rover Owners Rally, held here in conjunction with Wheels at Wanaka this Easter. 

On March 31, the first safari of the rally travelled from the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds over Mt Pisa and then south along the Pisa Range, exiting via Lowburn Station. The second safari the following day (April 1) traversed Forest Range Station to Mt Grand before descending Grandview Station to Lake Hāwea. The third safari on Good Friday (April 2) was a traverse up to a high point on Hillend Station to experience magnificent views over the lake before returning to Wanaka.

Highlights of the event were captured by film crews from TVNZ’s Seven Sharp programme. 

While in Wanaka, the Corbetts looked after OXFORD, and also generously shared the privilege of driving it across the Central Otago landscape. Kevin and Mike Scurr drove it over Hillend Station for the Seven Sharp filming.

In 2019 a return journey from Singapore back to London was undertaken by OXFORD. Land Rover UK sponsored the journey, simply called “The Last Overland”.

PHOTOS: Supplied