Peter and Diane Parker
Peter and Diane Parker with their Triumph TR4 at Victoria Square in Cambridge. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Peter Parker was 18 when he fell in love with his 1962 Triumph TR4.
Not long after, he fell in love with Diane from Waharoa and the three of them went on their honeymoon together in the 1970s.
The first time Peter hit 100 miles/per hour in the car, Diane was with him and her words to him were: “That’s a time machine.”
The Kaipaki couple organised the Triumph TR (Triumph Roadster) national weekend held in Cambridge over four days wrapping up on Sunday with a forum in the morning, lunch at the Good Union where presentations were made and then a farewell to the participants.
Numbers were down – missing were at least 10 cars from Hawke’s Bay – but the passengers in the 65 cars from all over New Zealand were still in good spirits.
Diane said she and Peter had contemplated postponing the event but they had already done that last year because of Covid.
The Triumph TRs on display at Victoria Square in Cambridge.
“It’s been a journey for a lot of people to get here so we wanted them to have a good time,” she said.
Highlight was on Friday when the cars went on display at Victoria Square where the participants were welcomed by deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk.
Peter and Diane’s blue Triumph was there its hub caps, bumper, parts and paintwork gleaming in the Cambridge sun.
The car started its career red, albeit somewhat faded. Peter painted it blue and added a mahogany dash.
He recalls why, when living in Hamilton, he spent $2140 buying it.
“I was sitting in the smoko room at the Te Rapa dairy factory, and everyone was talking about their cars so I wanted something myself.”
He did the rounds of the car yards and fell in love with the Triumph TR4 -code named Zest during its development in 1960 – and became only its third owner. There are about 60 TR4s in New Zealand.
The Triumph Motor Company’s marque (emblem) retired in 1984 after nearly 100 chequered years. BMW now owns the brand but despite some rumours more than a decade ago, seems unlikely to revive it.
The first car to use the TR moniker was the “Bullet” TR-X which was a flop because of its unreliability. TR model – a prototype, went on display at the London Motor Show in 1952.
Production started the following year with the TR2. They went on to morph through the years finishing with the TR8 eight cylinder version in 1978.
The TR racing models all have 15 inch wheels and two doors in common, said Peter, and are close to the ground which makes travelling long distances problematic.
Diane remembers the bumpy ride they had when they took the Triumph TR4 up Mount Ruapehu’s Bruce Road on their honeymoon and admits she would not want to do it again.
Peter jokes he knows it will be time to sell the car when he can no longer climb in and out of it. And that happens more frequently now, he says.
There are more than 700 Triumph TR cars in New Zealand with the 1968-1975 TR6 the most popular.
Peter and Diane Parker with their Triumph TR4 at Victoria Square in Cambridge. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
