Waikato Breweries: 1924 Ford Model T owned by Brian Cossey .

Brian Cossey’s 1924 Model T Ford

My son Roman, his friend Jake, and I had the pleasure of going to Saturday’s ‘Wings and Wheels’ car, motorcycle, and aircraft show held in Thames New Zealand (27-1-24).
We rode in my good friend Simon’s beautiful 1958 Buick Special Coupe.

Unfortunately for me my old camera is on it’s last legs, and as I do not have a smart phone I was unable to take a stream of photos which would have made this blog article more interesting so I have had to snipe some pics off my sons phone for this. The pics of Bryan Cossey’s 1924 Ford Model T were dutifully snapped by my son Roman at my command… thank’s son.

Custom fabricated Sportscar (NZ)

There were plenty of Rad rides on display… plenty of Yank Tanks… an Austin Healy Club had many cool little sports cars there.
Another mate Scotty was with his Mini Club in his British racing green Mini Cooper. There were Military displays, including some small artillery which were fired, and then there were the Arial displays… Harvard’s, Yaks, other high performance stunt planes, some Bi and Triplanes, and the highlight being some cool swoops, rolls etc by a Corsair Warbird.
A truly fabulous looking machine.

A Russian Yak: Photo Roman Wikiriwhi.

Now to the Star of the show… Brian Cossey’s 1924 Model T Ford…
2024 makes this particular Truck 100 years old!
YAY!

Many of my friends and I myself are huge fans of Waikato Draught Beer, and belong to the social club ‘Friends of Waikato Draught’
This is why Bryan’s Truck caught my eye and captured my affection!
I did not see him at the show and so I have not received any permission from him to blog about his fine Model T Truck yet I hope to track him down in the next few months and have a chat with him about it.
I have questions!

It just so happens that Waikato Draught Ale will be celebrating it’s 100th birthday next year in 2025!
This centennial will celebrate the date Waikato breweries began to sell their *Draught ale* which was not their first beer and thus this centenary is to be distinguished from when Waikato Breweries originally started (back in the late 1800s), and from when they established their NZ Famous Brewery at Bridge St Hamilton Waikato which I believe predates 1912.

It is also to be distinguished from The 100th birthday of Waikato Draughts famous Mascot ‘Willie the Waiter’ Created in 1945, he is currently only 78 years old so will not reach his centennial until 2045 (Only by the grace of God I might live to celebrate that!… here’s hoping!)

The tailgate is particularly interesting as it speaks of a ‘100 year Re-enactment’ held in Wellington and Auckland dated 3rd-7th Nov 2012.
Now I am unfamiliar with the date 1912 being of any significance to Waikato Brewery?
I suspect it has to do with the first Model T Fords arriving in New Zealand as they were Manufactured by Henry Ford from 1908.

You can’t get more Waikato than Waikato Draught!
The Beer has Iconic status in the Waikato region and beyond.
Many of the classic and oldest Pubs have Waikato Draught Emblazoned across them.
Waikato Draught has sponsored Sporting events, esp Rugby for generations… esp the Mooloos.
This puts Brian Cossey’s 1924 Model T into the Epic League in the eyes of the Friends of Waikato Draught!

It is a fact that Waikato Brewery imported the first truck to the Waikato District.
It was a Wichita…

I recommend Waikato Draught fans and Kiwi Beer historians to get hold of a copy of Colin V. Innes fabulous book ‘A Crown For The Lady’… The unravelling of a pioneer story. Moana Press.
It is a must read for Waikato Draught fans and anyone interested in the history of Hamilton, Huntly, Taupri, Teawamutu Ngaruawahia, in particular the business dealings of the Innes family who were pioneer Beer makers who established Waikato Breweries.