Wrinklies Express: 10 yrs old and new van
Proud Wrinklies, from left, Roy Reid (president), Henk Visker (treasurer), Heather Hovenden (secretary). Photo: Gerard Hindmarsh.
There’s no other service quite like it in the country. The Wrinklies Express, less commonly referred to as the Golden Bay Community Service Vehicle Trust, celebrated its tenth year of operation last week at its AGM at the Senior Citizens’ Hall, pulling in over 50 of its 238 members for a sit down-lunch.
President Roy Reid used the occasion to announce the imminent purchase of a brand new vehicle, a nine-seater Kia Carnival, which should be on the road within two months.
“This will be a major improvement for our members,” he said. “The saving up for the new vehicle has taken some time to achieve, but we can now go ahead without any debt.”
Wrinklies doesn’t intend to sell its current vehicle, a 1998 Toyota Lucida, as it will be needed for local trips while the new one ploughs over the Hill. The return trip to Nelson—for $20 suggested koha—is a booming service. Last year they transported 382 members on 203 trips to Nelson, compared to just 151 in the previous year.
The credit and foresight for starting Wrinklies a decade ago goes to the awesome foursome of Henk Visker, Heather Hovenden, Michael Stayner, and Mary Baigent.
“We could see that for a lot of elderly people in the Bay, it was really hard to get to the hospital for essential appointments or go shopping,” said Henk Visker. “We started fundraising in 1999 and brought our first van the following year. Now we’re on our third vehicle and this new one will be our fourth. Anyone over 50, or who is disabled, is eligible to join as a member. Currently, our youngest is two-and-a-half years old. We offer a door-to-door service anywhere in the Bay, even out to Puponga, but a lot of our members do get themselves to the info centre car park for pick-up and drop-off. Some weeks we go over twice, other times there’s a fortnight between trips.”
The well-loved nickname for the service came from signwriter Bert Wagenvoort. After the awkwardly long “Golden Bay Community Service Vehicle Trust” logo he painted on the doors of the first van, he added “Wrinklies Express” in tiny letters underneath as a joke. It became an instant hit and stuck.
Wrinklies’ super-healthy balance sheet is due not only to conservative management, but the generosity of sponsors. Donations and sponsorships regularly flow in from businesses like AMI Insurance, ITM, BP Takaka and Takaka Fuels and Fishing, and Trash Palace donated $200 this year. A donation box at the Anatoki Salmon Farm has netted $160.50 this year alone.
Henk said that despite the medical destination of many of the trips over the Hill, they are generally fun excursions. “I always tell first-timers we offer Sky in our van, then open the sunroof for them.”
Another one of the 16 volunteer drivers is Albie Burgers: “Because we share the driving around, there’s never any real pressure. It’s a joy to take these people over. They’ve given so much service in their lives, it’s appropriate to give something back to them.” Much of the local driving around Golden Bay, in particular taking members to appointments at the medical centre in Takaka or to the physio up at the Community Hospital, is undertaken by retired GP Arthur Pearson.
Roy Reid said there are a couple of other similar transport services offered in New Zealand, like in Gore for example: “But I have to say there’s simply nothing we have heard about that has even approached the success of our one here in the Bay.”
Anyone keen to become a Wrinklies member ($15 per year) or a driver can ring Henk Visker on 525 9775.
Gerard Hindmarsh
