When Ford Australia designer Lewis Bandt created the Ford Model 40 coupe with an integrated tray at the back, released in 1934, the trusty ute was born.<\/p>\n
The Methven A&P show pays homage to the ute each year with its Ute Muster, when rows of utes of every size and shape line up to be judged.<\/p>\n
They range from Morris Minors, HG Holdens and Datsun 1200 pickups to the big bush-whacking variety with tyres that can take you anywhere, snorkels for fording rivers and winches to pull you out of trouble.<\/p>\n
Utes evolved over many years, reflecting changing times, particularly on-farm but also in the city, Ute Muster judge Grant Reith told RNZ\u2019s Country Life.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the horse and cart and traction engines came tractors, then people wanted something a wee bit more versatile.<\/p>\n
\u201cLand Rovers and Jeeps played their part after the war.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said trucks were for farm use or farm-related jobs in town.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the Toyotas arrived with four-wheel-drive, a lot of people started to use their ute as a second car, so one half could go in one direction on Saturday with the kids playing rugby, and the other half go in the other direction playing their netball or hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the stars at the muster was the oldest and smallest ute \u2013 a restored 1950s Morris utility truck which once belonged to Burnett\u2019s, the Mid Canterbury transport company.<\/p>\n
Josh Hood and Jerry Power were repainting the vehicle when the original branding on the door was uncovered, inspiring its restoration.<\/p>\n
Ute Muster judges Grant Reith and Alistair Stevens. Photo \/ RNZ, Anisha Satya<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just keeping the legacy going of these awesome old companies, and it\u2019s just a good bit of history, so no one forgets they existed,\u201d Hood told Country Life.<\/p>\n
The muster included a \u201cHers Not His\u201d category for the growing number of female ute drivers.<\/p>\n
Many are attracted by their comfort, safety features and the versatility of modern double-cab models.<\/p>\n
The restored Burnetts ute. Photo \/ RNZ, Anisha Satya<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really about trying to give chicks in the area their own space and trying to show them that it\u2019s not just a boys\u2019 world, and girls and women have the opportunity to actually show off what they have,\u201d organiser Loganne Brown said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re incredibly practical. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also a lot to do with farming with a lot more women coming into agriculture, which is fantastic, and just getting out there four-wheel driving, overlanding, camping.<\/p>\n
Loganne Brown co-ordinated this year’s Methven Ute Muster. Photo \/ RNZ, Anisha Satya<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are also many clubs like Chics Off Road and New Zealand Girls 4×4 that are New Zealand-wide and in Aussie too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about creating a community, which is the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
But with the surging petrol cost, the use of the vehicle for leisure and commuting is becoming unaffordable for many, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of us are getting stuck between rent, groceries and fuel now, because fuel is so much more expensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of my mates who were going to be coming up from Alexandra, and some from Nelson, and they have just had to pull out because they just can\u2019t afford it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amy Ingram’s 2012 Ford Ranger won the “hers not his” category. Photo \/ RNZ, Anisha Satya<\/p>\n
Amy Ingram found her 2012 Ford Ranger, her first ute, in the North Island and \u201cwith no idea how to drive a manual\u201d, she made it down south.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a team of four working dogs. <\/p>\n
\u201cI really enjoy the ute scene and going off-roading, adventuring, and I can tow a horse float behind it too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emma Kinzett, 16, with her Ford Courier. Photo \/ RNZ, Anisha Satya<\/p>\n
The youngest ute owner at the muster, 16-year-old Mount Hutt College student Emma Kinzett, started working towards her dream vehicle, an early 2000s Ford Courier, when she was just 13 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had three jobs, a couple on farms, another one cleaning on Thursdays, and I have been saving up for years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scrolling on Trade Me one day, and it came up, and I\u2019d been looking for a truck, and it kind of looked perfect, so on my birthday I went out and had a look at it, and it\u2019s just what I imagined it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kinzett\u2019s \u201cabsolute dream\u201d was to become a shepherd, a goal which could be made possible with her trusty ute and its crate on the back for the dogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cA neighbour was speaking to my mum, \u2018I always see your daughter cleaning her truck.\u2019 Yeah, that\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n
– RNZ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Ford Australia designer Lewis Bandt created the Ford Model 40 coupe with an integrated tray at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,3233,71,221,196413,263,32573,196412,174599,111,139,69,418,61,35538,106683,2201,115735],"class_list":{"0":"post-376750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-farm","10":"tag-from","11":"tag-how","12":"tag-leishman","13":"tag-lifestyle","14":"tag-mark","15":"tag-methven","16":"tag-muster","17":"tag-new-zealand","18":"tag-newzealand","19":"tag-nz","20":"tag-shows","21":"tag-to","22":"tag-ute","23":"tag-utes","24":"tag-went","25":"tag-workhorse"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}