The makeshift car park opposite the Cardrona Hotel in the Central Otago district of New Zealand's South Island says it all. This 1928 Chrysler Six has pulling power – power to pull up travelers that is. The old girl is the star attraction at the historic Cardrona Hotel on the magnificent Crown Range Road between Wanaka and Queenstown.
What once was a grassy paddock is now often busy with tourists' cars stopped for a look and a Kodak moment with the car fitting beautifully into Cardrona's historic ambience. The car's colour is no mistake with hotel owners Peter and Vicki Byrne matching the car to the colour of the town's buildings of yesteryear.
Even stationary the old Chrysler is still working for a living, drawing attention to the hotel, as drivers negotiate this terrific piece of bitumen. The car was purchased by the hotel about 10 years ago from a local farmer. He had partially restored the vehicle and for many years used it around the former gold mining district.
“The car was then repainted in Cardrona Hotel colours,” said Peter. “Since then it has basically remained positioned in front of the hotel.” It still does the odd trip into Wanaka and at one stage was used regularly around Cardrona Valley for events such as weddings.
Living outdoors the car is subject to the South Island's cold weather – Cardrona is also a ski resort – and about 18 months ago the Chrysler cylinder head cracked after a particularly nasty winter – and perhaps due to a lack of anti-freeze. Peter has plans to renew the head before this winter.
“The most common question about the Chrysler is `is it for sale?' The answer is `yes' – with some qualifications. You see the hotel is also for sale. Buy the pub and they'll throw the car in for free. “For the interim it's an important feature and attraction to our historic venue,” said Peter.
There were four primary vehicle's in Chrsler's 1928 lineup: a four cylinder `52' two six cylinder models, the 62 and the 72 and the Imperial 80. The story goes that the numbers match the car's top speed. The sedans were all fitted with timber bodies and Chrysler's flat head staight six engine putting power via a three speed transmission to the rear wheels.
The 1928 Chryslers featured four wheel hydraulic brakes and 18 inch wheels. As the images show, this example is suffering from `exposure' and has seen better days although it's overall condition seems to be solid.
The Cardrona Hotel was founded in 1863 and is one of New Zealand's oldest hotels. It is situated just 20 minutes outside Wanaka and 40 minutes from Queenstown in the centre of the South Island's snow country. Cardrona has been able to retain it's gold rush era feeling by the retention of the wonderful old buildings. The Cardona pub was made famous by a TV commercial run by Dunedin's Speight's Brewery, which featured the drinking spot. The hotel also offers extensive accommodation availability, bar and restaurant.
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