Kiwi Flyer was filmed in Nelson and tells the story of Ben, 12, who wants to win the derby in memory of his father. He must contend with devious Aussie rivals determined to win at any cost.
The story is fictional, but has its roots in the 1970 derby, in which a sleek trolley shaped like a rocket and with advanced imported wheels blitzed the field. The 1970 event made an impression on the movie’s director and co-writer, Tony Simpson, who lived in Nelson at the time. The trolley belonged to a schoolmate whose father worked for the National Airways Corporation; it was called NAC 737.
Fittingly, NAC 737 has a bit part in the movie. It’s still in good nick and is now owned by children’s car collector, Trevor Carston.
“It’s a neat old thing,’’ he enthuses. “It was innovative in its day.”
The trolley has a narrow aluminium body, shaped to minimise wind resistance. Its wheels and axles were sourced from the United States and designed specifically for trolley racing. It clocked a top speed of 78km/h in its heyday.
Other trolleys in the movie are even more high-tech. Trolley enthusiast Gordon Dacombe spent a year creating a stylish trolley for the movie’s villains, called The Aussie Flash. It has a fibreglass body modelled on the design of a glider and runs on racing bicycle wheels.
Dacombe has plans for the trolley, aiming to install electric bicycle wheels so he can try to set a land speed record for electric-powered vehicles up to 300 watts.
For the moment, though, he has his sights set on the Nelson derby, which he takes part in each year with his grandchildren. “There are a couple of guys who are consistently quick, who I’ve never managed to beat. This just might do it,’’ he says.
