The first Land Rover are now 77 years old, and many early examples are more like precious artifacts or museum works than the off-road exploration machine they built. However, in New Zealand, one of the oldest I-Series production Land Rover in 1948 has just completed a 1,450-mile journey from Dunedin to the south to Auckland to the north.
The 17-day expedition is led by the latest owner of Julian Paton, New Zealand’s oldest Land Rover. Paton is a well-known name in the I-Series community and owns several early vehicles. He is British, but he lived in Auckland for eight years and worked in Auckland University of Auckland Cardiology Research Laboratory. In the summer of 2024, he learned that the 20th production of Land Rover was the first to be produced to New Zealand as a news protester in 1948 and will be sold soon. Audiophiles know that the car is the oldest completely original production series in the world, and Parton can’t miss the opportunity to own it.
The vehicle is nicknamed “20” after the serial number, in Dunedin. Paton is in Auckland, about the distance from New Zealand. When he bought it, it was a 10-year restoration work by series enthusiast Peter Marr, who purchased it from the garage for 30 years.
When Paton arranged for a purchase, he decided, instead of shipping it north, to clear it nationwide to help with heart research. He is professionally involved in the study of rheumatic heart disease (RHD), which is disproportionate to Maori and Pacific Islander youth in New Zealand. Therefore, the fundraising expedition was born. Drive4Hearts will serve as a fundraising event for Heart Valve Research to help children with RHD. The expedition was supported by the New Zealand JLR, which provided aid tools for the 2024 Defender 110 and hosted events at Land Rover dealers across the country after the expedition passed.
The trip started from Land Rover’s Dunning Dealership on January 31, and after the age of 20, there were seven old-fashioned Land Rover. Almost immediately the original pavement biased route was thrown away for more dirt tracks, and locals recommended the best lay routes as they progressed. On the first day, when the convoy entered the highlands west of Dunedin, 20 of them wet her frame for the first time in decades. The route to the South Island becomes about 70% dirt roads, while the more developed route to the North Island is about 25%.
A few days after the journey, the news began to tour the New Zealand Land Rover community, and people joined the fleet with the help of online trackers. When they left Christchurch, they had 35 Land Rover, 20 behind, from season one to new defenders. MP David Seymour, in Wellington’s capital David Seymour, tried to push me to rise to the parliament, replicating the story of the 1940s and eventually becoming New Zealand political news for the rest of the week.
As they move around the country, the fleet is not only about Land Rover, but about RHD, and how it touches family and friends. The fleet received cash donations and in-kind gifts along the way, including fuel, food and accommodation. The spring manufacturer even donated the only Land Rover repair needed along the way: the new rear spring leaf.
17 days after leaving Dunedin, the expedition entered Oakland on the trail with the convoy of 37 Land Rover and raised over $70,000 in NZD for RHD research. This car is almost impossible to do, for something so old. At the end of the successful adventure, Parton is already considering the next place to ride 20 times, and the Drive4hearts trip proves no reason to park a valuable early Land Rover on a garage or museum floor.
Read more: The classic Land Rover and trailer are priced at over $400,000!
Photo: Julian Paton
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