The story of the Mini in New Zealand stretches back almost to the birth of model itself, with production of complete-knockdown (CKD) Morris Mini-Minors starting up at Panmure, Auckland in 1960. It can be entertaining (and complex) to pick over the history of these Dominion Motorsbuilt cars, not least because the factory wasn’t all that bothered about keeping records; thankfully British Motor Heritage can come to the rescue with their own bookkeeping, and with the car you see here we know that it was shipped to New Zealand as a CKD in 1965, specified with a cloth interior and no heater – as items such as heaters and upholstery were often sourced locally.
The most recent chapter of its history dates back to 2013, and thankfully that’s something we’re able to relate with sparkling clarity, thanks to its superenthusiastic owner Jack Dolley.
“This 1965 Mini-Minor came into my possession in December 2013, which happened to be on my 18th birthday,” he explains. “It was purchased sight-unseen from a private seller in Pirongia, a couple of hours south of Auckland on the north island of NZ where I was living at the time. The car had only recently been recommissioned and put back on
