It began its life as a member of a fleet of vehicles used on Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Tour of New Zealand in 1963. It featured in ‘Royal Rollers & Fancy Fords’ by John Stokes in issue 385 of New Zealand Classic Car. That story provoked a steady reaction from readers as to the current whereabouts of various royal tour cars. One of them was Canterbury car enthusiast Bert Govan. He read the feature, saw his car in a photograph, and called to say he had this tour car in his garage.
A backup car for the royal tour, the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III arrived on board the SS Port Nicholson in late November 1962, joining two Rolls-Royce Phantoms, two Austin Princesses, a convertible Ford Galaxie, and a Land Rover. It came with its own documented build history for works number CX7102, chassis number SCX.197, in the form of an impressive ‘History Book’ still with the car today.
It details every stage of the assembly, painting, trimming, engine build, and all inspections, signed off at every step by a host of Rolls-Royce employees, with a final inspection dated 9 November 1962. Also documented is additional work carried out by the New Zealand agents Dominion Motors Ltd, who readied the car in early January 1963 for its royal duties. New Zealand additions included a high-frequency horn operated by a foot switch, additional pencil beam interior rear lights, a detachable flag mast, and front
