HTNZ Returns

Several weeks ago, I got an email with information telling me that the Housetrucks New Zealand web site had closed down. I hoped that this information was incorrect, as Stu has maintained a site filled with photos and lore of NZ housetrucking for many years.

Alas, it was true! HTNZ was no more. I sent off a couple of impassioned pleas to Stu, using the few email contacts that I had, and got a reply from him. Apparently, he was of the impression that the site was generating too little interest to be of use any more. This, coupled with his busy schedule had driven him to the conclusion that it would be best if the site simply faded away.

Fortunately, I was not alone in imploring him to bring it back, and as of a few days ago, the site was back up and operating again. Thanks, Stu! It would be a shame to lose the galleries of New Zealand housetrucks and housebuses on your site. I also shudder to think of the results of allowing your recognisible domain name to expire, as it would surely become a porn site within a week. (Hmmm, Housetruck Porn, there might be some money to be made there...)

For those of you who haven't seen Stu's site yet, or those who have, and haven't been by to visit there recently, click up one of the links I've posted here and spend some time browsing the HTNZ site. Afterwards, register and post up some comments of encouragement. If you come across some interesting truck or bus related tidbit, post that, or let Stu know about it so he can include in the the site's content.

I know too well the difficulty of keeping sites like these fresh and stocked with current information. A site that doesn't change much is perhpaps like a musty mueseum, a place to view relics. Still, this is much better historically than an empty warehouse. The New Zealand Housetrucking scene is still rolling along, and HTNZ is a valuable window into that world. Stu has reopened the curtians and polished up the glass. It's up to the viewers to step up and look in.