On one of the club’s ventures, Lloyd Baker met a motorcyclist whose travelling companion attracted rather more attention than most. The companion was Rastus, a black cat with his own helmet, goggles and red bandanna.
Our photograph captures the encounter beautifully. Lloyd is seated on his Ariel, while Rastus stands confidently above the headlamp, apparently quite at home on another classic motorcycle. It is a small moment from club life that connects us with a remarkable travelling partnership.
A friendship that began in Canada
Rastus’s owner was Max Corkill, a New Zealander who took in a kitten left with him at a Canadian swap meet. The cat soon became his companion on the road, learning to stand on the handlebars as they travelled. Their early life together is recalled in a 1994 Newsnight report preserved by NZ On Screen.
With his back paws on the petrol tank and his front paws on the handlebars, Rastus rode into the wind. A leather tank cover gave him grip; for longer journeys, Max provided a specially made travel pouch. Their adventures took them through Canada and the United States. One published account credits them with about 75,000 miles — approximately 120,000 kilometres — in North America alone.
Home to New Zealand
In 1994, Max returned to New Plymouth with Rastus. They continued travelling in New Zealand, becoming familiar faces at gatherings and attracting attention wherever they stopped. Their appearances extended beyond Taranaki: the Christchurch photographic archive also holds an image of the pair on Max’s Sunbeam.
That motorcycle gives our club another connection to the story. Max’s was a 1952 Sunbeam, one of the distinctive British machines familiar from photographs of the pair. Sunbeams of this era are uncommon, yet two of our own members also own them. Alongside Lloyd’s encounter with Rastus, those bikes provide another shared interest with Max.
Putting their popularity to work
Max and Rastus used their fame to support animal welfare, particularly the SPCA. They visited schools, attended functions and appeared in a Bell Tea television advertisement that introduced their unusual partnership to a much wider audience. At Christmas, Max dressed as Santa and Rastus wore little antlers.
Posters, T-shirts and badges helped support their charitable activities. Rastus had a fan club, and the pair reportedly even shared a bank account, with a pawprint serving as the cat’s signature. Behind the publicity was an enduring friendship between a rider and the animal who went everywhere with him.
A sad end to the journey
On 20 January 1998, Max, his partner and pillion passenger Gaynor Martin, and Rastus were killed in a collision on State Highway 3, about six kilometres north of Urenui in North Taranaki.
More than 1,000 motorcyclists joined the funeral procession. It was an extraordinary farewell to a partnership that had given so many people pleasure and helped animals in need.
Here in our club archives, a happier moment survives: Lloyd, his Ariel, and a small black traveller who looks entirely ready for the next ride.
Explore the story
- NZ On Screen — Newsnight: Rastus the Cat (1994). Original television report.
- Puke Ariki — Taranaki’s Famous Felines: Nine Lives. Their New Zealand life, SPCA work and farewell.
- Purr ’n’ Fur — Rastus and Max. Travel, equipment and fundraising; source of the reported North American mileage.
- Canterbury Stories — Max and Rastus on the 1952 Sunbeam. Photograph from the Christchurch Star archive.