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Post by cobber on Mar 6, 2009 14:18:58 GMT 10
Bass Caravans Hurstville All we know about “Bass” Caravans is that they were made in Hurstville and were owned by Bill & Neil Shaw.. and they supplied some of their 'vans to John Walsh of “Newcastle Caravans” in the 1950's. Anybody have further information regarding "Bass" Caravans  Cobber. |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 27, 2013 20:42:51 GMT 10
G'day Cobber, I think I may have made a minor breakthrough today regarding Bass caravans built by Bill and Neill Shaw in Hurstville that you wrote about in the post above. Strange as it may seem, not all that long after your post in 2009, Griffin posted an advert with a pic and some further information on the Our Touring Past website about vans built by Caravan Industries in Brighton-le-Sands. The proprietors of Caravan Industries were the 'Shaw Brothers', and the firm later seems to have relocated to Hurstville. Griffin couldn't read the brand name on the van, but thought it began with a 'B'. I'm guessing it was 'Bass'. What do you think? The link to Griffin's OTP post is here. Maybe Griffin can let us know whether he's found any further info on the topic in the interim? Don Ricardo |
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Post by griffin on Jan 28, 2013 13:51:13 GMT 10
Hi Don R My post you refer to for Caravan Industries was only made recently so I'm a little confused about the reference to 2009. In any event I don't have any further information on them - yet. You make a good case for Bass being linked Caravan Industries via Shaw Bros, how many could there be operating out of Hurstville back then? However, I don't think you will be able to convince the jury 'beyond reasonable doubt' that the name on the van in the advertisement is BASS. I did take another photo of the advertisement, just of the van which is a bit sharper, and the attached photo is a cropped with some fiddling of contrast and tone to show the section with the name. It appears to me to be BRI..., the shadow from the cabin hook holding the door open doesn't help, but for a caravan company at the time based in Brighton-Le-Sands, what better name than BRIGHTON with all it's holiday connotations both here and in the old country. Unfortunately I don't have a CSI type enhancer programme on my computer or I could make the image pin sharp, determine the number of brush stokes, the colour and composition of the paint, and by pressing the x-ray button probably see through the door and read the full name too! If Caravan Industries built Bass they may never have advertised under the model name or used it in their advertising. In this advertisement they claim "WE BUILD ONE VAN AND BUILD IT WELL", but unfortunately never mentioned the model name. The best solution might be if Cobber and I spend $2.50 each on a train ticket to the city one day and raid the old yellow/pink pages at the Mitchell Library. I'm sure it would answer a few questions, and probably generate a few more too. George  |
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Post by cobber on Jan 28, 2013 14:55:11 GMT 10
G'day George & Don R, No good me going to the Mitchell Library with you George.... the older I get the more confused I get by all this stuff, for instance............. back in June 2012 JBJ posted photos of a Caravan Industries Van built at Taren Point. To me it looked very much like a Carefree Caravan that we think we're built at Malvern Vic. As mentioned at the top of this page I have been told that Shaw Bros. (amongst others) did supply caravans to John Walsh ( Newcastle Caravans)who never made a big deal of the fact that he never built caravans from the ground up...... maybe Carefree never did either ...... maybe Caravan Industries built vans for more firms than we know of I wonder if either of the Shaw brothers are still around..... or their relos. Cobber  PS By the way Don R...... that post of JBJs doesn't appear in the DHL index   |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 28, 2013 20:39:59 GMT 10
Hi Cobber and Griffin, Thanks for your posts. Hi Don R My post you refer to for Caravan Industries was only made recently so I'm a little confused about the reference to 2009... It appears to me to be BRI..., the shadow from the cabin hook holding the door open doesn't help, but for a caravan company at the time based in Brighton-Le-Sands, what better name than BRIGHTON with all it's holiday connotations both here and in the old country... Ahem! Griffin, it turns out I was looking at the date you joined OTP, not the date of your post!  Yes, I can now see that you posted the info about Caravan Industries only a couple of weeks ago.  Thanks for posting the photo of the section of the van with the name on it. I have to agree that it looks like it says 'Brighton' to me as well, so we haven't totally solved the puzzle. From the other photo you have, are you able to get anything out of what looks to be a sign above the front window? In any case, it seems very unlikely that there would be more than one pair of people called 'Shaw' building vans around Hurstville, Brighton-le-Sands and Taren Point around the same time. Those locations are all so close to each other. I also noted that one of the Brighton-le-Sands phone numbers in the advert you posted on OTP was the same as the one given for the Hurstville address in the 1955 Cowra phone book. So I think the evidence is building that there is a strong link between Caravan Industries, Bass Caravans and the vans built for John Walsh. PS By the way Don R...... that post of JBJs doesn't appear in the DHL index... Sorry Cobber, I missed that post by JBJ. I can add it in to the DHL index, but based on the info we're piecing together, I'm wondering if we should combine this thread and JBJ's. What do you gentleman think? Are we sure enough (should that be 'shaw enough' ;D ;D ;D) yet of the link? Don Ricardo |
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Post by griffin on Jan 29, 2013 15:04:51 GMT 10
Hi Don R
Sounds fair to me to add it to DHL, time may sort out the finer details.
No joy on detail in the sticker on the front, unless someone has that CSI programme.
I'll add the advertisement I have to the DHL thread when done.
Cobber
Me thinks you think too much, there were only so many shapes a van could be, those two have different wheel arch treatment, and I'm sure as soon as someone came up with an idea or a style it was soon copied.
Have you checked up on the Shaw brothers yet? Sounds like a good idea, you never know.
George
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