Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 13, 2009 23:17:50 GMT 10
Hi all,
I have been on a couple of work trips recently which have taken me through or near the Grampians in western Victoria, and given me the chance to follow up a couple of V V leads I have been given. I've got a few photos to scan (yep, I'm still using a film camera ;D ;D ;D), so I'll split them into a couple of posts.
The first lead came from a guy I met when our caravan was being serviced earlier this year. He told me about the "Grampians Paradise Camping and Caravan Parkland" at Pomonal where he said there were some V V's being used as on-site vans...
So on my way back to Melbourne from South Australia recently I made a little detour to the said camping and caravan parkland, where I was met by the owner of the park - a young gent called Tom, more about whom later. He was very glad to show me around his clutch of five on-site vans. Two of them were "modern" 70's/80's aluminium vans, but the other three were of more interest.
This van belonged to Tom's cousin:
The cousin owned it for a number of years but Tom doesn't know much about its history. He's not sure whether it came from a van manufacturer or was home built. I couldn't find any signs or nameplates, but who knows they may be under a couple of layers of paint! It reminded me a bit of a Courtney, but there are also a number of differences...
The second V V at the park was a Franklin Freeway:
The van that got me most excited though was one built by Tom's father:
The aluminium canopy on top of the van was added in the 60's or 70's when the family was having trouble with a leak in the roof. Apparently the canopy fixed the leak and they travelled quite extensively with the van with canopy attached, including trips across Victoria and interstate.
I forgot to take my camera flash
so the inside shots were taken on my phone:
Tom has added some cupboards, and of course the fridge is not original.
The draw bar was originally a timber beam, but that broke on a trip to the Flinders Ranges in the 60's (I think). It was replaced by a steel beam. Note the inscription 'Franklin Caravans' on the hitch.
The caravan has a number of really interesting features. Note what looks like a cupboard door on the left of the doorway in the above photo. This opens against the side of the cupboard on the right hand side of the doorway to close off the passage to create a......toilet compartment, as seen below:
Tom still has the original toilet box!
There aren't too many caravans of this era which had a toilet compartment. Bath? Yep, a few. Handbasins? Yep, a few. Toilets? Not many...
So what era is this caravan I hear you ask. Well work it out. Tom is 80 (I said he was just a young gent), and his father built the van when Tom was 8... Hmm, 2009 minus 80 plus 8... Yes, that's right - built in 1937!
By my reckoning that makes it amongst the handful of the oldest caravans we've come across on the forum. But 1937 is one year later than 1936, so Cobber's Ol '36 is safe...just!
Almost as amazing is that this old treasure is sitting out in the weather as an on-site van and looking not much the worse for it.
While I'm at it I must mention that the Grampians Paradise Camping and Caravan Parkland is a very pleasant place. As you'll see from the website, there is plenty of space, a lake and lots of seeerenity (to quote "The Castle") - none of the hurly burly of a lot of modern caravan parks. Not only that, but other V V's for company. What more can you ask? If you're looking for a nice quiet place to stay you could do much worse.
More about V V watching in the Grampians to come...
Don Ricardo
I have been on a couple of work trips recently which have taken me through or near the Grampians in western Victoria, and given me the chance to follow up a couple of V V leads I have been given. I've got a few photos to scan (yep, I'm still using a film camera ;D ;D ;D), so I'll split them into a couple of posts.
The first lead came from a guy I met when our caravan was being serviced earlier this year. He told me about the "Grampians Paradise Camping and Caravan Parkland" at Pomonal where he said there were some V V's being used as on-site vans...
So on my way back to Melbourne from South Australia recently I made a little detour to the said camping and caravan parkland, where I was met by the owner of the park - a young gent called Tom, more about whom later. He was very glad to show me around his clutch of five on-site vans. Two of them were "modern" 70's/80's aluminium vans, but the other three were of more interest.
This van belonged to Tom's cousin:
The cousin owned it for a number of years but Tom doesn't know much about its history. He's not sure whether it came from a van manufacturer or was home built. I couldn't find any signs or nameplates, but who knows they may be under a couple of layers of paint! It reminded me a bit of a Courtney, but there are also a number of differences...
The second V V at the park was a Franklin Freeway:
The van that got me most excited though was one built by Tom's father:
The aluminium canopy on top of the van was added in the 60's or 70's when the family was having trouble with a leak in the roof. Apparently the canopy fixed the leak and they travelled quite extensively with the van with canopy attached, including trips across Victoria and interstate.
I forgot to take my camera flash
so the inside shots were taken on my phone:Tom has added some cupboards, and of course the fridge is not original.
The draw bar was originally a timber beam, but that broke on a trip to the Flinders Ranges in the 60's (I think). It was replaced by a steel beam. Note the inscription 'Franklin Caravans' on the hitch.
The caravan has a number of really interesting features. Note what looks like a cupboard door on the left of the doorway in the above photo. This opens against the side of the cupboard on the right hand side of the doorway to close off the passage to create a......toilet compartment, as seen below:
Tom still has the original toilet box!
There aren't too many caravans of this era which had a toilet compartment. Bath? Yep, a few. Handbasins? Yep, a few. Toilets? Not many...
So what era is this caravan I hear you ask. Well work it out. Tom is 80 (I said he was just a young gent), and his father built the van when Tom was 8... Hmm, 2009 minus 80 plus 8... Yes, that's right - built in 1937!
By my reckoning that makes it amongst the handful of the oldest caravans we've come across on the forum. But 1937 is one year later than 1936, so Cobber's Ol '36 is safe...just!
Almost as amazing is that this old treasure is sitting out in the weather as an on-site van and looking not much the worse for it.
While I'm at it I must mention that the Grampians Paradise Camping and Caravan Parkland is a very pleasant place. As you'll see from the website, there is plenty of space, a lake and lots of seeerenity (to quote "The Castle") - none of the hurly burly of a lot of modern caravan parks. Not only that, but other V V's for company. What more can you ask? If you're looking for a nice quiet place to stay you could do much worse.
More about V V watching in the Grampians to come...
Don Ricardo
