Mid North Meander Take 2

[313royal]

Further on at Renmark we have a 36 Chrysler, 28 Dodge and the " Highway Palace "



Each with their respective vans :







and just for Sportsman :





The " Highway Palace " has been featured elsewhere so will just show a few interior shots of one of our early fifth wheelers :











An amazing story of dedicated restoration, you would not believe the state it was in when first found

[Geoff & Jude]

hi 313 royal

you really are a lucky person to have seen the highway palace close up - inside and out.

in my mind this rig is legendary.

any more pics of it would be appreciated.

it is a 'living icon' of early luxury caravaning.

geoff 'n jude

[hwyman]

Hi 313Royal;

Thanks for those great pics. That Highway Palace is a ripper. I saw one similar to this (just the trailer part) early last year at Dereel (near Ballarat) just sat out in the middle of a block with all the windows broken and a bit of vandalism, but still had all the lounge area and kitchen cupboards etc all intact. I recall it looking very 50's decor inside. The front raised section was designed for a double island bed, with 50's style bedside tables. Can't be too many of those around.

Hwyman

[sportsman 1]

What the!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Both of the Sportsmans have been got at by unfeeling graffitiists it seems.

I suppose they are doing exactly what I keep preaching, get out there and have fun using the things. I bet they have lots of fun with those two. ( or at least everyone else does!)

Are they members of the forum? I'd love to correspond with them both.

Keep on Teardropping folks,

Leigh.

[cobber]

Thanks for those Pictures 313royal.
Those of us who were at Morgan last year had the opportunity to crawl all over " The Highway Palace ", it is unreal eh?

The tear drops look at home with the paint work they have... makes you feel that they should all be painted that way

Cobber.

[313royal]

Hi Sportsman - thought i might get your attention, the one hidden under the annex is a copy lookalike, both have been used extensively even as far as Alice Springs. Neither of the owners are forum people but if you PM me I`m sure they will be willing to correspond.

Cobber - when I get some time I will do a restoration story on the Palace. The initial construction and early history, followed by its decline and eventual restoration is a tale worth telling.

313

[Deleted]

Hi ya 313

i seem to remember someone posting a newspaper article on the "highway palace". built for .. or .. by Grace bros in Adeliade.
Ended up in a dam somewhere before being rescued and restored by the bloke and a few others we visited near Blanchetown while we where on the Morgan getogether last year.

Attention to detail is incredible. Even the dinner set and glass in the kitchen/ galley cabinets have a picture of the rig etched in them . Not 1 inch of space is wasted. Even has a full stainless steel bath tub in the bathroom floor. The club lounge on top of the turntable with what appeared to be either rosewood, or cedar was really inviting and an ideal spot to spend happy hour.

The rest of the old gear on his property wasnt too shabby either. he had a pop top style caravanette (similar to gronks dads "egg" )that was just begging for a restoration, A restored fargo ute, an old triumph Motorcycle with sidecar that i worked on him to purchase .. all to no avail.

Interesting bloke with interesting toys.

reddo

[313royal]

Hi Reddo

Yeah all that stuff is still at Blanchetown, you need to stand in line for the bike/sidecar outfit.

The Palace originally hailed from Pinaroo & in its day went to Queensland & back, but the reality of long distance travel did`nt take long to sink in - 4mpg & flat at 45kmh on a good run; this recent run cost him $62.00 in fuel for the first 90km, so it was inevitable that it was going to rest in the back paddock. Current owner with 6 mates restored it in the open over 5 years - every weekend !!

313

[sportsman 1]

Hi 313,

My Sportsman is also well travelled, went from Melbourne to Bunbury W.A. with it in 2002. It has also been to Newcastle, Pambula, Adelaide a couple of times, etc.

The next big trip is from Melbourne to Port Augusta, Uluru, Alice Springs, Darwin, Mt Isa and back to Melbourne over 6 weeks with the Vauxhall Vagabond and Myrtle the Minibago (the Sportsman).

I would like to catch up with any V Vers during the trip, I will PM you for the contact details of those 2.



Cobber,

just because teardrops are small and cute I am undecided that they all should be painted like circus exhibits, or then again if Pro Hart had 'done a job' on mine I would probably be pleased.
I get enough laughs with mine just as it is without going for a makeover such as they have had (at least I think it is the Sportsman they are laughing at, perhaps it is me!!!!!!!!!!!)

cheers to all,

Leigh.

[tinnie]

Hi 313,
Thanks for the pics. That Palace is, well, exactly that!
I wait with baited-breath until you find time for the full Highway Palace history and pictorial.

Cheers,
Tinnie

[krisbee]

Hello All
Caravan World issue 432 August 2006 has a really comprehensive write up on the Highway Palace, showing the condition as found and some of the history behind it , as well as lots of photo's taken during it's mammoth restoration Not to sure of the legalities of scanning to the site, so good luck hunting down a copy, it is a really good read, everyone involved should take a bow.
Cheers, Kris. ;D

[Ray Bell]

krisbee said:

Hello All
Caravan World issue 432 August 2006 has a really comprehensive write up on the Highway Palace, showing the condition as found and some of the history behind it , as well as lots of photo's taken during it's mammoth restoration Not to sure of the legalities of scanning to the site, so good luck hunting down a copy, it is a really good read, everyone involved should take a bow.
Cheers, Kris. ;D

Dick and his friends did a great job in this unit.

[woddaquest]

;DIf you look hard ,in one of the photos you can see my old VC ute I finished restoring just 2 months B4 we left on the Mid Nth Meander, my late father and i camped in a tent for most of the meander.