Post by oupa on Feb 8, 2015 11:53:15 GMT 10
Once upon a time long, long ago (1940's), in a land far way (just north of Mildura), there lived a young man (Frank Duncan) who was a good cabinet maker who had taken to farming fruit for a living.
He dearly wanted a caravan to do a trip around Australia and decided to build himself one.
He liked the look and quality of the Don caravans, so with this in mind he proceeded to construct his van.
Not one to waste a dollar, the hydraulic brakes, axle and wheels were acquired from an old Packard motorcar.
The slide out step featured the handle from a plow control lever as a cross-member.
However, no expense was spared when it came to the quality of the materials and of the van itself.
.....and so Florence was born (although at this stage, it must be noted that nobody actually knew that her name was Florence!)
After a trip around Australia and many a holiday, Frank passed Florence on to a family member in Horsham, who did his trip around Australia and holidayed in her for years.
Old age took its toll on the owner and again Florence moved along to a younger family member - here in Rainbow this time.
In the beginning her life was quite active while she lived in Rainbow as she was primarily used to house a band of young fruit pickers from Rainbow when they traveled to Mildura to pick fruit....on some occasions on the farm where she was born no less!
The last 20 odd years Florence was parked in a shed on a farm just outsde town.
No maintenance was done and the Mallee dust coated her.
In the end the farmer needed the shed space and Florence faced a bleak future...wrecking her was mentioned....and this is where I come in.
Actually SWMBO had heard me talking about the old van and fell in love with Florence.
A deal was made and Florence came to live with us.
This is how she looked:
And so the makeover began...
I have built and refurbished carts and buggies in the past, so I had the basic knowledge.
We did not skimp on the quality.
After many hours the van (I did not know her name was Florence) was as good as modern wonder epoxies and paint could get her.
SWMBO and I had given her "our" look:
We did not have Florance for long.
I had serious health issues and Florence was a big heavy girl and not easy for two old farts to move around.
Enter Alison and Marcus.
They came, they ate a sandwich and they spirited Florence off into the sunset.
And what they have done to her is nothing short of remarkable.
They have given her new clothes, a new look and discovered her name!
The old girl looks sprightly, has retained her dignity and has lots of character.
What more could a van ask for!
He dearly wanted a caravan to do a trip around Australia and decided to build himself one.
He liked the look and quality of the Don caravans, so with this in mind he proceeded to construct his van.
Not one to waste a dollar, the hydraulic brakes, axle and wheels were acquired from an old Packard motorcar.
The slide out step featured the handle from a plow control lever as a cross-member.
However, no expense was spared when it came to the quality of the materials and of the van itself.
.....and so Florence was born (although at this stage, it must be noted that nobody actually knew that her name was Florence!)
After a trip around Australia and many a holiday, Frank passed Florence on to a family member in Horsham, who did his trip around Australia and holidayed in her for years.
Old age took its toll on the owner and again Florence moved along to a younger family member - here in Rainbow this time.
In the beginning her life was quite active while she lived in Rainbow as she was primarily used to house a band of young fruit pickers from Rainbow when they traveled to Mildura to pick fruit....on some occasions on the farm where she was born no less!
The last 20 odd years Florence was parked in a shed on a farm just outsde town.
No maintenance was done and the Mallee dust coated her.
In the end the farmer needed the shed space and Florence faced a bleak future...wrecking her was mentioned....and this is where I come in.
Actually SWMBO had heard me talking about the old van and fell in love with Florence.
A deal was made and Florence came to live with us.
This is how she looked:
And so the makeover began...
I have built and refurbished carts and buggies in the past, so I had the basic knowledge.
We did not skimp on the quality.
After many hours the van (I did not know her name was Florence) was as good as modern wonder epoxies and paint could get her.
SWMBO and I had given her "our" look:
We did not have Florance for long.
I had serious health issues and Florence was a big heavy girl and not easy for two old farts to move around.
Enter Alison and Marcus.
They came, they ate a sandwich and they spirited Florence off into the sunset.
And what they have done to her is nothing short of remarkable.
They have given her new clothes, a new look and discovered her name!
The old girl looks sprightly, has retained her dignity and has lots of character.
What more could a van ask for!