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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 2, 2015 22:00:45 GMT 10
WINDSOR CARAVANSManufacturer unknown. Distributed and hired out by R Foster & Son Victorian Caravan Services Pty Ltd "Old Lyric Theatre", Chapel Street, Prahran, Vic
Photos of a 'New Windsor' caravan published in Table Talk on Thursday, 3 February 1938 (page 38): (Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149326355 ) Victorian Caravan Services not only hired out 'New Windsor' caravans but also Land Cruisers, as shown in this advertisement that appeared on the same page of Table Talk as the above photos. However, the Windsor van shown in the photos above is defintely not a Land Cruiser, and dissimilar to any other Victorian built van of the era that we have seen:  (Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149326355 ) Note that it cost more to hire a Windsor caravan than a Land Cruiser. This may indicate that the Windsors were newer vans or possibly that they were more luxurious (or seen to be). An advertisement and an accompanying news item in the edition of Table Talk on Thursday, 14 April 1938 (page 38 & 39) announced that Victorian Caravan Services was moving to new premises to accommodate its fleet of caravans:   (Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149324747 ) An advert published in Table Talk published on Thursday, 19 May 1938 (page 32) tells us that Victorian Caravan Services was the distributor (and therefore probably not the manufacturer) of Windsor caravans, and that the vans were also for sale at 199 pounds: 
(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149326161 )
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 4, 2015 15:50:11 GMT 10
Hi all, While researching the background to the Windsor caravans produced in Victoria in the 1930's, I came across a reference to another kind of 'Windsor caravan' published in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser of Thursday, 10 December 1829 (page 1). Yes, you read correctly -1829! The article reflects an older meaning of 'caravan' - a covered carriage or cart - and announces a new carriage service for passengers and goods from Windsor (NSW) to Parramatta:  (Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2194072)Of course there is no connection between the new carriage service from Windsor, NSW in 1829 and the Windsor caravans available for sale and hire in Prahran, Vic in the 1930's, but it is interesting to note the change in meaning for the word 'caravan' in the time period in between. Incidentally, the Melbourne suburb of Windsor in Victoria is adjacent to the suburb of Prahran, where Windsor caravans were sold. That suggests that the vans were probably built somewhere nearby. It was quite a common feature of Victorian caravan brand names in the 30's and 40's that they were based on the suburb where they were built. There are quite a number of examples. Don Ricardo |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 4, 2015 17:03:48 GMT 10
This photo is taken from an article printed in the English magazine “The Caravan” in April 1939. It is mentioned in the article that Mr. Collister is connected with the Romany Road Caravan Co. Ltd. The Bushfires mentioned were the Black Friday fires of January 1939.  Cobber. Cobber is correct in saying that the article to which he refers states that Mr Collister was connected with the Romany Road caravan company, but the van in the photo almost certainly seems to be a Windsor caravan as shown in the post commencing this thread, and quite different in design, style and livery to the Romany Road vans we've seen. So what does this mean? Was the Windsor caravan one of Romany Road's models? Did Romany Road produce Windsor caravans to be sold by another party, namely R Foster & Son of Victorian Caravan Services? Was Mr Collister moonlighting in somebody else's van for his holidays? Maybe he hired a Windsor for the trip? Or did "The Caravan" get mixed up about Mr Collister's caravan connections? A puzzle yet to be resolved! Don Ricardo |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Feb 13, 2016 22:15:31 GMT 10
Evening all, Don't you just love it when you have one of those 'eureka' moments? The following photo of an ABC mobile studio caravan has been posted several times on the forum, most recently by Cobber on the 'Commercial & Non-touring Caravans' thread here:  The manufacturer of the ABC van has always been a bit of a mystery, but looking at the photo there are a couple of clues. One is the sign just visible in the top left hand corner which indicates that the van has been photographed outside a caravan factory or service centre of some sort, and the second is the caravan with the unusual stepped roofline that can be seen inside the building. I have been trying to figure out for a while where I had seen a van with a stepped roof before, and earlier this week it hit me - the van inside the building is a Windsor as shown below: There's a picture of another Windsor higher up this thread, which shows the van from the near side. So putting all the clues together, it looks as if the ABC van was built by Windsor. Further confirmation of this is provided by the fact that both the ABC van and the Windsor van have the same quite unusual coupling. Looks as if it is adjustable for the height of the tow vehicle. Very satisfying when you can join the dots together to make a picture! Don Ricardo |
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Post by cobber on Feb 14, 2016 8:31:03 GMT 10
Well done Don R. You do not give up do you  ....... I did  We'll now be able to revisit some of the other posts where the ABC van appears and give it a name. Have you seen this photo where they show an ABC mobile studio being used in the Middle East HereDifferent studio, I think, or is it ? but I wonder if it was also made by New Windsor ?  Cobber. |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Feb 14, 2016 12:41:57 GMT 10
Hi Cobber, Thanks for your kind comment, but I'm not sure if it's a case of not having given up, more that I made the connection serendipitously. I was actually watching a DVD that Wal Robinson has recently had made of his grandfather's 1939 trip to Queensland in his Don, when I noticed with some excitement that one of the caravans in the convoy was a Windsor. We only found out about Windsor caravans last August, so I hadn't been able to identify the Windsor van when I had seen the footage previously. Having realised the van on the DVD was a Windsor, though, I suddenly had a flash of insight about the caravan behind the ABC van, jumped up and raced to check the photo on my computer shouting "That's it!". I think Dona Ricardo thought I'd finally gone over the edge! That's an interesting photo of the ABC mobile studio van in the middle east. I'm not sure if you've seen them, but when I followed your link I found that ABC Archives have another couple of photos of what appear to be the same van (maybe they had more than one?) here and here. Maybe we need to start an ABC caravan thread...  Don Ricardo |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 18, 2017 21:50:13 GMT 10
Evening all, I've just noticed that this photo taken at the first RACV caravan rally at Barwon Heads in 1937, and posted by Cobber here in 2010 includes a Windsor caravan:  The Windsor is the caravan parked on what appears to be a cricket pitch in the middle left of the photo. The van is quite distinctive because of its unusual (for the 30's) roofline. Back when Cobber posted the photo we'd never heard of Windsor caravans! Just goes to show we've made some progress in the intervening years. Don Ricardo |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 22, 2017 18:57:42 GMT 10
Hi all, This is one of a number of photos posted by Cobber back in 2006 and here on 19 April 2014, showing a group of caravans on tour in the 1940's:  The photo shows the caravan convoy parked in Clermont, Queensland. The reason for reposting the photo on this thread is that the lead caravan on the right is a Windsor caravan. Once you know what one looks like, they start popping up all over the place!!  The Windsor can also be seen in several of the other photos included in Cobber's post. If you haven't ever seen the collection of photos referred to at the beginning of this post, it's well worth a look, just for it's own sake - just follow the link provided. The collection is very evocative of caravanning in the 40's. These days we'd call it "free camping".  Don Ricardo |
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Post by cobber on Sept 22, 2017 19:35:27 GMT 10
G'day Don R,
Thank you for restoring these photos of mine in this, and some over threads, that were posted long ago.
If I ever get my desk top computer up and going I'll help you out.
Cobber.
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Post by Mustang on Sept 28, 2017 8:15:59 GMT 10
The above image of Clermont Qld back in the 40s would have certainly been a journey.
The first interior image of the pre war Windsor is indeed luxury, wow.
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....... I did 
