Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 27, 2015 17:45:08 GMT 10
Photos of a caravan built by the Tivoli Garage, Perth, 1932, from the collection of the State Library of Western Australia:
(Source: Reproduced with the permission of the Library Board of Western Australia - Illustrations Ltd collection. Image nos 018155PD & 018154PD)
According to the Library's notes the writing on the rear of the caravan reads 'Built by Tivoli Garage'. The Tivoli Garage was a motor mechanic, motor trader and car hire firm located at 873 Hay Street, and later 210 St Georges Terrace.
From the evidence available, it seems probable that Tivoli Garage only built the one caravan, however it is definitely worthy of note in the annals of Australia's touring heritage because of its design and rather lovely fittings. As obvious from the photos it was built in a very English style, and closely resembles an English Eccles caravan of the period, both inside and out. This was at a time when many Australian caravan builders were beginning to develop a distinctively local style for their vans.
Apart from the photos, the first information we have about the caravan is this little item from the social pages of the Perth Sunday Times of Sunday, 2 July 1933 (page 1), which records that Mr & Mrs L W Hartrick and friends took the caravan to race meeting at York. Lyle Hartrick was the Managing Director of Tivoli Garage:
(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58698347 )
The next reference we have is from The West Australian of Wednesday, 4 October 1933 (page 7) indicating that the caravan was for hire:
(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33320876 )
Tivoli Garage had a thriving hire car business which continued into (at least) the late 1950's, and the caravan may have been built to test the waters for a caravan hire business. However, if that was the case it seems that the demand for caravans-for-hire was not yet there, because in The West Australian of Saturday, 12 October 1935 (page 10), the caravan was offered for sale for 'any reasonable offer'. Or perhaps the caravanners of the mid-30's were looking for a van that was more modern looking?
(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32907209 )
Incidentally, the history of the Tivoli Garage itself seems worthy of a historian's interest. Mr Hartrick, previously the motor salesman with the Pastoral Engineering Co, began the business in October 1923 in a building previously occupied by the Tivoli Skating Rink, offering a wide range of services to motorists. Tivoli Garage advertised itself as being open 'day and night', including for car servicing and repairs, which probably led to it being fined 10 shillings in 1931 for opening outside the approved business hours! But this did not seem to prevent Tivoli Garage's progress. During the 20's it began trading in second-hand vehicles and introduced a system of offering second-hand vehicles for sale with an inspection certificate; offered on the spot testing for motors and headlights; offered casual parking facilities for shoppers and theatre goers; began the hire car business; sponsored various events at the Royal Show and various kinds of races; and promoted itself through competitions and providing an election polling place.
The West Australian newspapers of the 30's carried many articles about the continuing development of the Tivoli Garage and the installation of new facilities. But they also included reports of a run-in between the business and the local council regarding the removal of street trees.
Evidently Lyle Hartrick was an entrepreneurial businessman who saw many opportunities to extend and promote his motor car business. Tragically, in September 1939 the body of Mr Hartrick, who just a few years earlier had attended the York races in his caravan, was found floating in the Swan River in his silk pyjamas with his throat cut. A razor was found on the nearby jetty. Despite his successful business, Hartrick suffered from depression resulting, it was said at the time, from his experiences in World War I - very sadly one of many, many men who we now know were affected by post-traumatic stress syndrome following war service. However, his business continued in some form with Tivoli Garage still trading in the early 1960's. In March 1951 it was announced that Tivoli Sales Ltd had been floated to become the agent for Hartnett motor cars. Given the history of Hartnett cars, one imagines that was a venture which did not go so well for Tivoli Garage. However the photos we have of the Tivoli Garage caravan seem like a fitting way for a bunch of vintage caravanners to remember a man who obviously had a broad vision for the motor car trade.
Don Ricardo
(Source: Reproduced with the permission of the Library Board of Western Australia - Illustrations Ltd collection. Image nos 018155PD & 018154PD)
According to the Library's notes the writing on the rear of the caravan reads 'Built by Tivoli Garage'. The Tivoli Garage was a motor mechanic, motor trader and car hire firm located at 873 Hay Street, and later 210 St Georges Terrace.
From the evidence available, it seems probable that Tivoli Garage only built the one caravan, however it is definitely worthy of note in the annals of Australia's touring heritage because of its design and rather lovely fittings. As obvious from the photos it was built in a very English style, and closely resembles an English Eccles caravan of the period, both inside and out. This was at a time when many Australian caravan builders were beginning to develop a distinctively local style for their vans.
Apart from the photos, the first information we have about the caravan is this little item from the social pages of the Perth Sunday Times of Sunday, 2 July 1933 (page 1), which records that Mr & Mrs L W Hartrick and friends took the caravan to race meeting at York. Lyle Hartrick was the Managing Director of Tivoli Garage:
(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58698347 )
The next reference we have is from The West Australian of Wednesday, 4 October 1933 (page 7) indicating that the caravan was for hire:
(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33320876 )
Tivoli Garage had a thriving hire car business which continued into (at least) the late 1950's, and the caravan may have been built to test the waters for a caravan hire business. However, if that was the case it seems that the demand for caravans-for-hire was not yet there, because in The West Australian of Saturday, 12 October 1935 (page 10), the caravan was offered for sale for 'any reasonable offer'. Or perhaps the caravanners of the mid-30's were looking for a van that was more modern looking?
(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32907209 )
Incidentally, the history of the Tivoli Garage itself seems worthy of a historian's interest. Mr Hartrick, previously the motor salesman with the Pastoral Engineering Co, began the business in October 1923 in a building previously occupied by the Tivoli Skating Rink, offering a wide range of services to motorists. Tivoli Garage advertised itself as being open 'day and night', including for car servicing and repairs, which probably led to it being fined 10 shillings in 1931 for opening outside the approved business hours! But this did not seem to prevent Tivoli Garage's progress. During the 20's it began trading in second-hand vehicles and introduced a system of offering second-hand vehicles for sale with an inspection certificate; offered on the spot testing for motors and headlights; offered casual parking facilities for shoppers and theatre goers; began the hire car business; sponsored various events at the Royal Show and various kinds of races; and promoted itself through competitions and providing an election polling place.
The West Australian newspapers of the 30's carried many articles about the continuing development of the Tivoli Garage and the installation of new facilities. But they also included reports of a run-in between the business and the local council regarding the removal of street trees.
Evidently Lyle Hartrick was an entrepreneurial businessman who saw many opportunities to extend and promote his motor car business. Tragically, in September 1939 the body of Mr Hartrick, who just a few years earlier had attended the York races in his caravan, was found floating in the Swan River in his silk pyjamas with his throat cut. A razor was found on the nearby jetty. Despite his successful business, Hartrick suffered from depression resulting, it was said at the time, from his experiences in World War I - very sadly one of many, many men who we now know were affected by post-traumatic stress syndrome following war service. However, his business continued in some form with Tivoli Garage still trading in the early 1960's. In March 1951 it was announced that Tivoli Sales Ltd had been floated to become the agent for Hartnett motor cars. Given the history of Hartnett cars, one imagines that was a venture which did not go so well for Tivoli Garage. However the photos we have of the Tivoli Garage caravan seem like a fitting way for a bunch of vintage caravanners to remember a man who obviously had a broad vision for the motor car trade.
Don Ricardo
