Post by Don Ricardo on Jul 8, 2016 22:19:21 GMT 10
GYPSY CARAVANS
Produced by Homebush Caravans
12 Paramatta Road, Lidcombe, NSW
Information about a little Gypsy caravan from the 1967 Winser caravan manual:
(Source: K Winser, Caravan Manual & Tourist Park Guide, 19th edition, 1967, p 72)
The blurb says the van was "produced by Homebush Caravans of NSW", and reference to the list of manufacturers and models indicates that the 10 ft 6 in van was the only Gypsy available. Page 173 of the 1967 Winser reveals that Homebush Caravans were the (a?) Sydney sales and service centre for Millard caravans.
Back in 2011, Griffin posted the following clipping from the Australian Modern Motor magazine of 1 July 1961 stating that Gypsy Caravans had been acquired by Carapark Ltd, and that henceforth Gypsy products would be available through Carapark outlets:
We do not know a great deal about Gypsy caravan history after that, beyond the fact that the Gypsy Caravan name is now (2011) owned by G & L Caravans in Guildford, NSW (see the post higher up this thread). Very few actual examples of Gypsy vans from the 60's decade have turned up on the forum, apart from photos of a handful of Gypsy Thirteen-Two's from the early 60's, several of which can be seen here.
An immediate question therefore is whether the little Gypsy shown in the 1967 Winser is a descendent of the previous Gypsy Caravan Company taken over by Carapark? And if this little Gypsy is a direct descendent, why was it being produced by Homebush Caravans? One possibility arises from the fact that the Carapark caravan 'empire' was broken up and sold off in bits after a financial collapse sometime after 1962. Various sections of the empire were acquired by former Carapark executives and dealers. So perhaps Homebush Caravans acquired the Gypsy caravan name and or business during this process? This is just a suggestion - I don't have any evidence for this, but maybe this little van is the last remnant of the Gypsy range of aluminium clad caravans mentioned in the clipping posted by Griffin?
Something a bit more concrete is a photo of a caravan posted by Led in April 2014 here, which he had been 'told by a fella', and was in fact previously registered as a 1965 Gypsy:
There were some suggestions made at the time of Led's posts about alternative origins, and the idea about his van being a Gypsy seemed to be discounted. However, a close comparison with the Winser photo seems to indicate that Led may have been on the right track, and that his van is indeed one of the little Gypsys. Incidentally, the 10 ft 6 in Gypsy shown in the 1967 Winser was still being listed in the 1969 Winser, and was still the only Gypsy model available.
Does anybody have any information about a connection between the Homebush Caravans' Gypsy and the earlier Gypsy caravans?
Don Ricardo
Produced by Homebush Caravans
12 Paramatta Road, Lidcombe, NSW
Information about a little Gypsy caravan from the 1967 Winser caravan manual:
(Source: K Winser, Caravan Manual & Tourist Park Guide, 19th edition, 1967, p 72)
The blurb says the van was "produced by Homebush Caravans of NSW", and reference to the list of manufacturers and models indicates that the 10 ft 6 in van was the only Gypsy available. Page 173 of the 1967 Winser reveals that Homebush Caravans were the (a?) Sydney sales and service centre for Millard caravans.
Back in 2011, Griffin posted the following clipping from the Australian Modern Motor magazine of 1 July 1961 stating that Gypsy Caravans had been acquired by Carapark Ltd, and that henceforth Gypsy products would be available through Carapark outlets:
We do not know a great deal about Gypsy caravan history after that, beyond the fact that the Gypsy Caravan name is now (2011) owned by G & L Caravans in Guildford, NSW (see the post higher up this thread). Very few actual examples of Gypsy vans from the 60's decade have turned up on the forum, apart from photos of a handful of Gypsy Thirteen-Two's from the early 60's, several of which can be seen here.
An immediate question therefore is whether the little Gypsy shown in the 1967 Winser is a descendent of the previous Gypsy Caravan Company taken over by Carapark? And if this little Gypsy is a direct descendent, why was it being produced by Homebush Caravans? One possibility arises from the fact that the Carapark caravan 'empire' was broken up and sold off in bits after a financial collapse sometime after 1962. Various sections of the empire were acquired by former Carapark executives and dealers. So perhaps Homebush Caravans acquired the Gypsy caravan name and or business during this process? This is just a suggestion - I don't have any evidence for this, but maybe this little van is the last remnant of the Gypsy range of aluminium clad caravans mentioned in the clipping posted by Griffin?
Something a bit more concrete is a photo of a caravan posted by Led in April 2014 here, which he had been 'told by a fella', and was in fact previously registered as a 1965 Gypsy:
There were some suggestions made at the time of Led's posts about alternative origins, and the idea about his van being a Gypsy seemed to be discounted. However, a close comparison with the Winser photo seems to indicate that Led may have been on the right track, and that his van is indeed one of the little Gypsys. Incidentally, the 10 ft 6 in Gypsy shown in the 1967 Winser was still being listed in the 1969 Winser, and was still the only Gypsy model available.
Does anybody have any information about a connection between the Homebush Caravans' Gypsy and the earlier Gypsy caravans?
Don Ricardo
