"Shirlee" ..... 1948 Furness caravan

[Deleted]

Mate of mine who chases NOS early Holden parts all over Aus rang me the day before I flew out to Adelaide for the V V Nationals to tell me about a lead he had on an old caravan on a farm just out of Tambellup, about 350 kms south of Perth .....well sorta my backyard ........near the Porongurup Ranges, coincidently, the 48 Holiday Home came from the other side (southside) of the Porongurup Ranges

Anyway, a few weeks later I phoned the farmer of the said property, he said its a mid forties caravan with a sliding door and sliding windows ........mmmmmmmm interesting .......

Then, I recalled a caravan I had seen on my way back to Adelaide from Mount Gambier ......I posted some pics of that one in "Down History Lane" the other night:


vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=chat&action=display&thread=2314


I wondered .......and I started to get excited ........could it be ..... mmmmm sliding door and sliding windows ......the farmer had no idea what sort of caravan it was.......all he knew was it was towed accross from Adelaide by his parents in 1955, and has been on the same farm in an open farm shed ever since ........wow I thought

Just a pic to wet your apeptite ........

[minicamper]

Mark, I just can't work out whether you are the caravan equivalent of a chick magnet, or just a Caravan (dare i use profanity on the forum) lets just say of loose morals, isn't that how they put it in the old days? ;D Don ricardo may never speak to you again...

Yet another amazing acquisition, even without seeing it, i just know its going to be stunning...

Lucky i'm not religious, i'm sure there was a rule about jealousy.................

[chippydave01]

What a breathe of fresh air it will be great to hear and see some pictures of another brand of amazing caravan for once instead of hearing about dons.Like a few of us spoke at the nationals they have been flogged like a dead horse on this site for the last 12 months and Im looking foward to see it.Cheers Dave

[Deleted]

Onya Mark
Sounds interesting. And like the lumberjack once said.. "ttttttiiiiimmmmbbbbbeeeerrrrr ".
Cant wait for the full frontal shots.
Dont keep us in suspense for too long .


Reddo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Mark,

That's really great news!

The Furness has a number of really interesting and unusual - no, actually unique - design features, so it's fantastic to hear that one is going to be added to the "Beverley Collection". I'm looking forward to seeing the pics...

I've often wondered how Furness got an effective seal on the sliding door and windows. Maybe the seal is not all that hard to achieve, but it's just something that's really intrigued me. Anyway, I guess you will be able to reveal all soon.

Congratulations on another great find! Like Minicamper says, you're the caravan magnet par excellence!! (...hang on wouldn't a magnet only find steel caravans? How come he manages to find all those bondies?? )

Don Ricardo

[cobber]

G'day Mark,

Sounds like your on your way topickup a nice one from Tambellup
I hope the date...mid forties turns out to be pretty accurate, I really like it when these old onesturnup because builders at that time were experimenting with different ideas to see what would work best, maybe the sliding windows and door weren't the ants pants, but it is important to retain them so we can see how things evolved.


Cobber.

[raym]

Hi Mark
Furness Vans were built on South Road, Edwardstown SA as per the address on your van's plate, this was on the corner of Furness Avenue. I don't know whether the van was named after the street or visa verser. If you intend to tow it home it should have a square rubber block coupling as per the photo on the down history lane section. Make sure you have a correct connector to fit this coupling. I have always believed these couplings were invented by Furness and all Furness vans were originally fitted with these couplings. My father always referred to these couplings as Furness couplings although others did copy and manufactured these.
Raym

[Deleted]

thanks for the tip Ray ......."Shirlee" does have the same coupling as the Furness caravan in Down History Lane.

I'll be picking it up with my truck, so won't have to worry about the connector for now ........but the coupling and the history behind them is interesting

Mark

[Don Ricardo]

Hi RayM and Mark,

The amazing thing to me is that the Furness coupling seems remarkably similar in concept to the coupling used on a lot of modern you-beaut off-road camper trailers, etc, which use a similar rubber block and pin type arrangement.

An indication that Furness were ahead of their times in some areas at least?

Don Ricardo

[Deleted]

woops ........forgot to show yous pics of "Shirlee" ;D








Front view





Rear view





the Furness caravans must be the earliest known caravans with an outside door light .......the Furness caravan I saw recently in SA had the same outside door light :



























of some interests to "firefighter" and "minicamper" ;D ;D






Exposed beams ;D ;D






I hope the boombox is still in place when I pick it up in a couple of weeks time








This "Furness" is thought to be built mid 40's ........the blue lens clearance light is indicitative of this (I believe the blue clearance lights were used during wartime)













Mark

[firefighter]

Hi Mark

Shirlee Furness is good looking ...even her inside is in great condition for some one born in the 40s
dont worry about the boombox still being in the van when you pick it up ......just make sure the firefighting magazine is there

" shirlee will be sleeping with beverley soon "
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[cobber]

G'day Mark,

Shirlee looks like a girl I could take a shine to, a bit rough around the edges but with great potential .

That is interesting information regarding the blue clearance light.

Now about the outside light.
Ol' 36 originally had a similar setup...... without the highly ostentatious lamp shade around it.

What I need to know... is it a Bakelite Utilux brand and does it also have the name J.J. Hoelle on it, if this is the case how much do you want for it ?

Cobber.

[Roehm3108]

What a brilliant find, Mark. I'm sure you will give her all the love and attention she deserves. The interior is still in great condition all round. Look forward to mor pics when you have emptied her out.

Definitely one for the museum.

Keep it up, and I may get to WA sooner than planned!! ;D ;D

Ray

[Deleted]

after a few months delay, we finally took delivery of "Shirlee" on the weekend.

Whilst at the farm in Tambellup (WA) on Saturday, I was fortunate enough to meet the real "Shirlee", a lovely 90 yo lady who, together with her late husband, was the original owner of the Furness caravan.

To the best of her memory, they purchased the caravan new in 1948, and owned it for 6 years prior to towing it accross the Nullabour to settle on the Tambellup farm in 1954. The caravan was then used for the occassional holiday to Albany (70 kms south) and was always stored in the farm shed when not in use.

Of course I took the opportunity to ask Shirlee if she had any early pics of the caravan, she said she has some pics of their trip accross the Nullabour somewhere .... and would be happy to dig them out and post them to me

The last time the caravan had been out of the shed was in the sixties, and it was stored that close to the wall, we had to use the Cat to drag it away from the wall:





so chains were attached to the axle to drag the caravan sideways on the dirt floor....

next manouvre was to pull the caravan out with the Cat ...











the first time the caravan has been out of the shed in forty years





The Porongerup ranges can be seen in the distance ......truly beautiful farming country









the precious cargo was carefully lined up with the vintage caravan retrieval truck ;D












yours truly on winch operation duties ;D ;D





the cast iron jockey wheel interfered with the closing of the truck's tailgate, fortunately the jockey wheel assembley had a pin so that it could be tilted forward ......we expected the pin to be a permanent fixture after soooo many years, but it shifted easily





securely on the truck and ready for the 250 km trip to Beverley








after an overnight stop at Katanning, the Furness arrived safely in Beverley on Sunday





I've transported enough V V's in my time to know to carefully secure the hatch prior to transport, but didn't





the Katanning graffiti artists attacked on the Sat night whilst the caravan was outside the pub where we stayed ......no damage though .....just dust art





a one family owned EH prem we viewed on a neighbouring farm on the Saturday prior to picking up the Furness





with a reported 62000 "dinky di" miles





mark

[minicamper]

Yes, but was the AWA boombox still there and does it work? I did hear of a dust storm heading north in WA on the weekend, no mention of the towtruck at the front of it tho..

[firefighter]

hi mark

another nice pick up for you.........when my 57 chev was found in a shed it was covered in dust like your furness

are you going to do anything to this van or leave it as found

did the 1963 firefighter mag come with the furness
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Deleted]

yeah Chris .....the AWA ghetto blaster is still in the overhead cupboard ......dunno yet if it works

and yes Geoff, the 1963 Firefighter mag is still there ......in fact there's lots of collectables in it which I'll photograph later.
PM me your address & I'll post the mag.

As for what I'll do with it ......good question .....its totally original in every detail with no updated mods, so it'll make a great restorer, but needs alot of work It'd look magnificent restored and towed behind a post war chev

Mark

[Don Ricardo]

G'day Mark,

Great to see that another classic jewel has safely reached the "Treasure House" at Beverley. It's a real tribute to the old style craftsmen - and craftswomen (maybe not at Furness, but certainly elsewhere) - that all the bits still work after such a long period of time.

Furness really did go the whole hog on the sliding window thing didn't they? I hadn't realised that the rear window was a slider as well until I saw your photos. I'm still intrigued how they dust proofed the windows and stopped them moving when moving (if you understand what I mean ). Once you have had a chance to check it all out, I'd love you to provide us with a report.

Sure you didn't pick the EH up as well? ;D ;D ;D

Don Ricardo

[Deleted]

well ....... I spent some quality time this avo with the two other women in my life shhh ......Beverley & Shirlee

And, .......... Shirlee revealed some .....er .......in fact....., all of her inner secrets to me ;D
I went through all the cupboards to see what was within, and uncovered some great collectables , and ....... had a close inspection of her "finesse" features .......

The cupboards, and under the beds are lined with 1950's newspapers, there are heaps of late 50's early 60's "agriculture" mags, a few early 50's womans day mags, a 1960 mini car brochure, and heaps of ebay
stock (not that it's going on ebay )


..... a packet of "10" Rothmans cigs, an ashtray, a tin of "vim", a 1914 to 1964 golden wedding invite, bottle of shellite, ashtray, velvet soap and a small 1958 calender with notebook








..... some bex powders (for the hangover ;D) plastic cake container (no cake ) bottle seal, another ashtray, toothbrush and toothpaste





grandpa's socks .....and an iron to iron them ;D





a bath in the usual spot under the seat





the cushions are all in good nick , shame the inside front skin isn't





something has been stuck on the wardrobe at some stage





now you see the sink





now you don't





the wardrobe door folds out accross the caravan and hooks into a hook below the overhead cupboards to give two way privacy





a little open cupboard by the rear bed ......not sure what the hinged bracket is for





ample bakerlite switches and sockets througout the van





the ice chest is huge, the widest I've seen in a caravan ....."Furness" owners must have consumed plenty of butter, cheese and milk ;D ;D





the ice chest has a huge drawer that pulls out .....never seen that before in an ice chest





found the "Furness connector" under one of the beds (this is what Raym was referring to in a post above)





external jacks ......never seen those before either





Mark

[atouchofglass]

What a top looking van

Love the idea of privacy via the door opening

Might try that in the Olympic ;D

Cheers
Atog

[firefighter]

Mark

you have done well......to get collector items with the furness ...... looks like the furness has a few things most other vans dont have
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Deleted]

i believe the fit outs and inclusions in Furness caravans where every bit as good as ... or if not better than those offered in a Don.

The van i retrieved from "The wreckery" and partially demolished last year had some quality inclusions in it like bath under seat. 240v/12volt transformer mounted under front seat with 240v neon indicator and overide switch mounted through the side of the seat base near the door., chimney and over stove warming cabinet, about 10 quality interior lights of various shapes and design ( One of which Mark taylor now has). slide out bread board
. Dozens of small stainless steel brackets for curtains and fly screens. etc. Lots of fiddly bits you just dont see in most vans built in that era.

The quality and accuracy of the workmanship in the cabinetry fitout had to be seen to be believed. As the van was beyond restoration due to roof collapse and rot in the outer skin front and back , I passed the van on to humpty as he said he can use some of the cupboards in a project he is working on.

Your van looks to be a simple resto Mark. Although i would imagine it will probably remain as is and be stored in the Beverly Museum.

Reddo

[minicamper]

Hey Mark,

Thanks for another virtual tour. Those external jacks are similar in concept to the two piece set up i have on "Alby" who has mounting points permanently fixed and then adjustable feet that fit under.
I assume you'll be keeping as much of the history together as possible.

I wonder, the Mini brochure you refer to, is that the "Incredible New Morris 850", you know, the brochure that every current Morris 850 owner should have? (pictured in the original shots)

Cheers
Chris, ohh, I mean MINI camper

[cobber]

G'day Mark,

Always nice to find “stuff” stashed away in the cupboards eh?
Pity about the 1950's newspapers though....... I know where you can get some 1930's papers if you would rather have them
Is the wardrobe built with “masonite” and ......... does the ice go in the big draw and......... does it have a mesh bottom to it and......... have you given it a wash yet or will the dirt be part of the “original” look..... keep it original I say ;D.

Cobber.

[Deleted]

I have a few buckets of original dirt if ya run short Mark.
Dont use any of that late model dirt.....it'll ruin it.

Reddo