dorian
Full Member
Sundown
Posts: 247
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Post by dorian on Apr 27, 2009 19:32:08 GMT 10
Sounds interesting. Look forward to the pics. The blonde I mean... ;D
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 27, 2009 20:31:40 GMT 10
G'day Dave, Road Cruiser?? John Jennison (designer and builder of Jennison Pathfinder caravans) began building Jennison Roadcruiser caravans in South Oz in 1932. The caravan was a pop-top model which was patented in 1935. Jennison moved to Sydney to live and work later in the 30's. You mentioned that the Road Cruisers you are talking about were built between the 40's and 60's, so I am assuming that they are a different animal to the Jennison Roadcruisers, but it interesting that two different caravan makers would use the same name within a few years of each other, especially in an era when caravans were less common than now. All that aside, I'm looking forward to what you are going to reveal to us tonight after you get back from your date with the blonde. Don Ricardo
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Post by Jennison on Apr 27, 2009 20:36:16 GMT 10
The original SA made roadcruiser was the jennison roadcruiser -approx 1932 to 1936 regards........
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Post by sportsman 1 on Apr 28, 2009 12:50:01 GMT 10
Looks like this stuff will need to go into the D H L section.
Well done Dave, another piece of the puzzle found. All you need to do now is find one of the real things!
I shall expect one of the letterheads in with my Birthday card!
cheers, Leigh.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2009 13:06:01 GMT 10
That's funny! Cookie is being eaten by a croc, while also wearing crocs maybe he's getting revenge? Good work with the road cruiser, I would say it would be very rare to find a brand of caravan that nobody seems to know of. Also coupled to the fact that you have pictures an other related stuff, but no real caravan. Normally it's the other way around
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Post by Franklin1 on Apr 28, 2009 13:41:38 GMT 10
Road Cruiser versus Roadcruiser?? Yep, Jennison supposedly made the Roadcruiser. But here's an example of how it can be confusing when you go looking for info about vintage vans. This is a 1956 Classified advertisement, placed by Jennison themselves... The 'Road Cruiser' was an old van, in need of repair. cheers, Al.
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Post by Jennison on Apr 28, 2009 20:19:04 GMT 10
Couple of points on the above stuff! The jennison advert from 1956 would have been by the new owners , the Pyms. Of interest the van the Jennison family travelled from Salisbury to Sydney in, in 1936 was a R/cruiser. We know that JAJ stopped making the roadcruiser in SA around about 1936 when or shortly after he moved the business to Sydney and started on the nomad and later pathfinder series. You may well be right Dave that name registration was very much a state by state thing, and as a matter of fact I think it still is, 30 yrs ago it cost Mcdonalds an absolute fortune when 10 yrs after opening in Sydney they went to open up in Canberra and found that some smart cookie had registered the name/trademark/whatever it is ahead of them!! That would also explain the classic sth Australian/roadmaster style curved roofed 1940s nomad I came across last year. I wonder if Mr newcombe built that one too, perhaps cashing in on on the name?? regards jennison
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 28, 2009 20:51:51 GMT 10
Hi Dave,
Well done on the Road Cruiser information. Information about a caravan brand new to us, info about the builder, maker's plate, letterhead plus a photo. Exceptional effort!
The Down History Lane Medal of Honour for a New Caravan Discovery is on its way by express post. Wear it with pride (but don't let the cardboard get wet - I've run out of cornflake boxes!). ;D ;D ;D
The photo is fascinating - the van is in the style of an English caravan to my eye, especially with the lantern roof. If this was a regular feature of Road Cruiser caravans, then I think it may have been the only commercially built Australian vans with this style of roof. Off hand I can't think of any others. The only other vans with lantern roofs I can think of were one-offs or home builds - Cobber's Ol '36, Earlee's 30's van and the van now owned by John's father. I am open to correction on this, but in any case the lantern roof makes the Road Cruiser a very unusual design for Australia.
You mentioned in an earlier post that Road Cruiser operated from the 40's through to the 60's. I presume that the van in the pics is from the 40's? And I'm guessing that the design of the vans changed a bit over the next couple of decades?
Did you manage to get the contact details for the gentleman you met? Perhaps you could have a further chat with him. Sounds like he has a very interesting story to tell.
Don Ricardo
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Apr 28, 2009 21:02:26 GMT 10
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Post by JBJ on Apr 28, 2009 21:07:03 GMT 10
Hi Geoff & Judy,
I had similar thoughts when I saw Daves posting. It would appear to match the advertising & photo very closely, plus come from the same area . Too much coincidence not to be so.
Sometimes history gets uncovered . I think this is one of those times
JBJ
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 28, 2009 21:47:29 GMT 10
Hey Geoff 'n Jude and JBJ, Nice pick up! The thought hadn't occurred to me, but I went back through the posts and came across the following post by Mark T about his Mildura van which he purchased from the Rigby family: thanks guys for your comments .........Reddo, I think it'd be about a 16 footer .
Anyway, grandad Rigby's motor business was going well, and since he sold caravans from his Motor business, he ordered a new caravan to be custom built by Jack Newcombe, a tradesman who built boats, caravans & whatever else. The new caravan was to be the biggest & flashest caravan with many "Don" like features, bath, fold out basin etc.
Here's some pics of the new van built in 1959 ............The caravan is 18 foot long, and is a longer version of the original with many similar design features ..............and still single axle. This would have to be the longest caravan I've seen that retains a 'rounded' shape, most caravans of this size are somewhat squared off......consequently its a big, beautiful looking old bondy ............ The pics of the tow car arne't good, but somebody maybe able to tell me what it is Now if you've got good eyes (or Mark T's 24" computer screen ) check out the writing on the flash on the side of the van in the last photo...yep, " Road Cruiser". Seems like Mr Newcombe did maintain the basic shape and style of his vans right through to the 60's, although it appears that he lost the lantern roof in favour of a hatch along the way. For more info and pics of Mark T's 'Road Cruiser' click hereDon Ricardo
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Apr 28, 2009 22:04:38 GMT 10
hi don
the first couple of photos in your link are actually the same van as dave's old photo (single front window, barn door) not mark's BBB. The ones in your post are of mark's BBB with two front windows.
i guess your find proves 'em to be road cruisers though.
good one dave and don.
geoff 'n jude
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Post by Jennison on Apr 28, 2009 22:10:17 GMT 10
What a fantastic bit of "sherlock holmesing" - and so quick too. Congrats too all!
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 28, 2009 22:34:43 GMT 10
Hi Geoff 'n Jude,
You are correct - the first couple of vans in MarkT's thread are not of his 'Big Beautiful Bondy from Mildura', but apparently of an earlier Road Cruiser model. However, they are not of the same van as in Dave's photo. The van in Mark T's thread doesn't have the lantern roof and also doesn't have the window to the left of the door that can be seen on the van in Dave's photo. What is more, the van in Mark T's couple of pics appears to have a mild version of the 'South Australian roof' - cambered both ways, and I would guess from the pic clad/covered in canvas. So we now have pics of three Road Cruisers it would appear.
In Mark T's thread it says: "...Glen Rigby from Mildura sent me these pics from the family photo album of a caravan his Grandad had professionally custom built in the 30's/40's .....his Grandad used to sell caravans from his Motor business in Mildura", and then later: "...grandad Rigby's motor business was going well, and since he sold caravans from his Motor business, he ordered a new caravan to be custom built by Jack Newcombe..."
I'm guessing from this that Grandad Rigby may have been an agent for Road Cruiser, seeing that he had at least two of them himself. Mind you I am only guessing...
Don Ricardo
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Apr 28, 2009 22:40:13 GMT 10
yep, you're right again - forgot about the lantern roof.
geoff 'n jude
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Apr 28, 2009 22:58:46 GMT 10
i was just looking back at mark's original thread on the BBB from mildura and came across this post from ray. Great van Mark - just needs a lantern roof and it would be perfect ;D ;D ;D Ray i guess dave's photo has satisfied ray's requirement. geoff 'n jude
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 0:48:22 GMT 10
well bugga me dead ;D ;D .....this forum never ceases to surprise me I have a " dinky di ...... ridgy didge" Road Cruiser caravan sittin' in the Beverley shed wow .......this post has jogged my memory ......when I first got the pics of the BBB, I couldn't read the writing on the side of the BBB, so I emailed Glen Rigby to ask his dad what it said ......and yep, the reply was "Road Cruiser" .....and no, I haven't found an ID badge on the caravan, but I've never looked for one either ......I always thought it was custom built to order The BBB from Mildura is a class act, a supurbly constructed, well appointed, and brilliantly designed caravan, even to the point of being surprisingly light for its 18 feet in length and size ......I can push it around the Beverley shed on my own without bursting a stent ;D ........and its an absolute stunner to look at ......well ......not quite as stunning as oldfart's blonde ;D ;D So .......finally the cumbersome name "BBB from Mildura" can be dropped in favour of " Road Cruiser" ......yay !! .....I like it .......too bad the bank balance is only 53c .......a Roller tow car is definately out of the question Great work Dave ......and to G & J, JBJ, Jennison & Don R for their powers of observation......another mystery unraveled ..... Mark
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Post by firefighter on Apr 29, 2009 9:11:01 GMT 10
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Post by Jennison on Apr 29, 2009 10:42:47 GMT 10
Good one f/f, I thought of that possibility myself but discounted saying it, for fear I was reading too much into the family connection side of things! Olfarts, Jennison started in Salisbury - maybe a question to ask the old fellow - if his dad was from or worked out that way? If we got a yes to that it would be interesting. Also when his dad was born? Jeff Another Q: the letterhead says J Newcombe and H Rehn as the proprietors. Find out perhaps if the Rehn family is still around?? An unusual surname.......I know with some of my military medal searches the local phone book has come up with surprisingly fast results. PS..... I just had a peek at white pages Sth Aust for Rehn - about 40. If you look there Dave you can soon see if any are in the area still . I bet there is!!! jeff
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Post by cobber on Apr 29, 2009 17:55:31 GMT 10
Blimey ! A bloke can't turn his back for five minutes.. I have been without Internet access since the 25th and return to find this brilliant discovery and incredible detective work by all of you. I'm particularly interested in your statement Dave that “Road Cruiser” used the “Rising Sun” as their trade mark..... could it have evolved from the quarter circle window style that Ol' 36 had a few years earlier .... (I keep clutching at straws in an effort to identify the poor old girl) . Would you mind taking the photo of Ol' 36 with you Dave when you re-visit Mr. Newcombe's son and see if it rings any bells ?. Cobber.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 29, 2009 21:37:08 GMT 10
Hi Dave,
Re questions to ask Mr Newcombe's son:
Mark T's thread on the Rigby family's Road Cruiser caravans mentions that Jack Newcombe was "...a tradesman who built boats, caravans & whatever else...", and also that the Rigby's caravans were both 'custom built'. I'm therefore wondering whether Mr Newcombe basically just built caravans to order among a range of other products, and therefore there were never large numbers of Road Cruiser vans (perhaps only in the ten's rather than even the hundred's). Could explain why the Road Cruiser brand has flown below our radar until now?
Gason in Ararat (Vic) operated on this basis. They built a range of unusual and custom built caravans to order over a period of thirteen years from 1949. But as an engineering company, caravans were only one of the many things they built, and it is estimated that only around 50 were produced in total.
Anyway I'll be interested to hear what comes out of your chat with Mr Newcombe's son.
Don Ricardo
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Post by Jennison on Apr 29, 2009 21:40:07 GMT 10
Its funny you mentioned your little van Cobber ,it struck me they look similar!! regards jennison
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 29, 2009 21:57:22 GMT 10
Ok Dave,
So following on from that, can you ask if they were only built to order, and if they were all built according to the customer's specifications?
I'm thinking there's a difference between building a van only when you have an order, and building vans on spec for sale through various agents.
Another question would be whether Mr Newcombe's son can remember whether Rigby's in Mildura acted as an agent for Road Cruiser's. If Rigby's were a regular outlet or customer he may remember that.
Don Ricardo
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Post by Daggsey on Apr 30, 2009 9:07:12 GMT 10
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Post by sutcac on Apr 30, 2009 10:22:02 GMT 10
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