Broke Fair 2009

[Deleted]

Anyone besides me going??

Previous years i have taken a couple of my old bikes out there on the saturday arvo with the ute.
Would be happy to tow Rosie out there again this year with "Frank B" ..if anyone wants to hook up and camp the night???.. yes.. we are allowed a campfire.
The fair is on sunday 13th if anyone wants to just turn up on the day and have a Gecko at the cars, trucks, bikes , military gear, stationary engines, vintage tractors, trap collections, markets..... and the foooooooooooooooood......( said in Homer Simpsons best accent) yummo.!!

Reddo

[bindilou]

Where is Broke Fair? Ta

[Deleted]

Hiya Bindilou.
Broke is about 30K's west of Cessnock.. wine country...
There is a few ways for the southerners to get there.
Quickest is straight up the F3 take the Hunter Vineyards exit and head north through freemans waterholes. on to the cesnock turnoff.. through Kearsley, Cessnock and out through the wineries .. pokolbin , through the army camp to Broke
Or
Windsor Putty Road ( not suitable for caravans) to millbradale.. turn right and about 10 or so Ks to Broke.
Or..
turn off the F3 at Gosford....up through Laguna to Wollombi and straight on to Broke.

I dont care if no one from the vint van movement are going .. i will be there sat arvo to get in the line for the giant cobs of corn lashed in garlic butter ..... to die for

Reddo

[bindilou]

Geezzz Your Keen! One ofa kind!

[Deleted]

;D

Someone from the Hunter has got to wave the "vintage van banner." at this well attended event .
Besides that the missus reckons its a holiday for her when i aint around the house..

So... i do anything i can to please her.. and that includes disappearing for the weekend. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


Ccccccccccccccccccccccccccooooooorrrrrrrrn...............mmmmmmmmmmm.

Reddo

[Deleted]

Hi All..

Well.. another great weekend promoting vintage vans to the public.
I might be part of the "2%" that gets a mention here on the odd occasion .... but.. i will never be accused of not promoting the cause in... THE REAL WORLD... ;D

Ventured off about 1.30 sat arvo from home...its a hot and dusty trail up to wine country . Fortunately our forefathers had the foresight to build pubs along trail to Broke.. ( what a name for a town ) I am sure we have all be close to it at some stage of our working lives...

So 1/2 hr into the trip .. and.. man not being a camel .. it was time for a cleansing ale at...

The neath Hotel.. a true survivor from the early days of coal and railway in the lower hunter Valley..


The area around Cessnock / Kurri / Abermain / Pelawmain /Heddon Greta / Neath is steeped in history.. not just mining..
Follow the next 1/2 dozen photos..which are taken of from the noticeboard in the pub...take the time to read the script and think of those blokes that tossed their jobs.. lied about their age .. and marched of to what we call "THE GREAT WAR".......................................................................................................................................................................and never came home to thier family.. missus or kids.

There is NOTHING "GREAT"about any war.. read on..














Ok.. thanks for either reading through what i have taken the time to put up.... or.. Go back .. have a read and ...
Think how bloody lucky we are in 2009.

If it wasnt for the likes of Harry Littlefairs we may well not be here today...

Heaps more photos of the weekend..
Will post a more light hearted edition tomorrow night.
Reddo

[halps]

Good on ya Reddo...I enjoyed the read.
It reminds me of a pub in the South Island of New Zealand where a boy left a half drunk beer on the bar and said that he would finish it when he returned from the great war. He has not returned. KIA in France. The publican and those that followed kept the beer for him, framed in a cabinet next to the bar. Perhaps one day he shall return.

HALPS
Brisbane

[Deleted]

One of the local servos that could not compete with the other one...


My old man use totake me and a few mates away shooting and trapping a fair bit. He always drove straight through the big towns and fuelled up at the little old roadside servos.
When i asked him why?? He replied..."fruit on the sideboard for the local bloke son"
Never could figure that out until a lot later in life. Guess he could see what the multinational fuel co's where doing even back then.'

He also said the drinks where colder becuase less people where in the servo to open and close the door as often as the big garages,,..... That did make sense at the time.


Camped under the tall iron barks at the fairground common. Early to bed ... big day sunday.

Sunday morning bright and sunny... off out and about for a look at the early arrivals..



One owner 1929 chev ute .. dad handed ownership over to his son a few weeks earlier... son got it up and running, regoed and drove it 1 1.2 hours to the show.


This bloke brings his collection of traps each year....
Here is an evil bit of work...

Its a canadian bear trap
You hang it from a tree branch. The 2 cast iron hex sections are packed with black powder. the bolt like arrangement down the middle has a barbed end on it. you pack a piece of meat on that. The bear reaches up to pull the meat down ... he triggers off the flintlock and the powder ignites resulyting in the 8" bolt with barbed end shooting down through the bears throat and out his.....

Result ... one very dead grizzly...

I am off to work.. more this evening
Reddo

[Geoff & Jude]

hi reddo

when i was in prince of wales, the 'old' bloke in the bed next to me was the last person still alive from his batallion during world war two.

he is frank travers, born in bondi, married his wife while on furlow after tobruk, moved to clovelly where he currently lives at the age of 91.

his wife was in the air force when they married and after tobruk (he was one of the 'rats'), frank went on to serve at el alemaine, bouganville, borneo, (not sure of the order) and was discharged after the war ended.

interesting bloke to talk to and a great pleasure to have met him.

he told me of a photo he had of him standing beside an unexploded bomb at tobruk. the bomb landed about 10 feet from him, split open on impact but didn't explode.

i guess survival was based more on good luck than good management for all the boys and girls who served.

there's no doubt that we owe that generating a huge amount (bit teary as i write this).

geoff 'n jude

[Deleted]

Hi Geoff...

Yup.. i am hearing ya mate. There is a million other stories out there just like those told about Harry Littlefair , Halpsys New Zealand lad and.. old mate Frank Travers at the hospital.

The upside is that a lot of young people are wanting to know more about our brave soldiers, sailors and airmen. The Anzac marches are well attended by the grandkids of those that have either passed on or a re too frail to march anymore.

What concerns me is that the march might become a bit of a sideshow with just anyone wanting to get in on the act and march.
I do hope out of respect for the diggers that this is never allowed to happen.

Lest we forget..

now.. where was i .. oh yeah.. Broke.. or very close to it. :

Some more...photos


I thought it was a sleeper cab... its an extra cab with a 3 seater bench behind the 2 front buckets.....


Oiy Daggsey ... heres a neat FC with a VK injected nissan motor. a very tidy job that looks like it was meant to be there.....


and anothery with twin mals for our very own W.A Surferboy.


Could be a scene from around 1932 with the family out enjoying a picnic in the countryside....


Bullbars?? who needs a bullbar when ya got one of these suckers to intimidate the Kia's.

A Chevy Jailbar dressed in desert fatigues.....


A year or 2 earlier than our 1954 A40 ute... this one had a stick in the floor and a home made tray.... owner.. an 18 year old girl who loves it to death.. good to see a youngenthat doesnt want a pink steering wheel and a doof doof hanging outta the dash...


Nother Chev...


A "Brush"

A ... .. excuse the spelling .. "Domminiq"


After browsing the all breeds at the fair i feel i am justified in having this sticker on the back of my panelvan... ;D

Called in at Holmesville pub to check the beer hadnt gone off over night.....the few that i "sampled " went down well.

Arrived home about 5.. to watch this on the horizon...



a big bushfire abot a kilomtre west of home.....
We are in for a long hot summer.

On a brighter note... Was given the address and contact number for a bondy with wooden windows that needs rescueing from east of Aberdeen . we where in the neighbourhood when we went through there on the first east coast spring tour. Only 2 1/2 hours from home with a car float.
Off to have a squizz the weekend after Kendalls....
Stay tuned
Reddo

[JBJ]

Thanks for the pix Reddo, makes me wish (sometimes) that I was closer to civilisation.

JBJ

[Deleted]

Now ,now Dennis.. you're a lot closer to the Holey grail of car shows that is...Wintersun..... than i am.
Will get back up that way one day.. probably after the locals have thier way and shut the thing down .

I gotta drop the FB's radiator at the radiator blokes place tomorrow morning.. some gorilla tore the bottom outlet pipe off tonight when changing the bottom hose.
Temp gauge pooped itself on the way home yesterday.. so that'll need replacing.. diff has developed a slight whine.. it'll be topped up and put up with for now.... all fun and games with just a few days to go before Kendalls Beach Vintage van get together.....

Its all good..... i would be bored if things where all running smoothly... at least i have good health and without that i wouldnt be out there enjoying all these shows, swapmeets and Van runs...

Reddo

[Daggsey]

Hey Reddo,

Why would would ya put a Nissan motor out of a VL Commie in a beast like an FC..........no taste some people.....if it's a Holden, it's gotta have a Holden motor ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D (327 Chev V8's in a HK Monaro is allowed of course ;D ;D ;D ;D)

Daggsey