1930's Landcruiser Caravan

[Deleted]

Some senior members of this forum may recall that some time ago, Ditzy & I were given a lead on a very old caravan just south of Mandurah (80 kms south of Perth).

At the time we were told by Malcolm, the owner of the property next door to the property where the caravan is situated, that we could have the caravan .
The property is a deceased estate with a vacant house (has been vacant for many years) ....and the caravan is in the yard in a rough purposely built corrugated iron shed. The vacant property was to be sold, and the daughter of the deceased owner arranged for neighbour Malcolm to arrange removal of the caravan, and some other items on the property.

The shed








Ditzy & I discussed retrieval plans with Malcolm, and were excited about retrieving it .

At the time, I posted some pics on the forum, and wrote a story as to our “find” .

A couple of days later, I received a call from Malcolm. .....the daughter of the deceased owner had called Malcolm to advise that a family dispute was looming over the property, which was to be fought in the courts. She told Malcolm that contrary to what she had previously said, lawyers have now ordered that with court action pending, nothing on the property could be touched .

We were really disappointed at the time , .....and I threw a used envelope on which I had scribbled Malcolm’s contact details in the bottom drawer of my desk.

Al (Franklin1) gave US some legal advise, & suggested that I remove my post & pics from the forum in case the disputing parties read about the proposed removal of the caravan. I removed my post.

June 2010

A couple of months ago, I was having a close look at the library on the Our Touring Past website, and taking particular interest in the 1930’s caravans, maybe coz not long ago I had taken delivery of the 1936 Paramount caravan.

For some reason, ...... buggered if no why ,....... I printed two photos of Land Cruiser caravans off the website, and placed them on the corner of my desk.

Saturday afternoon 3 weeks ago, the phone rings …….."Hi Mark …..its Malcolm xxxxx", ……..Malcolm who ……..bla bla bla …..it WAS the bloke from Mandurah who referred me to this really old caravan :-/.

Malcolm advised next door’s family shitfight was finally sorted, and he’s buying the property next door himself (settlement pending).....
He said "do you still want the caravan" …….”nah, don’t want it anymore ……I’m over that hobby, …..I’ve gotta life now ;D ….. and have moved on ” ……WHAT THE …..of course I still want the caravan ;D (once a VV tragic, always a VV tragic ;D)
Wow …….how good is this

So …….. that evening over a beer, I went through zillions of photobucket photos. My two photobucket albums are huge, coz over the years I’ve posted many many photos for members, and people wanting to sell caravans.
I also dug out that envelope from the bottom drawer .....and as used envelopes do, it had a postage date on it ....March 2006 .......4 and a half years ago .
A coupla beers later, I found the photos of that day in Mandurah. Because the caravan is so tightly tucked away in the purposely built shed, my photos don't show the caravan's profile ……anyway, I was studying them in detail ……then I glanced across at one of the photos on the corner of my desk, particularly the pic of the caravan with the lantern roof ..……mmm …...then I went to the magnificent Land Cruiser Caravans brochures on the OTP website …….the interior light fittings …..the pelmets across the curtains ……OH MY GOD

Nah ......surely it can’t be ……….




To be continued …..


Mark

[cobber]

G'day Mark,

So you reckon you've stumbled across a lantern
roof Land Cruiser.... suppose that means I can stick
Ol' 36 now aye ?
Look forward to seeing photos of it, do you have an
idea which model it is ?

Of course it is good that one of these rare gems has
been found but...... it is also a bit sad..... and I'll tell
you for why.

Around April / May of 2009 I found the whereabouts
of F.C. Heber's Son Fred. We had a few telephone
conversations and exchanged a few photos and
stuff..... he was real pleased that people were still
interested in the caravans he helped his father build
back in the thirties.

I began to realise that Fred was not well and I was
later informed by his son-in-law that Fred passed away
in July 2009.

He would have been over the moon if I had been able
to tell him, and show him a photo, of one of their
caravans being found and rescued.
That's the sad bit.

Show us a photo of this van and I'll send it on to
Freds daughter and son-in-law.

Cobber.

[Deleted]

Cobber says:

"So you reckon you've stumbled across a lantern
roof Land Cruiser.... "

Hi Cobber .......no, ..... I don't reckon at all ......its a definate lantern roof Land Cruiser caravan ....undoubted

That's a sad story you tell about F C Heber's (founder of Land Cruiser caravans) son ....had he lived long enough, he would have indeed been interested in this caravan .

Ok .......these are the pics taken in March 2006:



rear of the caravan showing a "frosted" leadlight window ........this is one of the reasons I believe this caravan to be an early version ......I mean ....... leadlight windows that you can't see out of .....kinda defeats the purpose of caravanning ....... insofar as taking in the views









This pic from the rear of the caravan shows the lantern roof taking form:





check out the pelmets :

























before viewing the next two pics, have a look at this pic from the brochure, and note the light over the front window, and the roof mounted light:

www.ourtouringpast.com/forum/download/file.php?id=479&mode=view











Mark

[Surf Tragic]

Hi Mark
my heartbeat has raised a notch looking at these photos & have read every piece of info about these magnificent Landcruiser Vans through the various links here, & the latest comments about F C Heber.

The workmanship, Craftsmanship, just stands out, a very high standard, those light fittings too ...........it's going to be fun extracting it out of where it is, would love to be there as an onlooker, and checking out all the details.

:)Truly a spectacular find, a real treasure

Absolutely fantastic mate ;D ;D
ST

[cobber]

G'day Mark,

I love it .......... and I'm sure Fred would have too

It looks like a pre 1937 model, Fred said he thought his father built the first one in 1935.

Cobber.

[Cruz]

Hi Mark,
Now there's a great van. How far down the list is the resto.
Cruz

[Franklin1]

On this morning's WA News Today program, there was a news item about a rush on cotton wool at all shops within 100kms around Perth.

There was no explanation for this sudden panic buying, and all efforts to track down the reason have so far been unsuccessful. Media experts are fearing an outbreak of some previously undisclosed health threat, and are watching the situation closely.

Government officials have also taken an interest in the situation, and are wondering what could possibly require such an amount of cotton wool.

If only they knew....

[Deleted]

Hi Cruz,
I'm thinking this lil beauty may get priority on the resto list .....straight to the top ;D ;D

Last Saturday week, Brian (noblesgarage) and myself visited the site to see whats required to remove the caravan from its home of 50 plus years (according to Malcolm)

First we had to remove the front of the shed which comprised of asbestos sheeting on a hinged wooden frame .......but it hadn't been opened for 50 years ......and didn't want to play ball .......so we went into demolition mode, .......and smashed our way through in a desperate attempt to check out the front of the van ....... about this time, Malcolm advised us he wants the shed left in tact as much as possible











I hope Cobber has taken his blood pressure pills today ;D ......... checkout the tow coupling ......is this from the horse & cart days ...... or what ;D

the A frame is tiny, and has a solid rubber jockey wheel attached, and an adjustable extension bar that is secured to the A frame with two bolts ....one of which has been removed to turn the extended bar sideways as to fit it in the shed ........and ....believe it or not , the bolt that had been removed all those years ago was sitting underneath the caravan on the dirt floor .......you can see the bolt in the pic .....







the door: ........take note of the colours of the caravan




Now ........have a look at this brochure :

www.ourtouringpast.com/forum/download/file.php?id=1547&mode=view

the brochure says: ......you see our BLACK and GREEN with SILVER roofed caravans everywhere

Yep, ....this Land Cruiser is still wearing its original colours

so .......this coming Saturday, ......with weather permitting, its planned to retrieve the caravan & transport to Beverley ....approx 2.5 hours from Mandurah.

stay tuned for the pics folks .....

Mark

[JBJ]

Hi Mark,

I've heard of people "salting" gold mines to con people into buying them, but I dont know where you would find a van like that to con us into believing you found it, unless you really had.

WHAT A FIND.

Its unbelievable you could find it, let alone so close to home.


Makes you what else is still out there hidden. Surely ( hopefully)all the 30's & 40's vans werent destroyed??.

JBJ

[cobber]

G'day Mark,

Have a good scrounge around that shed before you leave it to see if you can find the original coupling set up.
Fred Heber was very proud of the coupling that could be adjusted to suit the hight of the tow vehicle..... I have to say I thought it looked a bit iffy but...... there ya go



Cobber.

[curtis]

Hi Mark,

An amazing find - hopefully there are others out there waiting to be found.

One question though - what will you tow it with - a special van like this one will need something special to pull it - and it appears to have made the top of the priority list

Good luck with the retrieval. I for one am looking forward to photos of it out in the daylight.

Dave

[firefighter]

G ,Day Mark

The brother has a 1928 De Soto 4 door sedan for sale the cars in Bendigo.. ...just what you need to tow your new van with
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Deleted]

For those who were following the thread started on the discovery, and recovery of the Land Cruiser caravan, then subsequently noticed the thread suddenly disappeared off the forum , .......this is what happened.

Brian (noblesgarage) and I had the vintage caravan retrieval truck all fuelled up ready to do the job on Saturday a few weeks ago,........... when on the Thursday preceding, I got a call from Malcolm, the guy I was dealing with.

Settlement for the purchase of the property was to happen the following week, and the property owners were shifting stuff from the property in preparation for settlement, ........and supposedly decided they wanted the caravan for a cubby house for the grandchildren .

I promptly removed the thread, thinking that the thread may have been being watched by the parties involved, and possibly their change of plans resulted from my identification of the caravan on the previous Saturday when Brian & I visited the property.

Anyway, settlement has now gone through, and the caravan is still sitting in its currogated iron, asbestos & lattice enclosure, but I can't touch it, as it remains the property of the owners, and they have voiced their intent to take it .

So, maybe I'll have to wait another 4 and a half years, or ......if its placed in the backyard of a house for a kids cubby house, in 12 months time, it won't be worth having .

Its a shame, coz this is a significant historical caravan, .......being a manufactured caravan possibly from 1934 or 1935.

I've just replaced the thread & photos, at least we'll (the forum) will have those, coz the caravan doesn't look like falling into the right hands .

This is what all the excitement was about the day Brian & I visited ......we found its ID tag, undoubtedly confirming it as a very early Land Cruiser Caravan:







Mark

[cobber]

MATE !!!! why don't you buy the kids a Micky mouse cubby house ? If they park that Landcruiser in the back yard and let it rot beyond repair IT'S A CRIME !!!

STEAL IT !!!

Cobber.



PS. Mark... open the PM I sent to you at 3:36 today

[Franklin1]

G'day Mark,

I checked the calendar and it's not April Fool's Day, so what you are saying is true?!

Then it's a sad, sad, sad day...

And I think we as a forum need to a least do something to ensure this caravan is preserved as part of Australia's caravanning history. But what??

Could we create a "pleading letter" that we can all print out, sign, and forward to you to present to the upcoming owners? Maybe a couple of hundred letters might persuade them to rethink their cubby house idea?

Asbestos is no good for the grandchildren. Van is full of it.

Floor is full of borers. Grandchildren will fall through and hurt themselves.

Paint has high lead content.

Nup, no way can they keep this van. It's an OH&S nightmare!

Save the Landcruiser...Save the Landcruiser

Al.

[JBJ]

Hi,

Maybe a direct approach, telling the truth, that its one of Australias oldest surving caravans. Offer to buy them a $500 van for a cubby house, thats fresh & clean, without 50 years of toxins etc.

Then if they still say no, I'll put my 12 guage in a tube with a few 00 shells, & mail it to you to sort them out.

I'm always prepared to help the cause.

JBJ

[Surf Tragic]

Hi Mark

The story about this unique van has to be the saddest thing I have read on this Forum since becoming a member, I am stunned . I was going to send a PM & ask what had happened, but this is too bad.

Yep, I don't know if the feeling is anger or frustration. A cubbyhouse can't write my thoughts about that here

What can we do ?

ST

[kaybee]

Oct 22, 2010 9:01:49 GMT 10 Surf Tragic said:

What can we do ?

ST

Sadly,nothing.......best approach is to register an interest (as Mark has done already) to let them know you're keen to buy it or even trade it for a later van......then hope they change their minds at some point......maybe drop in now and then to let them know you're still interested, or even offer to put a roof over it for them to preserve it , might get them thinking about what they have ......worst thing is to get too pushy , that almost never gets a good result.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Mark,

If I have made out the figures on the serial number plate for the Landcruiser correctly, this van is no. 26. Given the number of vans turned out by the Caravan Construction and Hire Co - which I think was probably in the hundreds at the very least - you would think this van was a very early one - possibly in the first couple of years, depending on the production rate and when the company decided that they were on to something and needed to give each caravan a number.

I sincerely hope that the van does end up being preserved. It certainly is a significant vehicle.

Don Ricardo

[noblesgarage]

Yes folks its not April fools day as Mr T said we just may have to wait a little but as they say all things come to those who wait. I'm only round the corner so am keeping the Poobar informed on any movements. Brian.

[Deleted]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[cobber]

IS THAT A .................. GOT IT ! ?

[sportsman 1]

I figured something was happening when you put that notice up the other day about having a clearance.

[beau]

Don't hold out on us if you have managed to score that...... The suspence will kill us all..... ;D

[Deleted]

yep .........got it


5 years I have patiently waited for this caravan

have a look at the date on the envelope where I neatly wrote Malcolm's contact details








5 years ago almost to the day