Fiesta Caravans [Victoria] (Mildura, Vic)

[Don Ricardo]

FIESTA CARAVANS [VICTORIA]

Manufacturer unknown
Manufactured in Mildura, Vic

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Kelvinmounsey posted the following on 6 February 2010:

Hi, I purchased this van a few months ago and was hoping that someone could help me with the year. The only numbers I can find on it are right up the front near the coupling. 213. They are rather big and done in a dot form. I really love the van and have been working on it since I bought it to get it up and running.

Kelvin

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On 8 February 2010, Franklin1 replied:

G'day Kelvin, and welcome to the forum! ;D ;D

...Trying to nail the year of a van is often difficult, and full of "ifs, ands, buts and maybes". And considering your van is the first Fiesta we're aware of, not having other Fiestas to compare it with also contributes to the difficulty.

So, what I'm about to say is of a general nature only. The profile on the aluminium cladding was being advertised from the latter part of 1963 up to 1966. If you haven't already discovered the advert, have a look at Reply #2 in the following thread: Aluminium cladding "library"

All the interior looks like it would be typical of vans from the mid-1960s, although what's throwing me a bit is that brown pump-action tap. Those taps start to appear in vans from around 1968 and later, so if this is the original tap in your van, it might indicate a later date than the mid-60s.

The major manufacturers had all changed over to the white painted "acrylic" exterior cladding by 1969, so I presume all the smaller companies followed suit to remain competitive. That means that your van is unlikely to have been made later than 1969.

That's the best I can do for you, Kelvin. If the tap has been changed at some time over the years, then my best guess is the van is a 1963-1966 model. If the tap is original, then I have to put the date up around 1968-69, and say that it was made with some cladding that was left over from the mid-1960s...

cheers,
Al.

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To which Kelvinmounsey responded the same day:

Hi Al,

Thanks for your reply. When I bought the van I thought it was 70's. But after looking around I though maybe not. I think they were actually made in Mildura. But not really sure. I have seen a few around. One on ebay in Mildura and One on a website that looks identical to mine but with blue strips.

The hubcaps that were on the van were almost rusted off. But I could make them out to be EH Holden. Which is 63 to 65. But someone could have just put them on. The sink tap could have been changed, I don't really know. The sink has been removed at some point. As the screws are non original and a piece of timber is missing from across the front of it.

Im happy whatever year it is.

It will look great behind my parents 68 Chev Impala.

Thanks

Kelvin

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Don Ricardo then wrote:

Hi Kelvin,

...Like Al, I haven't come across a Fiesta brand caravan before, either. But Google is a wonderful thing! I managed to find a link to this photo of a Fiesta caravan which, according to its owner, was built in Mildura in 1970:


(Source: www.flickr.com/photos/26217912@N06/4201537276/in/set-72157623040739464/ )

The van in the pic is smaller than yours but the profile of the aluminium cladding appears to be the same, the decorative stripe on the side is the same, and many other details appear to be the same.

So, there are now two Fiestas we know about, and as the say in the classics, the plot thickens!...

Don Ricardo

Addendum: Kelvin I've just read the info you posted while I was writing the above. I presume the pic of the van I posted is the one you were referring to?

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Hughdeani then added the following on 9 February 2010:

Hi Kelvin,
Great looking Fiesta you have there.They were made in Mildura.I remember seeing lots of silver ali and white ali vans around,but no bondwood ones or any wiyh windout windows.So they must have been sixties to early seventies.Hope this is of some elp to you.
Cheers
Hughdeani

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On 10 April 2012, Kelvinmounsey added the following information about his Fiesta van:

Hi everyone,
It has been a while since I have visited this site again but I just have to share this story with you. Quite a while ago I purchased an old caravan, a Fiesta Mildura. I posted some pictures up on the forum asking if any body knows any information about that make of van. I did get some great information. Thanks Since then I have been holidaying in Hester, dragging him all over Victoria. But just this weekend past on my way back from Ballarat I was driving down the freeway doing only 80km/h because I thought I was going to get blown off the road. A lady pulls up beside me waving her arms and tooting her horn telling me to pull over. I pulled over thinking that there was something wrong with hester, she runs up to my car (she looked to be in quite a state of excitment) She tells me that her Father made my caravan. She was so happy to see one on the road still she called her mum who wasnt far from where we were and she came out to have a look at the van too. I showed them through Hester and they said he looks just like it did when it was new. They told me the fiesta brand, made by her husband, were made in Mildura in the 60's. My van was most likely made in 1964. Both ladys were very nice and now I can get all the info on the Fiesta caravans straight from the Lady who actually made the curtains for the original vans. Its just amazing who you can come accross on any given day.

[Don Ricardo]

On 30 August 2011, Olfarts posted:

Fiesta caravan eh ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Any one ever seen a Bogey Axel one

"specially one thats been in storage for 30+ years from the late 50s??

Dave

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Hughdeani took the bait on 31 August 2011:

Only in pictures Dave,but I have a feeling YOU know where there is one!!

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Later the same day, Olfarts posted pics of the Fiesta van which he subsequently purchased:













The above van was started being rubbed back a few years ago,but...............

Its all there,original external lights,J mold,door,keys,windows and locks.Hey even the original tyres are perished !!

It has a copper water tank as well.

In the shed is the original Dodge Fargo used to tow it home when it was new,the current owners parents bought it new.

One for the rare section.

Dave

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...and later the same day:





Pics perhaps for someone who needs a good original logo to copy.

Dave

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On 1 September 2011, Hughdeani commented further:

What a ripper!!
Never seen a bondwood one before,that old girl would certainly come up a treat!
At first glance I thought it was a Skyline or Scenic until I saw the trademark overhead sliding doors.
Hope someone does her justice.
Thanks for photos
hughdeani

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More photos of Olfarts Fiesta tandem, and further discussion, can be found here.

[craigandej]

Travelled 3000km to bring this old girl home........

[Daggsey]

Not someone to put up ebay links, but is this someone we know?......very nice looking rig

www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bondwood-Caravan-Fiesta-Tandem-Rare-Hotrod-Classic-Vintage/191341918772?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107090050%26meid%3Da90ff00970bd4b28a10936cb037a89e8%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D20140107090050%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D221542134135

Daggsey

[mooks]

Hey Daggsey and co...I'm a first timer on this forum and a first timer as a vintage vanner but my wife Maree and I are now the proud owners of that cool Bondwood Fiesta on ebay that you posted the link for.

Towed it up to the North East Friday night as we have a place up there as a retreat from Melbourne...'very interested in the history of the mark now! Would be great to be in contact with the wife and daughter of the maker.

We have gone nuts in 2 days buying period type accessories and I can see now that I'm gonna need medication to handle the addiction!

Cheers mooks

[Don Ricardo]

Fiesta 14 ft caravan advertised on Ebuy, November 2014, of the same design and with the same livery as Craigandej's van shown above, but without the wrap around front windows:

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Fiesta,

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on joining the vintage caravan clan with your Fiesta. I presume that is it in your avatar?

Once we see some photos of it, we may be able to give you some idea of when it was built, or at least a date range. But to give you are starting point, as far as we know at this stage, Fiesta didn't start buidling vans until some time in the 1960's and then continued until at least the early 70's.

There are several ways to post photos. One is to use the 'Add attachment' button in the Create Post window. However, you will achieve a better result (ie larger, easier to see photos) if you take the trouble to post the photos from Photobucket or Flickr or one of the other web based photo storage systems. There are instructions on how to do it in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section of the forum. Photobucket is as easy as any of the systems, and more straightforward for posting than some others.

We'll look forward to seeing some photos of your van. Let us know if you have any trouble posting and we'll try and help you out.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Fiesta,

Well done on posting the photos of your van so promptly. You obviously answered your own question, which is great.

Your photos are really interesting, the reason being that your caravan is probably the smallest Fiesta we've seen on the forum, and the first evidence that Fiesta produced vans of that size.

The Fiesta sign on the back of your van is quite different to the signage on any of the other Fiestas seen on the forum, and has obviously just been applied with a stencil, so that's interesting too. Can I see the remants of some signage on the diamond pattern cladding in the 7th photo, or is that just my eyes playing tricks on me?

Aluminium cladding with the same profile (ie pattern) on the side of your van was typically used by manufacturers such as Viscount and Franklin between 1964 and 1966 plus or minus, so I think that probably indicates the approximate build date for your van. Others may be able to provide more information. Let's see if anyone can throw more light on things for you.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

G'day Fiesta,

Hmmm...an interesting question you've raised there. Your van does have wheel arches shaped like those on later Rowvans, and different to those on Fiestas, but I haven't seen any Rowvans which are at all like the overall shape of yours.

One of the problems with identifying the makers of vintage caravans is very often that they have passed through several hands (at least) and been re-registered a couple of times, possibly in different states. On top of that the original branding on the van has often worn off, faded, been taken off when the van was cleaned up, etc. Under those circumstances that may mean that at some point one of the owners may have gone to have the van re-registered and when asked who the manufacturer is, answered "I dunno, my second cousin's, friend's husband told me it looks like a Rowvan". "OK" the registration bloke says, "Rowvan it is". Or alternatively when the new owner doesn't know what brand the van is, the rego woman says "Well, I've got to call it something. How about we say it's a Rowvan". Not an uncommon story!

Regarding the name 'Fiesta' on your van, the scenario may be that at some point a previous owner's second cousin's, friend's husband may have told them "It looks a bit like the Fiesta me uncle used to own" (whether it does or not!). Or in some cases, an owner may give their van an individual personal name that later on looks and ostensibly sounds like a brand-name. There have been a few examples of that on the forum over the years. So maybe a previous owner decided to call your van 'Fiesta' because it sounded happy, or made them think of holidays, or...they were South American and liked a good party (fiesta)...

If there is no signs of the original branding on the van (and I've already commented that the lettering and method of application (stencilling) of 'Fiesta' on your van is very different to what we've seen on other Fiestas), then you have to identify the maker of your van by the design/shape, construction, cladding and internal fit out of the van.  In addition little features can help, like the shape of the wheel arch which manufacturers sometimes carried over from one model to another for many years, and almost become a 'signature'. We have commented that your van is smaller than any other Fiesta on the forum, and is a quite different shape to other Fiestas. That may mean that it isn't a Fiesta OR it may just mean that it's a Fiesta model we've never seen before, which is quite possible.

Regarding the possibility of it being a Rowvan, again the design/shape is very different to any other Rowvan we've seen so far on the forum. However, maybe you could look at internal layout of the Rowvans shown on the 'Rowvan' thread in the Down History Lane section and tell us if you can see any similarities with the fit out and furnishings of your van.

We'll be interested to hear what you think.

Sometimes it takes quite a long time to work out the origins of a van, but something then comes to light which enables it to be identified.  And in the end whether the origins of your van are known or not, it doesn't stop you restoring and enjoying it.  So don't be too discouraged.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Fiesta 18 ft tandem with bondwood clad sides, advertised on Gumtree in October 2016:

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

Back in April I happened upon the following photos of a Fiesta caravan which were posted here on the Shannon's Club forum by Debba17:





I have been in touch with Debba17, who confirmed that the caravan "was either built in Ballarat and sold by a dealer in Mildura or both built and sold in Mildura".  The 'Fiesta' signage on the front is similar in style to the signage on the other Mildura built Fiesta caravans shown higher up this thread.  So it seems that the van in the photos is also a Mildura Fiesta. 

The exciting thing is that, based on the style of the van, it is the earliest Fiesta we have seen on the forum.  The style suggests that the van was built in the late 50's, whereas the other vans on this thread look to have been built from the early 60's onwards.  Based on these photos, Fiesta seems to have been building caravans earlier than we might previously have thought.

Debba17 has indicated that: "The van had double bunks on the left hand side as you walk in the door. The kitchen was on the side , with an ice chest and the back had two single beds with a chest of draws in between that folded out to a table".

Thanks to Debba17 for giving permission to post the photos here.

Don Ricardo

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Additional photo kindly provided by Debba17 in November 2018:

[don]

Hi, just having a look through this forum and was interested to read of the Fiesta caravan threads, then blow me down you have a picture of the caravan I have in my shed. It is the plyboard van with the two port hole windows at the side front, it has the aluminium trim on the sides as in the picture and yes your description of the double bunks on the left as you enter the door is correct the top bunk also folds down to a bench seat back rest. Opposite the kitchen is a wardrobe with a draw underneath. It has the two single beds with the draws in between and the table top is stored under the kitchen side single bed. it has the Fiesta name painted on the front in inverted commas and the writing is the same script. I purchased this many years ago at the Ballarat swap meet it was first purchased by a local car dealer for his own use and has been shedded all it's life and has never seen any weather. I was under the impression it was built in Ballarat and was possibly very early 1960's but I could be wrong. It is identical to the one in the picture could possibly be the same one. I am in Northern Victoria.

[don]

Just checked the rego plate it is my van. The photo must have been taken after garden state plates were introduced.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Don,

Welcome to the forum. It's amazing to hear that you are now the owner of the early Fiesta caravan once owned by Debba17's family, and wonderful to know that the van is still around and in good order.

Being the earliest Fiesta we know about, it is a bit of a vintage van treasure.

It would be lovely to see some current photos of the van, as well as some inside photos. There are instructions on how to post photos in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section of the forum.

Don Ricardo