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Post by cobber on May 7, 2012 16:35:29 GMT 10
While we were at the Vintagecaravans.com 2012 Nationals at Cowra from the 27th April until the 4th May word got around about an elderly couple who had a 1930s caravan they were willing to sell. Mark T contacted them and invited me to go with him to have a look at it. The farmers had bought it in 1959 and had used it during the 1960s... it was then put in a shed in 1970 and had not moved since then.  It was covered in dust but in good condition apart from some damage to the ply at the front inside. Fortunately Mark had his recovery truck at Cowra and after making an offer, and waiting a couple of days for the farmers to accept it, we were able to recover the van and take it back to the caravan park. Mark said I could have it as he already had two 1930s caravans in his museum and did not need another   . While we were inspecting it in the shed we discovered a small oval plate attached to the bottom corner of the door.... covered in dust and paint.  It was possible to make out it said “Windmill Car Trailer Co. ... The Pioneer Builders.... 35 Geelong Road Footscray... Phone f'scray 1273 ” So that's what I have …..... a 1930s Windmill Caravan, the only one existing that we know of ...at this point in time. There is some uncertainty as to the actual year it was made..... the farmer said 1936..... I have found three “Certificates Of Registration” in the van made out in the name of the original owner of the van, the first one in force until the 16th Aug. 1940 says the van is a 1938 model. The second label in force until the 16th Aug. 1941 says it is a 1937 model. The third label in force until the 16th Aug. 1942 does not mention the year at all. The day we first looked at it   It was surrounded by “stuff” but was an easy recovery because the Farmers neighbour helped them clean around the van and......................... inside it   Marks highly experienced and professional “Vintage Caravan rescue and recovery team extraordinaire” consisting of nobelsgarage....hillbilly.. Mark himself.... together with a mate of mine, Jay ( an ex-tow truck operator) an me myself had the van on the truck in no time flat.  And back to the Caravan Park where it was inspected by the experts .   And a few talented sign writers  .  Many hands make light work getting it of the truck.  And then onto the trailer our daughter brought from home to drag the van back home with  Thanks fellas .  Got it home safe and sound and off the trailer with the help of...... my little helper  Inside photos later ron..... when I get a round tuit............. but the restoration process has started,  . Cobber. |
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Post by King Fisher on May 8, 2012 7:18:53 GMT 10
Wow what a great find, looking forward to seeing inside.
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Post by peddro on May 8, 2012 10:47:26 GMT 10
That address at 35 Geelong Road, Footscray shows a driveway....and little else. There are residences at 29, 31, 33....plus 2 narrower properties at 37 and 39. It's quite possible that the property at 35 was demolished. Maybe a narrow building once occupied the site....?
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Post by cobber on May 8, 2012 12:42:02 GMT 10
Thanks peoples..... I do like collecting fossils so I am smiling  . G'day Pedro, thanks for looking up that address In the advertisements shown on the Windmill thread in DHL it says their works are at 5 Marion St Nth Footscray..... and there is also mention of 128 ? Queen St Melbourne so....... maybe their main office was at the Geelong Road address if it's only a narrow site  The advertisements in DHL also rave on about them having 14 years experience BUT.... if the add. is read carefully I get the impression they built their reputation building “Luggage Trailers” before they went into caravan production. “Trove” only has advertisements for “Windmill Car Trailers” dating from 12th September 1936 until 13th October 1938..... then WW2 came along and probably put “Windmill” as well as some of the other pre war caravan builders out of business. Cobber. |
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Post by peddro on May 8, 2012 12:51:26 GMT 10
Quite possibly their main works were at Marion St, as that site is now part of the Western Hospital, which occupies the entire length of the street.
I guess it's also possible then that the Geelong Rd address was merely a showyard. Doesn't seem to make sense that a manufacturer would have a production facility at one location and then another on a main road. It would be better served to display and sell them there.
It's a neat little van, so good luck with the resto.
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Post by cobber on May 9, 2012 9:43:07 GMT 10
OK.......Inside photos of the 1930s “Windmill Caravan”. Starting opposite the doorway, the space where all the “stuff” is at the moment is where a cooker would go.  Going in a clockwise direction we have a wire mesh fronted cupboard and the ice box  Beneath the small cupboard is a slide out “cutting board” and above the ice box.... lift the lid and there is an enamel bowel  At the rear of the van is a “Divan”  That at the flick of the wrist becomes a Double Bed.  Continuing in a clockwise direction we have more draws and a wardrobe with a nice bevelled edge mirror in the door.  At the front of the van is another shorter wardrobe... draws below it and a small cupboard space above.  Beside that is a short kiddies bed.  With a bath beneath the bed to to wash the little grub in at the end of a days activities.  Lino on the floor is in quite good condition.....1950s/60s style I would guess.  There is only one light and two power points inside the van..240volt, installed in the 1960s I reckon. There is provision for a battery under the rear divan/bed which might have provided lighting originally.  The 240 volt RCD..(Retro Current Disconnecter)  You would have noticed the damage to the ply above the Kiddies bed Other unique features of this van are................. it doesn't have a table....or a water tank . I suspect the original layout would have been a seat both sides of the van with a table between them at the rear of the van where the divan/bed is now situated. The bath (if it is original) provides some interesting information for those of us who are familiar with the Galvanised Iron Dating thread. Not sure if the photo shows it clearly but..... under the queens head is the number “37”  That's it for photos..... been told to get outside and split some firewood Cobber. |
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Post by Geoff & Jude on May 9, 2012 10:47:51 GMT 10
Hi Cobber & Yvonne,
That is amazing - love,love,love it.
Jude & Geoff
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Post by seeshell on May 9, 2012 12:04:27 GMT 10
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Post by DC3Td on May 9, 2012 16:20:29 GMT 10
Hi Cobber. I see its got one of them infernal towel rails too! Can`t go wrong with a (mesh) bread/meat cupboard & prep board. Certainly looks the goods. gordo
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Post by cobber on May 9, 2012 17:30:47 GMT 10
Thanks for the comments folks, Jude 'n Geoff..... you have to like the history side of this hobby to love old vans like this one aye? Seeshell & sgtl ... ...I spoke to the previous owners this afternoon, they said the only alterations they made were to install the 240volt power... attach an annex.... and give it a lick of pain externally. So the draw bar, which is 3'' Gal pipe that runs the full length of the van (I thought maybe it should have been a timber draw bar)......... the seating/bedding arrangements.... the lino etc. etc. are all as they got it in 1959. So if anything was altered it was done by the first owners between the 1930s and 1959..... good enough excuse for me to go down the path of “preservation” rather than a full “restoration”... which is what I had in mind from the start...... I even like the the dust/dirt covering all over it...I wonder if I sprayed it with clear lacquer would that keep the dust/dirt on it  . By the way.... the first owner was a travelling salesman and lived in it while he worked , I was told. Gordon....the yellow cupboard above the mesh door one is metal lined, that I think is meant for bread and stuff like that.... the ice box would be for meat. The mesh door cupboard is just timber inside with a thing for holding bottles upright........ so I don't know what its intended purpose was...... all suggestions from knowledgeable people welcome Cobber. |
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Post by Roehm3108 on May 9, 2012 18:20:04 GMT 10
Hi Cobber Thanks for the interior pics - very interesting. Good to see they copied my idea from the Propert reno of adding a slide-out cutting board ;D ;D ;D A question! I notice that with the stacked drawer cupboards (three and four stacker) there is what looks like a little button in the framework between the drawers. Is that some sort of locking mechanism for travelling perhaps? Have you managed to check that out yet? Conversely, what would stop the single drawers from sliding out during travel? Is there some sort of lip they drop into? A great find there young fella  Ray |
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2012 18:52:00 GMT 10
Hey Albert.... "Gordon....the yellow cupboard above the mesh door one is metal lined, that I think is meant for bread and stuff like that ..." Ya gotta remember that a lot of people would have been using a camp oven on open fires to make bread when away up the scrub back when the "windmill"was all shiney and new.. Bread may not have always been available ::)so.... the tin lined cupboard may have housed stuff that the ants would have otherwise took a mortage on while camping... Flour, sugar, etc The cupboard with the mesh door would have stored things .... like the bread from the camp oven etc, that the flys would have liked to take up residence on. Just my 2 florins worth. Not as flash as old 36 ... but a good Australiana find. 'Arold.....the bloke with the shredded T shirt you met at Cowra.  |
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Post by cobber on May 10, 2012 16:56:44 GMT 10
G'day Ray, All the draws are held in by little brass things about an inch long by half inch wide with a screw in the middle of 'em........ turn them vertical on the four draw stack and horizontal on the two draws that are side by side, nothing too fancy Reddo, Thanks for spending your two bobs worth. You're right, this one is dinky-di Aussie... bit rough 'round the edges... and I hope to keep it looking that way Always had my doubts about those metal lined holes stopping ants getting in.... rarely are the doors air tight on the old vans I've seen . This van was originally owned by a “travelling Salesman”.... they don't cook damper do they? Usually stayed at the best pub in town or …... the best looking widows place, so why did this bloke need a caravan ...... I dunno ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Did a bit of fiddling today..... pulled the damaged internal lining out to reveal the damage to the external ply..under the canvas/calico, which doesn't look too bad from the outside.  But it looks like I will have to replace the ply and canvas/calico on the off side, but then again I might just re-enforce it from the inside and patch the canvas/calico to stop water entry  This is where the water entered to cause the damage.  The ply on this section on the near side is solid so..... I think I'll just bog it to level it and cover it with canvas/calico.  Gave her a wash and introduced her to the tow car  They must have left the door white so they could find it in the dark Cobber. |
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Post by JBJ on May 31, 2012 18:11:43 GMT 10
Hi Cobber,
Glad you found it, because it needs a clean up in your style. Its a great piece of our early caravanning history.
Bit of a shame more of them didnt survive, but I guess we have been a throw away society for longer than we realise.
Looking forward to seeing it in use
JBJ
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2012 20:20:59 GMT 10
Cobber, is this a Windmill caravan caravanning on the Gold Coast 1937  photo posted by Stephen & Julie on Oct 3 2011 Mark |
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Post by cobber on May 31, 2012 20:23:18 GMT 10
Thanks Den, She is a rare old van and has sentimental attachment for some people............ there is movement at the station and the word will get around...................... soon Cobber. |
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Post by cobber on May 31, 2012 20:47:17 GMT 10
G'day Mark, Certainly looks like a Windmill............ caravan aye? Same shape, has that extension on the vertical bits on the front window frame..going past the horizontal bit of the frame same as this photo of another Windmill...... caravan .  Cobber. |
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Post by firefighter on May 31, 2012 23:03:35 GMT 10
G'day Mark and Cobber Cobber at Cowra I took you into my van and showed you an e mail I had from I of our members....Stan.... that had sent me a dozen photos from the 30s.....Marks photo is one of them Part of that e mail from forum member stan......who was also at Cowra in his teardrop They told me of their Grandfather, Stan CLIFTON, his wife and two daughters who travelled from Portland Victoria to Toowoomba Queensland in 1937 in his Model A towing his recently finished home made bondwood caravan. Shane told me that his Grandfather was now deceased but left many hundreds of black and white pictures. Stan CLIFTON was a WW1 Gallipoli veteran and an avid photographer. He would develop his film in a make shift dark room in the van whilst on the road. Shane has sent me a DVD with a few of these pictures taken on that 1937 trip. Both the young girls (sisters) are still alive in their late 80's. I have asked Shane for more of the pictures with an account of the trip they did, especially since both sisters are still alive and able to recall the event. Sorry Cobber forgot I had those photos to put on the forum maybe tomorrow Cheers f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by cobber on Jun 1, 2012 7:21:26 GMT 10
G'day f/f, Thanks for mentioning that collection of photos Stan had at Cowra. I spent a bit of time with him looking at them but had to do a flit to go to the observatory That photo Mark posted (originally posted by Stephen & Julie HERE) was from the Gold Coast archives.... there was no knowledge at that time what brand the caravan was......Mark and I were thinking maybe it was a “Windmill”.............. but the email you have from forum member Stan who has the same photo, claims the van in that photo was home made by Stan Clifton . Interesting stuff aye?..... but as always gets beyond my old brain to sort out what's what and who's paying the rent. Looking forward to seeing the rest of those photos again with more time to gaze at them properly  . Cobber. |
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Post by don257 on Jun 2, 2012 8:11:43 GMT 10
Hey cobber ,i do really like that van i'm sure you will have it spick and span in no time, you are just the man for the project what a great find .Cant wait to see it finished!!! Thanks to you guys for the offer at cowra  i would have loved to taken it on but it was just a little bit big to house in our sheds at the moment.Well done, looking forward to seeing it completed cobber. Doug and Vicki ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ; |
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Post by cobber on Jul 9, 2012 15:45:31 GMT 10
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Post by firefighter on Jul 9, 2012 19:56:12 GMT 10
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Post by Roehm3108 on Jul 9, 2012 22:51:26 GMT 10
What a lovely thing for you to let the Windmill go, cobber. Now I know you got a heart ;D ;D So glad to see it in the safe hands of Robyn and Ian. I know you two will do a great job on your new treasure.
Ray
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Post by retro64 on Jul 10, 2012 9:06:10 GMT 10
Good on you Cobber,
What a lovely, unselfish thing to do. We hope the happiness you
've provided to others turns round ( bit like a Windmill eh? ;D) and comes right back to you with whatever you're wishing for.
Cheers retro64
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Post by cobber on Jul 10, 2012 12:04:18 GMT 10
G 'day Cobber Thanks for sharing the windmill caravan photos with us as you have said before....... you both have 2 caravans each Who has 2 vintage caravans now ...you or Yvonne  The windmill could not have gone to a better home ...Marjie 2 (Robyn & Ian ) will look after it cheers f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D G'day f/f, We have decided to postpone the divorce because we both want the same two caravans...... I leave you to guess which two that is ;D. Ray & Retro64, Surprisingly it wasn't all that hard to do, maybe because we hadn't had it very long and I hadn't done any work on it but mostly....... because a large part of this hobby is about satisfying a nostalgia urge..... and Robyn had an urge that needed to be satisfied Cobber. |
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i would have loved to taken it on but it was just a little bit big to house in our sheds at the moment.Well done, looking forward to seeing it completed cobber. Doug and Vicki ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;
