Viscount caravans - Fullarton SA, Cabramatta NSW & Dandenong

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

For some reason there don't seem to be (m)any photos on this thread of 1965/66 Viscounts with their distinctive flashes, but here's an example of one I collected earlier (but not sure where from ):



The sticker on the front only identifies the van as a 'Viscount Duralvan', and that's how we normally refer to them. Interestingly, from about 1963 to 1971 Viscount didn't seem to include any badging or identification on the caravans themselves about what model they were. (I am referring only to the Viscount range here, not the Ambassador or Valiant ranges which were separately branded of course.) However, in fact Viscount did have model names for their Viscount range, based essentially on length, as reflected in this 1965/66 brochure posted by Hughdeany on the Viscount Caravan Owners - Australia Facebook page in April 2018:

So from the brochure we can see that the Viscount model range in that year was:

• Air Flow (15 ft)
  
• Royal (16 ft)
  
• Monarch (19 ft 6 in, tandem)
  
• Waldorf (21 ft, tandem)
  
• Palace (25 ft, tandem, two door)

As an aside, the three Ambassador models were only distinguished by size (13 ft 6 in, 15 ft & 21 ft), as were the two Valiant models (12 ft 10 in & 14 ft 10 in).

The other thing to observe from the brochure is that in 1965/66 the three Viscount, Ambassador and Valiant ranges (not the models within the range) were each distinguished by quite different coloured flashes or panels on the side.  The Viscounts had a sort of dagger shaped flash, the Ambassadors had arrow shaped flashes, and the Valiants had coloured panels between the windows.  Over time this changed, so that from 1967 the Viscount and Ambassador ranges shared a coloured flash (the 'racetrack' design), and then from 1968 to 1971 the Viscount, Ambassador and Valiant ranges all shared a common flash design (the 'lightning' design).

Based on this information, I judge that the caravan in the initial photo in this post is a Viscount Air Flow.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Evening all,

A couple of other items from Hughdeany’s collection.

Leaflet for the 1961/2 Viscount Palace:


(Source: Posted by Hughdeany on the Viscount Caravan Owners - Australia Facebook page in April 2018)

Interesting that there appears to be a door on the off side (driver’s side). I wonder if the caravan did have a door on that side or the photo got reversed during the printing process. I think the latter is more likely.

Brochure for the 1963 Viscount range:




(Source: Posted by Hughdeany on the Viscount Caravan Owners - Australia Facebook page in July 2020)

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

1964(?) Viscount Waldorf brochure posted with thanks to Hughdeany:





There have been several references to the Waldorf model on this thread, and it is excellent to have some further information about it.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

1966 Viscount Air Flow 15ft listed for sale on the Viscount Caravan Owners - Australia Facebook page in October 2021:







Looks to be a well kept and original caravan.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

The following photo was included in a special feature on 'Caravan Holidays' published in the Australian Women's Weekly on 1 October 1980 (pages 65-67 and 70-72). The feature was sponsored by Viscount Caravans which was spruiking its pop-top and Ultralite vans of the time.


(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57568744 )

The van bears the Viscount signage on the front and side which was placed on Adelaide-built Viscounts from the mid-50's through to the early 60's. So that is an indicator that this particular van was very likely built in Adelaide during that period.

A closer up version of the sign on the side almost renders it readable!



I can't quite make out the word(s) in red, but it's possibly 'Caravans'? The rest of the sign says:

"Viscount created ? was then the ultimate in mobile living. This caravan is the first unit built by Viscount in 1954 & even today shows the quality ? have made Viscount Caravans the undisputed leaders in the caravan world"

There seems to have been a bit of massaging of history in this sign, perhaps due to the fact that the two founders of the company (Bob Hill and John Carr) had sold the company by 1980 and had moved on to other things, maybe taking the 'corporate memory' with them. As far as we are aware, Viscount didn't exist in 1954 (or at least not under that name), and only started building caravans in 1955 or 1956. In addition the earliest Viscounts were a completely different shape to this one, and bondwood clad. The van in the photo therefore was definitely not the 'first unit built' and is probably from the late 50's.

Nevertheless, fascinating to see this photo, and if you're interested in a good dose of nostalgia it's worth looking at the whole 'Caravan Holidays' feature in the Women's Weekly - just click here.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Photos of a 1960 NSW built Viscount, serial number N170, belonging to Rosecliffe:

Rosecliffe has advised that her caravan is approximately 12ft 6in long, so that means that it is a Viscount Airflow.

The van has been painted but was originally unpainted aluminium cladding with a blue waist stripe and blue panel behind the wheel.  The coloured panel behind the wheel is an unusual feature.

Photo of stippled cladding:

Thanks to Rosecliffe for the photos and the additional information.  Her original post about the van can be found here

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Photos of a Viscount caravan sighted by Brucebarrett at Garwin, NSW earlier in 2023:



The livery suggests the van is from around 1961 based on the knowledge we have. Note that the van has the "humped" rear, which is less common that the straight backed, non-humped back Viscounts of that period. This van seems to be the same shape and style as CrystalGrace's Viscount here which also has the humped back. However, CrystalGrace's van was a Victorian built caravan as indicated by a serial number beginning with 'V'. The van photographed by Bruce just has the number '505' without an alphabetic prefix which would seem to indicate that it was built in Viscount's original Adelaide factory:



Victorian built vans had a 'V' shaped decoration at the front under the window. Perhaps Bruce can tell us whether or not this van had the same decoration? That will tell us whether the guess about it being Adelaide-built is correct.

Thanks to Bruce for providing these photos which add to our understanding about Viscount.

Don Ricardo