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Post by Don Ricardo on Mar 5, 2018 16:29:26 GMT 10
Franklin adverts from the 1962 Winser caravan manual:   (Source: Keith Winser, Australian Caravans and Touring Manual for 1962, 14th edition, 1962, pages 140, 141 & 139) These adverts reveal that Franklin was offering quite a wide range of models and styles in 1962. The two caravans in the top line of the middle page look as if they are 'hangovers' from earlier years, whereas the other vans are much more "modern" with the wrap around, triple front windows and bulkheads over the front windows, and in some cases over the rear windows as well. The 15 ft Model F and the De Luxe Lightweight models were also sold by, and branded as Owen Bailey and Hawthorn caravans. The caravan shown on the third page is of interest because it shows a door with a curved top. In September 2017 Alee4583 showed us photos of her van here van, which was eventually identified as a 1963 Franklin Freeway:    One of the things that confused us about Alee4583's van for a while was that it had a curved top to the door, which most of us couldn't remember seeing before. However, the photos from the 1962 Winser show a Franklin with a similar door (even though the Winser van is a year earlier and not a Freeway model). Don Ricardo
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Post by shesgotthelook on Aug 6, 2018 11:32:04 GMT 10
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Post by shesgotthelook on Aug 18, 2018 16:57:16 GMT 10
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 31, 2018 11:04:47 GMT 10
Hi all, Does anyone know when Franklin started building caravans?? Looking through this thread there is no information on that. We know that by the the turn of the decade in 1960, Franklin was well established, and so it is clear that they were operating in the 50's...but how far back and when? Interestingly, Franklin isn't listed in the Winser caravan manuals until the 1957 edition. On this thread there are lots of photos of 1960's Franklins but nothing about pre-60's vans, so the following 1956 Franklin advert posted by Franklin1 here is of interest:  (Source: Ballarat Courier, 9 November 1956) The first caravan shown is a big van for 1956 also with unusual styling for that era. And the second van is also of interest because it appears to have some of the features of South Australian-built caravans from the 50's, including the shape and double cambered roof. Is it possible that Franklin was sourcing some of its vans from other manufacturers at that stage? Don Ricardo |
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Post by shesgotthelook on Aug 31, 2018 18:01:33 GMT 10
I can't help you with the early history of Franklin Don Ricardo. I wonder if the company now producing Franklins has any history? What I would like to know is if anyone has ever set eyes upon the vans in the Winser ads you posted higher up in this thread? How about the one with verandah or the huge browed ones? They must have existed once upon a time.   |
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Post by grandad on Aug 31, 2018 18:59:10 GMT 10
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Post by shesgotthelook on Sept 1, 2018 9:37:57 GMT 10
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 1, 2018 14:35:34 GMT 10
Hi Grandad and SGTL, Thanks for that info and links - both very interesting. So 1952 or 1947... Which do we go with? Since the Time to Roam article appears to be based on an interview with Geoff Robertson, the founder of Franklin, perhaps we go with 1947?
Extract from the Time to Roam website referred to by Shesgotthelook:Australians have Geoffrey Robertson to thank as one of the great innovators who made caravan holidays affordable for the masses...
They say necessity is the mother of all innovation and in Geoffrey Robertson’s case is was a need to put food on the table and a roof over his head that prompted him to build his first caravan.
It was 1947 and life seemed not all that promising for the talented 17 year old from Ballarat. He’d just lost his first job and was relying on hunting rabbits to make a quid. To cheer him up, a mate suggested taking a Christmas beachside holiday in Lorne. Not exactly flush with funds for accommodation, but with time on his hands, he thought, “why not build a caravan”. Never mind the fact he’d never built anything before or had any experience as a tradesman.
Family and friends weren’t overly confident the timber and Masonite creation young Geoff was slowly putting together would amount to much. But he soldiered on, proving here was a fellow not be underestimated.
The finished caravan made it safely to Lorne and back on rough 1940s roads in one piece. Geoff and his mates had a great holiday and word quickly spread.
“After we got back from Lorne everyone started asking to borrow it, so I thought, why not build another?” He set to work on a slightly bigger 14ft van and a few weeks later hit the road to find a buyer.
“I heard there was a dealer in Melbourne, Les Gough and Sons who owned Hawthorn Caravans and sold caravans on consignment. So I went there and found Les was a grumpy old bloke, although his sons weren’t too bad. They walked around it, looked it over and after a while Les said he thought it looked alright. We went back to his office and sat down and he asked me what was I going to call my caravans. I was just 18 and a bit of a kid at the time and I had no idea. The first thing that came into my head was our old family home was called Franklin and I thought, why not that. Les said ‘Righto, that’ll do, we’ll give you a call when we sell it’ and then he kicked me out.
“Well I wasn’t all that hopeful, but I got back to Ballarat to get the message he’d already called, the van was sold and he wanted to know when could I get them another one.”
Working in a shed behind his father’s Ballarat pub, the business started slowly with Geoff turning out a new caravan at the rate of one per month. After building and selling the first fifteen caravans on his own, he started hiring workers and the emerging Franklin company moved to its first official factory based in a former Ballarat funeral home.
Robertson says the key to Franklin’s success was always staying ahead of the latest technology. In the 1960s the company had great success with simple and affordable lightweight aluminium caravans.(Source: www.timetoroam.com.au/franklin-caravans-history/ Condensed for the sake of readability.)
Interesting to read that the first sales of Franklin were made through Les Gough's Hawthorn caravans, and that Gough sold caravans on consignment. Don Ricardo |
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Post by shesgotthelook on Sept 1, 2018 15:32:29 GMT 10
Sorry if these have been posted before; taken from the Australian Caravan & Touring Manual- Book 10- 1958 This is the first reference I can find to Franklin in my Winser books, obviously well established though by the styling of the vans & the advertisements.   |
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Post by grandad on Sept 1, 2018 15:34:41 GMT 10
So 1952 or 1947... Which do we go with? Since the Time to Roam article appears to be based on an interview with Geoff Robertson, the founder of Franklin, perhaps we go with 1947? Well, When I read SGTL's post I read it as, he built his first caravan in 1947 and that was when he came up with the name 'Franklin' But this was obviously, a hand-built job built entirely by himself. The Time to Roam article stated he did all this in the backyard of his dad's pub and then moved after I would estimate would be 18 months later to a premises that were once a funeral home. He was averaging one caravan per month. Let's allow another few months to be safe. Ads above show the address as 7-9 Dawson St. Ballarat. If you do a Google street search of that address now it shows a building that from an architectural view would date back to at least immediate postwar. There's none of the signs that would indicate late 50's or later. No cream brick for example. And it's quite a sizeable building. I see no reason to believe it was not standing in 1947. And looks far too large to have ever been a funeral parlour. My take is that this is not the premises he moved to in 1948-9. So perhaps it was 1952 when he moved to the address that would become synonymous with the name 'Franklin' and the rest, as they say is history. So, when did he start Franklin caravans? Any of the three dates could be seen as correct I would state it as, he built his first caravan in 1947, hired his first staff in 1948-9 and got serious in 1952 when he moved to Dawson St. And I might add, got very serious when he opened a second factory in Wendouree in the late 60's How does that sound? Jim |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 1, 2018 15:56:29 GMT 10
Sounds like a very plausible timeline to me Grandad.  Don Ricardo |
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nafe
New Member
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Post by nafe on Oct 16, 2018 21:31:15 GMT 10
Hi guys new here weve just purchased a franklin regent vin 977-0
977th of 1970 assume that would be around mid may build what a production rate these guys had in 1970 200 units a month thats amazing look forward to bringing her back to life hopefully you guys can help me with the forum and i can share the pics as i take them ive got a pic of vin would love to get it on a list or find it on one would be even better
Cheers
Nafe
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Post by shesgotthelook on Nov 7, 2018 7:11:45 GMT 10
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Post by diannecumming on Jun 15, 2019 17:09:47 GMT 10
Hi All, Thought you might like this excerpt from Caravan Tests, No 2 which was published in 1971.    Please enjoy and there is plenty more to come. Kind regards Graem |
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Post by shesgotthelook on Jan 10, 2020 9:29:35 GMT 10
Motor Manual 1969  |
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Post by shesgotthelook on Jan 10, 2020 9:31:08 GMT 10
Motor Manual 1969   |
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Post by darrenblake72 on Feb 8, 2020 12:41:07 GMT 10
.[I've just purchased a comercial toaster which has the dove style sticker on front and back The chassis number is C397-0 which I'm guessing it's the 397th one of the production line in 1970. Not sure if this will help but what I've read it must be one of the last one's made before the logo change On 10 November 2007 Daggsey posted photos of the following Franklin logos here: 
And on the same thread on 13 November 2007, Franklin1 posted the following information:FRANKLIN CARAVAN LOGOSAdvertisements for Franklin Caravans from March 1968 to end-of-March 1970 show the following logo:   ------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisements from the start of July 1970 show a new logo:  Further research is required to determine the logo(s) used up to March 1968, and to determine exactly when the logo changed between March 1970 and July 1970. (source: Sydney Morning Herald archives). The thumbnail photos available for viewing on the archives are very small. |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jul 20, 2020 21:08:13 GMT 10
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 4, 2020 11:21:07 GMT 10
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Post by shesgotthelook on Aug 5, 2020 10:58:30 GMT 10
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Post by shesgotthelook on Aug 5, 2020 11:10:15 GMT 10
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 5, 2020 12:38:53 GMT 10
Hi SGTL,
Thanks for posting the photos of the Franklin sold on Facebook Marketplace. It looks to be about the same age as Marjie2's Franklin a bit higher up the thread.
It's good to see that there are a couple of fairly early Franklins around.
Don Ricardo
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 22, 2020 15:37:39 GMT 10
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Post by shesgotthelook on Aug 22, 2020 16:28:50 GMT 10
For what it's worth, it has the same cupboards, ceiling, flyscreen door & tail lights as my 1962 Bondwood Franklin.
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Post by hughdeany on Aug 22, 2020 17:00:38 GMT 10
Hi all,
Agree with Sgtl,definitely a Franklin.
Franklin made models to order for whatever you wanted,so that’s where I think this one came from.When they had Safari,Freeway,premier models you could mix and match front and back,some occasionally pop up from time to time and confuse everyone!
Cheers
hughdeany
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