Bethanga Caravans (Geelong West, Vic)

[Don Ricardo]

BETHANGA CARAVANS

Manufactured by D (or Cliff?) Chappell
145 West Melbourne Road, Geelong West, Victoria

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On 31 March 2008, mpower wrote:

"Had my home made 1946 van at the federation of car clubs picnic at Mortlake in Victoria's western district last weekend. A Colin Chappell asked me if any of our members owned a Bethanga van. Cliff Chappell, a relation of his, made these caravans in Geelong Victoria in the 1940s. Apparently 13 were made and the production number was listed on the side of the van under the name Bethanga. Is anyone able to shed light on Bethanga vans?"

On 1 April 2008, mpower added the following information:

"Colin gave me his phone number in case I managed to find out any information. He did say the vans had no front window but two at the back. I did question Bethanga and he said it was the name of a bridge near Albury - didn't ask the connection though."

Further information provided by mpower on 4 April 2008:

"Colin Chappell was very pleased to receive my call re the Bethanga caravans. He doesn't have any photographs but will see if any of his relations have photos. He did however provide some extra information as follows:-

. Cliff was a builder in Geelong
. the vans were hired out
. the rims were 16" with the very early ones being spoked
. the vans weighed 22cwt (about one ton)
. the interiors were very dark - dark wood grain
. the name Bethanga was used as the shape of the vans resembled the Bethanga bridge near Albury - apparently there is a family connection to Yarrawonga

The above information will be useful if one of our members happens to acquire a Bethanga."

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Dave,

There is indeed a connection between the town of Bethanga and Bethanga caravans. Apparently the caravans were named Bethanga because the shape of the vans resembled the Bethanga Bridge - the builder of the caravans had a family connection to Yarrawonga. Following is a picture of the Bethanga Bridge, which was built between 1927 and 1930:


(Source: www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_01_3.cfm?itemid=5056556&imageid=47261020)

If the Bethanga caravan looked like this, then Cliff could claim to be the inventor of the road train!! ;D ;D ;D Seriously though, the bridge was only built a few years before Cliff was building his vans, so they may have been seen as pretty edgy design at the time.

The van builder was a Cliff Chappell. Were there any Chappells still around when you were living in the area?

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

OlFarts posted the following information regarding a Bethanga van on 23 January 2011, together with a number of detailed pics:

On a trip back to SA to bring back another V V (The Wayfarer) my partner and i decided to make a holiday out of the return trip for 8 days.

So we ventured back along the Great Ocean Road,something both of us hadn't done for many years.

Of course the Valiant wagon and the Wayfarer received a lot of attention and requests for people to take photos got a little embarrassing after a while as the van or the wagon were no where near finished.

We got talking to a couple along the way who said they had a "Bethanga Caravan".As i used to live at Bethanga and i remembered the Bethanga site on V V my ears pricked up.

The gentleman that owned the Bethanga has had the old girl since the 1980s,the front and right hand side are very weather worn but like most oldies,its pretty decent on the inside.Unfortunately it will need a lot of work to bring her back to her former glory.

The van is being used for stowage at the moment,hence all the property inside of it.But it seemed like a very well crafted van in deed.

She is about 13 foot long,no windows at the front,one small window at the rear and two windows front and rear on the left and right hand sides.And it had a "Lantern roof."And of course an ice box to keep the ales cold.

The big long chrome handle is the pump for the sink.It had a lot of cupboards and hanging space for such a small van.

The rims/tyres looked like Ford V8 Pilot rims and were 16 inch.

The tow hitch to me looked different,i had a play with it and it seemed to work correctly.











Note that the number '9' shown in one of the above photos may indicate that the van was the ninth built out of 13 (or was it 22?). DR

[Roybeth]

1948 ad for Bethanga

[Don Ricardo]

Another photo of the Bethanga Bridge after which the Bethanga caravans were named, from the Lost Country Victoria Facebook page:

[gary52]

Cliff Chappell was best mates with my Dad and was a guest at my Wedding in Sydney in 1976. Around 1973 was the last time I was in Cliff's extensive workshop on Shannon Avenue. Off to the side there were still a number of his old caravans. They hadn't been used in years but Cliff was known to rarely chuck anything out. Before I was born in 1952, My parents and two sisters camped at Torquay in these vans, and I joined them doing that after I came along, but I have no personal memory of the vans themselves.
They were probably heavier than they could have been because Cliff had a well-earned reputation for quality and craftsmanship. He would never take a shortcut, nor do less then the best even if it was hidden away from sight.
An example? The Manifold Heights Baptist Church Auditorium, also in Shannon Avenue, was, in 1968, the last big project that Cliff would build. As a Member of the Church, it was truly a labour of love. The building is largely as it was when constructed and the joinery is as good as the day it was built. After school one day I remember watching him join a very small piece of timber onto a much larger piece to form a small return on the bottom step of the Baptistry. The timber, was a waterproof Australian native that was no longer available. He went so far as to match the grain across that join; when finished it looked like someone had used a sharp Stanley knife across the one piece of timber.  I checked it about 40 years later and that tiny join hadn't moved. In fact I only found it because I knew it was there.
If any of these old caravans are still around, I reckon they would be worth restoring because the underlying construction would have been "Cliff expressed in wood!"

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Gary52,

Thank you for your post about Cliff Chappell which was wonderful to read.

We know very little about some of the many smaller caravan manufacturers from the Vintage era, so it is fantastic to learn something about Cliff, as well as his interests, habits and temperament, etc.

I am wondering if he pronounced his name 'chap-pell' or 'chapel'? I went to school with a 'chap-pell' which made me conscious of the distinction in pronunciation.

Do you have a photo of Cliff by any chance? It would be fabulous to include it in this thread about him and his caravans. If you do, you can email it to me at [e-mail] to post on the forum.

Don Ricardo

[gary52]

"Chapel", with the emphasis on the first syllable. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of Cliff. In the early 1960's Cliff, my dad and another mate spent a week camping in the Snowy Mountains, but all the slides my dad took on that trip have totally faded.

Cliff was more often on the operating end of a movie camera. A feature of our Church's life in the 50s and 60s was the Sunday School Picnic. Buses and private cars provided a full day out on the Torquay Back Beach. Cliff and his state of the art, hand cranked movie camera were everywhere. (The earlier camera cases and the tripods were made by Cliff from wood, metal & leather) A week or so later there was a film night - an edited display of the games, swimming and eating! I well remember one early 60s picnic. As Cliff filmed, some of the men began arguing with him about "getting in the way" and "filming everyone and ignoring requests not to." The argument got quite heated and a few of the wives bravely tried to restrain and remonstrate with their men folk.

The argument ended with Cliff, fully clothed, and his camera gear, being picked up and tossed into the sea! Shock! Many homes were uncomfortable places over the next week until the film night revealed the whole episode on film. It showed the arguments and Cliff, along with his dummy camera, being dumped in the ocean - all filmed by a hidden camera set up before hand to record the whole planned episode!

Upon being fooled, many of the wives found it hard to find their sense of humour and even "poor Cliff" copped a bit of flack for awhile. Actually, it still ranks as one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Gary52,

That’s a great story. Thanks for telling us. It reveals a bit more about Cliff Chappell’s personality, and gave me (and I’m sure others) a great laugh.

As it happens my aunt and uncle lived in Volum Street, Manifold Heights in the 50’s and 60’s, and we visited there often during that time. That means we passed by your Church on the corner of Shannon Avenue very often. Maybe I even saw Cliff going in our out of the Church on one of those visits! Funny how our lives intersect with others from time to time isn’t it?

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Bethanga caravan at Main Beach, Ocean Grove, Vic from the Geelong in Historical Pictures Facebook Page:

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[hilldweller2]

That's another really interesting van. Hopefully number 9, or one of its siblings, will reappear at some point. The database you're building here - DR and others - is an absolutely fantastic resource, now and for future generations of vintage caravan owners.