Luxury caravans (Luxory). Artarmon, NSW

[cobber]

LUXORY CARAVANS

Manufactured by Luxury Caravans Pty Ltd
383 Pacific Highway and later 291 Pacific Highway, Artarmon, NSW

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Luxory Caravans appeared on the scene in 1948... made by Luxury Caravans of Artarmon NSW.


and were still in the picture in1951 and 1954 but are not noted in the 1957 “Caravan and Touring” book... has anybody got one ?




Cobber.

[Don Ricardo]

Interesting couple of adverts you've posted, Cobber.

A couple of things I've noted while reading them, for what it's worth:

1. The '48 advert mentions the models for sale or hire as including the 'Hunter', 'Superb' and 'Litewate', all Carapark models. It also mentions 'Roadmaster' - I wonder if this is the SA Roadmaster? This suggests that in '48, Luxury Caravans may have been a representative for other manufacturers....?

2. The '51 (or is it the '54) advert mentions that the body of the 15 ft van comes as either 'overslung or underslung to meet the needs of the purchaser'. That's the first time I can remember seeing that option offered, or did other manufacturers offer the same possibility?

3. The location for the Luxury factory/showroom in the later ads is listed as 291 Pacific Highway, Artarmon, which is only four doors down from the Jennison Pathfinder factory at the same period (283 Pacific Highway). I'm not suggesting a connection between the two, except that it appears there may have been a little cluster of caravan manufacturers in North Sydney in the early 50's, a bit like there was in Edwardstown in SA in the 50's.

As I say, for what it's worth.

Don Ricardo

Addendum
Re '1' above - I see that 'Vagabond' was the name for a model of caravan being sold by Clarke's Caravan Centre - see here

[cobber]

G'day Don,

Interesting points you raise,
Point (1) It does appear that Luxury were agents for various brands in 1948 but by 1951 they had their own brand “Luxory”, in the 1957 Caravan & Touring magazine directory they are no longer listed as “Manufacturers” but only as “Hirers” so they didn't last long in the big league. . .
Point (2) The over/under slung axle is offered in 1951.... I have not shown the 1954 Adds. .... yet.
Point (3) This thing about different brands of 'vans having address in close proximity to each other is an interesting phenomenon worthy of close examination maybe, it keeps cropping up.

Another one that has me intrigued at the moment is “Caravan Park” and “Newcastle” caravans both in Maitland Rd. Mayfield in the early days.
It appears that when “Caravan Park” picked up their goods and shackles and moved to Leichardt John Walsh, who was a director of “Caravan Park”, almost immediately started his own business” “Newcastle” caravans not far removed from Caravan Park's previous address in the same road.

Re your addendum ,
Vagabond... Clipper...Gypsy, do you read more into it than it's hard to think up an original name sometimes.

Cobber.

[cobber]

An advertisement from “Keith Winser's Australian Caravans and Touring Year Book # 6 for 1954”

No mention of the over/under slung axle option ice at this date



Cobber.

[Don Ricardo]

Luxory Caravan nameplate advertised on Ebay, April 2012:

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

At the Bridgewater vintage caravan weekend in 2016, Dona Ricardo and I met a gentleman named Malcolm who told us about his father's Luxory 12 (12 foot) caravan. His father had bought the caravan new in the late 40's, and it had been used regularly for family holidays. Malcolm has provided me with some beautiful photos of the van from a couple of the trips to post:



If you look at the side of the van to the left of the door, in the photo below, you can see the curved 'Luxory 12' nameplate identical to the one shown in the post immediately above this one.  (The nameplate is adjacent to the side light/rego sticker holder.)



Notice that the van is being used in conjunction with Hutchinson or Hendy dolly wheels in the next photo:





Great photos!

We don't have a lot of photos or info about Luxory caravans, and these photos definitely show the earliest Luxory caravan - and a Luxory of that particular style - we have seen on the forum.

The caravan was passed on to Malcolm from his father, and Macolm has been intending to restore it, however like a lot of us, he has realised that he has more restoration projects than he'll ever be able to complete, and so is considering selling the van to somebody who will appreciate it's style and rarity. While he wants it to go to someone who will restore it, he won't be giving it away, either.

He has provided me with a photo of the van taken recently:



In the next week or so, I hope to have a look at the van for myself, and hopefully take some internal photos. I can then provide more info for anybody that may be interested. So the van is not up for sale quite yet, but I am happy to receive preliminary expressions of interest by PM from anyone who may be interested.  In the meantime, enjoy the photos.

Don Ricardo

[griffin]

Hi Don R
Some great photos and nice to see the van has survived, hopefully someone will take it on and do it justice. It seems to be a small van to be using a dolly, especially with the Jeep tow car. I seem to recall that Mr. Jennison or Propert had something to do with producing Jeep wagon conversions, might this be one?

[Don Ricardo]

May 22, 2017 23:39:35 GMT 10 Don Ricardo said:

Hi all,

At the Bridgewater vintage caravan weekend in 2016, Dona Ricardo and I met a gentleman named Malcolm who told us about his father's Luxory 12 (12 foot) caravan. His father had bought the caravan new in the late 40's, and it had been used regularly for family holidays. Malcolm has provided me with some beautiful photos of the van from a couple of the trips to post:



...In the next week or so, I hope to have a look at the van for myself, and hopefully take some internal photos...

Don Ricardo

Hi all,

As suggested in the above post, I did visit Malcolm to see his Luxory caravan, but then with other things on my mind, neglected to post the photos. Oops!   But here they are...

Based on Malcolm's memory of his father buying the caravan it was most likely built in 1948, and at a time when Luxury Caravans had only just begun production.



Luxory 12' nameplate with red enamel on the front nearside corner:





Luxury nameplate to the right of the door:









Luxory 12' nameplate with blue enamel on the rear:











Jockey wheel:





Original upholstery:











Ice chest:











It is great to see a quite rare caravan still in such original condition.

Malcolm has recently let me know that, rather than selling it, he has decided to keep the van and have it restored because it has so many family memories attached to it. He is interested in hearing from anyone who would be interested in the restoration work on a paid basis. It does require quite a lot of serious work, not just a wash and a clean, so anyone undertaking the work would need to have both skills and/or experience in caravan restoration. If anyone is interested or knows someone who would be interested in assisting Malcolm, either post on this page or PM me and I will get in contact with you. Malcolm is based in the Kyneton/Romsey area of Victoria.

Don Ricardo

[Mustang]

Despite neglect the van still looks tight. I think a very doable project without a lot of money invested.

[Don Ricardo]

A Luxory 'Baby' 9ft 3in caravan listed for sale on the Forum by Matches here in 2017:

When Matches first posted about his van he wasn't certain of the make, however after looking at all the possible matches (sorry! ) with his van, concluded that it was a Luxory 'Baby' and noted especially the location of the roof hatch which differed from other contenders.  The shape of the floorline, including the horizontal strapping a few inches above the bottom edge of the floorline, and the shape of the wheelarch all match (can't think of any other word now!) that shown in the photo of a 'Baby' in one of the adverts posted above.

Matches suggested that the van was from around 1948, although he didn't say what that conclusion was based on.  Luxury Caravans Pty Ltd (the manufacturer of Luxory vans) was in existence then, but we don't have any evidence of it producing caravans in its own right until the early 50's (see posts higher up this thread), so it seems more likely that Matches 'Baby' was early 50's.

Like other very small caravans of the era the 'Baby' had a minimum of windows, in this case two - one on each side, but none on the front at the rear.  Some very small caravans only had one window.  However, this van had an added benefit of a lower door hatch, which is an unusual feature.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

Recently while scouring old newspapers online for something else (as is often the case), I came across the following article which was published in the Sydney Daily Telegraph on Monday, 3 April 1950 (page 20):

(Source: www.newspapers.com - Text columns rearranged to improve readability)

The article speaks about the growth of the caravan industry after World War II, but what is of interest in relation to this thread is that it refers to Richard (R E) Pym who was the manager of Luxury Caravans Pty Ltd.  He was also a member of the Council of the NSW Caravan and Trailer Industries' Association.  After the death of John Jennison, the developer and manufacturer of Jennison caravans in October 1950, Richard Pym bought Jennison Trailer Engineering Co and continued the Jennison caravan business until 1967.

Pym's involvement with Luxury and Jennison caravans is interesting because in 2008 I posted the following higher up this thread:  "The location for the Luxury factory/showroom in the later [1954 Luxory] ads is listed as 291 Pacific Highway, Artarmon, which is only four doors down from the Jennison Pathfinder factory at the same period (283 Pacific Highway). I'm not suggesting a connection between the two...".  Well, turns out there was a connection - Richard Pym!  At this point we don't know whether Pym severed his connection with Luxury when he bought Jennison, or remained involved in both.

An interesting comment from Pym in the last line of the article, referring to caravans in the range of 8 to 10 feet in length:  "Mr Pym said the smaller model was becoming popular with honeymoon couples."  That presumably included the Luxory 'Baby' model, an example of which is shown in the post immediately before this.

Don Ricardo