Land Cruiser caravans (Gardenvale, Vic)

[Don Ricardo]

Detailed description of a Land Cruiser Regent caravan on show at the 1937 Melbourne motor show, published in Table Talk on Thursday, 20 May 1937 (pages 42 & 43):




(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149327813 )

We've read before that the exterior of the van was painted green and black with a silver roof, but this article tells us that the window frames were painted orange. Interesting combination... Note the reference to the "large rear door", which I take to be a hatch that provided access to under the dinette benches or a rear boot of some sort.

The article refers to the front-end being "vee-shaped for added strength" and then goes on to speak of the castor wheel, so this is apparently a reference to the A-frame, not the shape of the front wall of the cabin which we can see from other photos was quite conventional and not bow-shaped. Perhaps the statement about the V-shaped front end reflected a change that had been occurring during the period from a single tow pole on caravans to what we regard now as a conventional A-frame?

Advert published in the same edition of Table Talk adjacent to the article above (page 43):


(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149327801 )

The advert refers to "patented steel windows". Is this a reference to the fact that the windows incorporated leadlighting, or that the windows were steel framed?

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Further advertisement for Land Cruiser caravans using the same photo as reproduced on the Caravan Industries Association (Victoria) leaflet reproduced higher up this thread.

The advert was published in Table Talk on Friday, 1 October 1937 (page 42):


(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152537155 )

The hire vans were obviously well kitted out - only linen was required.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Jul 4, 2015 17:38:38 GMT 10 Don Ricardo said:

Photo of a Land Cruiser caravan, published in The Australasian on Saturday, 22 June 1935 (page 50):


(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141438137 )

From memory we have this photo posted somewhere else on the forum with the suggestion that it may be an English van. However, it is identified here quite clearly as a Land Cruiser. Note that the photograph was taken at the Jubilee Motor Show which was held at the Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne the same week as this edition of the The Australasian was produced.

By the shape and style, I think this Land Cruiser caravan is probably an earlier model than any of the others shown in photographs on this thread. As such it may be among the first produced by F C Heber's Caravan Construction and Hire company.

Hi all,

In July 2015, I suggested - no, stated - that the above caravan was a Land Cruiser on the basis of the statement in the caption that the van had been exhibited at the 1935 Jubilee Motor Shown in Melbourne, and that it was a '"land cruiser," built by the Caravan Construction Company, of Caulfield'.  I now think this is incorrect, and that our original thought that the photograph was of an English van is closer to the truth.

Below is a photo of a 1934 English-built Car Cruiser Type Three caravan that is currently advertised on UK Ebuy (December 2016):



As can be seen, this caravan bears a number of similarities to the caravan shown in The Australasian.  Apart from the overall shape, the most obvious similarity is the structure of the doorway, which is very unusual.  I am not aware of any Australian caravan built with a similar doorway, and the van in the newspaper is quite different to any other Land Cruiser caravan we have seen in advertisements or 'in the wood'.

I think that the caravan shown in the newspaper was probably an English Car Cruiser, and that that van was not actually exhibited at the Jubilee Motor Show.  The photo was just used for illustrative purposes.  If this is the case, that would not be the first instance we have found from the 1930's where newspapers have obtained a photo of an overseas caravan and used it to illustrate an article about Australian caravans.  I suppose it's possible that Land Cruiser brought a Car Cruiser from the UK and had it on display at the Motor Show, but why would they do that when they had their own Australian-built vans to show off?

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

Below is the earliest advert I've found for Land Cruiser caravans, published in the Melbourne Age on Saturday, 30 May 1936 (page 8):


(Source: www.newspapers.com/article/the-age/129065889/ )

This tells us that F C Heber's Caravan Construction Co was building Land Cruiser caravans at least as early as the first half of 1936. Previous documentation posted higher up this thread has only indicated that Land Cruiser's were being built as early as 1937.

The first post in this thread included a quote from Keith Winser stating that Heber commenced building his caravans in the 'early thirties', but so far no evidence has been found to confirm that. It should also be noted that some of Winser's statements in his books about the dates of establishment of the early caravan manufacturers has been found to be in error, so I don't think we should necessarily take his statement about the 'early thirties' at face value.

Don Ricardo