Caravan shows

[Don Ricardo]

Evening all,

As discussed in some of the posts higher up this thread, the first Australian 'caravan shows' occurred as part of motor vehicle shows. The first comprehensive display of caravans in Melbourne took place as part of the 1937 motor show, dubbed the 'Coronation Motor Show' because of King George VI's coronation which took place on 12 May 1937, a few days before the opening of the Motor Show. The caravan display at the Coronation Motor Show was accompanied by a feature page in the Melbourne Age published on Tuesday, 18 May, a couple of days before the show opened its doors to the public.

It is impossible to capture a whole page of a broadsheet newspaper in a single image, and make it readable, so I have broken the page up into a number of different images.

The introduction to the overall Motor Show coverage (page 16), referred to the popularity of caravans (see last paragraph):



The main article in the caravan feature (page 17) was headed 'The Lure of the Caravan', and recounted the history of the caravan concept, and the development of the caravan industry overseas and in Australia (read the columns down past the photo, then move to the right):




The feature included the story of a Mr L H Gagiero of Brighton (Vic) who took his young family on a trip through the Mallee and Wimmera regions in a Land Cruiser caravan, towed by a Hupmobile:





This photo may be Mrs Gagiero with two of her children?



Photo of the Land Cruiser factory:



The articles were accompanied by a number of adverts for different caravan builders:

 

 
(Source for all items:  www.newspapers.com )

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

Following is a further newspaper report on the 1939 NRMA Camping & Caravan Exhibition published in the Sydney Sun on Tuesday, 17 October 1939 (page 16):


(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231224348
The layout of the article has been changed to maximise readability on the forum.)

It is interesting to see some of the manufacturers mentioned including Coachcraft who we know very little about, JGM Bungalow Trailers, Nomad, Caravan Park and Propert.  The comment on Propert makes reference to the propellor driven battery charger that was a feature of some of their vans.

Photos of the Caravan Park and Propert displays are shown in the news reports posted higher up this thread.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

Higher up this thread here is an article describing the 1938 Sydney NRMA Caravan & Camping Exhibition. Below is a further report on the Exhibition published in the Sydney Sun on Sunday, 16 October 1938 (page 28):

(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230813965 )

The report contains the following rather intriguing comments:

"The caravans were comprised mainly in two classes— the large, elaborate vehicle with lines rather resembling a railway carriage, and the elliptically-shaped lounge-room type.
The two classes reflect respectively American and English construction trends. Each has its particular advantages, and caters to differing tastes and requirements."

The reference to 'American and English construction trends' presumably refers to two different styles.  The 'American' style may be referring to coach-style which a few Australian caravan manufacturers, such as Propert and Land Cruiser, were experimenting with at the time, and which I suppose did resemble a railway carriage.  The 'English' style may have been a reference to the more standard type of caravan that were the mainstay of the caravan industry both pre- and post-War.

Don Ricardo

[kenny]

I was looking for something else and came across this corker.

Caption on the photo says "Car, boat and caravan exhibits at the Townsville Show, 1966"  Ack Townsville Regional Library.