Memories of the early days travelling Oz. What are yours?

Fred

This is my first car in Australia in 1969

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Cheers

Fred,

who could possibly add a story (apart from possibly Willem) after a start to the thread like that?

As well as the water bag and handbrake, I note the starter motor beside the car.

My family's car when I was three (until I was 12) was an FJ. Dad then went out and bought a Valiant. Both cars saw lots of bush travel in the Riverina where we camped and fished.

I look forward to hearing about your coming travels.

Bob

On the Stewart Highway, north of Coober Pedy in 1967.

We were on our honeymoon, returning to Adelaide from Darwin and 'the Rock'.



Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

Hi Fred, the earliest outback travel that I remember was when I was five, Mum & Dad headed over to WA from SA in early 1952 chasing work, we, my two sisters and I were left with Mum’s parents while Dad & Mum came over to look around, Dad got work and came back to pick up kids & possessions that would fit in the car. We all bundled into a 1937 Chev and off over the Nullabor we went. I can assure you that the Nullabor then is not what it is today.
All my childhood holidays were spent going back to SA over the Nullabor and back to catch up with the families over there.
We crossed that Nullabor over the years in many different cars, some being the 37 Chev of course, a Plymouth, (a few times) a 1952 model Chev, (several times) and how could I forget the old Vanguard Ute with canopy, what a trip that was, hot & dusty (all our holidays were taken after harvest in Jan or Feb). Like you, our parents sat in the front of the ute and all of us kids (one of two brothers had come along by then) were in the back along with the pets (1 dog and 1 cat) will never forget those holidays. I remember as I got older and with each trip I enjoyed the outback more. Our last trips before I left home was in a Rambler.
I will always remember the shower at Shell Service Station in Port Augusta, just to get that bulldust off of us.

Ahhh the memories.

Cheers

Deanna

These days some people think that you have to have a 4wd (with all the trimmings) to go off the bitumen. When i was tiny, roads where we lived were two wheel tracks, with a grassy crown in the middle. The vehicles were low slung sedans. A trip to our nearest regional centre (now takes little more than an hour) was quite a journey, and having to clear fallen trees or branches, or getting sand bogged, were common occurrences. Winter creek crossing were expected.

In winter, river levels rarely seen in recent years cut the roads. We often used to have a few weeks 'extra' school holidays while isolated.

In my parents youth, cars were not common. My grandfather had one of the first two cars in town. My mother drove the car to the police station for her driver's licence. The policeman asked how she got there - she drove. He asked 'did you kill anyone' -' no' - so she was given her licence.

Motherhen

Here I am in 1940 near Singleton in N.S.W. where I grew up.

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We kept the old ute until the late 40's when we got an ex Army Jeep that I started my driving and exploring in. Unfortunately a bad flood in 1955 destroyed most of my old photo's.

What a great post Fred. It's amazing how these days we can cruise across vast tracts of the outback keeping track of our course on our sat-nav programs, check the cricket, footy of the weather on our HF radio, ring the family on the sat phone then put up the electric window and turn the air-con to deal with the heat and dust .....and still reckon we're adventurers lol.

My outback adventures began as a 10 year old in 1972 accompanying my parents around Australia (they were chalkies) in a 1970 Belmont Panel van towing a 15' Viscount van. Like you, we three kids sat on a fold up bed in the back of the van. It was great fun travelling thru the centre, Arnham Land (getting swept down the flooded alligator river because the van floated Ha), the gulf. We went to school at Karumba for a few weeks. From recollection, the Bitumen on the Stuart Hwy ended just north of Port Augusta started again at Tennant Creek to Darwin. When we went east from the Stuart, we next saw it on the east coast near Cairns.

My grandfather told stories of his shearing days in the mid 1920's travelling from Geelong (where they worked in the newly opened Ford Plant) thru S.A. to almost the NT border in an old open sided car. There were nine of them and they took it in turns to stand on the running boards as they travelled, all bailing out to almost carry the car across sand dunes. I must dig out the photos.

Thanks Fred

Mick

Great sharing of history and life sharing keep them going as my only expedition was in 1960 sometime the same week the beaumont children went missing we travelled from Geelong to Port Augusta in a holden station wagon tent and camping gear with Mum Dad and my 3 siblings.We only had lived in Australia a coulpe of years having migrated from Scotland.
But it planted the seed forming my adult ilfe of wanting to be out there.

Keep them coming.
Cheers Marion

My first major trip was driving Melbourne - Darwin in 1966. Did not know anything about outback roads, but learnt fast as I tackled the black soil when the bitumen ran out beyond Longreach. Took several days and much digging out of bogs to reach Cloncurry and the bitumen. Then held up at Newcastle waters with water over the road until a group of travellers built a raft out of old bitumen drums, bush timber and fencing wire to float our cars across.

Later lived in Kununurra and worked on the main dam construction. Only dirt from Katherine to the NT/WA border and no bridge over the Victoria river.

When I drove from Kununurra to Perth the bitumen only came as far north as Carnarvon. As it was just at the end of the wet some of the highway was found by following the telephone wires through the grass which was over the bonnet of the Holden ute in the middle of the 'Highway'. Had to camp at Fitzroy crossing waiting for the river to go down (no bridge then)

Also crossed the Nullabore when it was dirt in SA from the border.

I also lived in Cloncurry from 1975 for a few years. When I first went there the bitumen finished just out of Hughenden. Both Hughenden Cloncurry and Winton - Cloncurry had bitumen constructed while I was in 'The Curry"

Bruce

Fred,

Did little travel in my early years, except with my parents on pushbikes, then in an ill-fated Willys Knight truck that came back from Oberon, mortally wounded.

When the "Olds" bought a new 1956 Morris Minor, there was no holding them back. trips all over NSW & into SE Qld.

My job in the late 60's was near Kununurra, and the photos are of a trip back to NSW, November, 1969.
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Top photo is just east of Winton. Note the mud rock surface.

2nd photo is about 15 km east on 3-Ways, on Barkly Hwy. Can't see any fog or centre lines marked lol.

Final photo is on Stuart hwy, somewhere near Daly Waters, though I'd stand correction on that one.

You're draggin' the history out now, Fed.

Regards,
Bob.

Gidday Fred, I saw this post on Saturday night. It has certainly brought out some excellent replies, so I will add mine, we left Wyndham late Nov 1961 and went clockwise around Australia with a detour from Three Ways to Alice Springs then back up to Three Ways and across to Atherton. Arrived back in Wyndham early Mar 1962. Was about 13,000 ,miles in 3 months in an Austin A70 ute with canopy towing a 6x4 trailer. I was six years old with the next two brothers being 5 Y.O and 3 months old. I will have to join up so I can post photos of the trip.
Cheers
Rob Mac

Hi Doug & Dusty, that was a great post, keep the Sunday History posts coming, I look forward to them.

Cheers

Deanna