Our Touring Past

A very rare vintage caravan bakelite ashtray with Carapark advertising logo on it, in about 20 years of dealing with vintage caravans this is the first one of these that I have seen.

1953 vintage caravan Carapark ad featuring Hervey Bay.
There is a similar ad on page 6 for Moree.

This dish made by Australian Pottery was recently on eBay.
Iam not sure of the origins as the dish looks like it is from the 50's but the car style looks to be more modern than that. Maybe someone out there may no more.

A 1962 vintage caravan ad for the Carapark Zestline.

In 1952 the Sydney Town Hall was the venue for The Outdoor Show from November 4-8. Detailed coverage of the event was published in Outdoors and Fishing magazine in January, 1953 with photographs and details given for 32 exhibitors. Not surprisingly caravans manufacturers were represented by Jennison "Pathfinder" Caravans and Caravan Park Ltd.
This is the photo of the Carapark display, a cutaway Hunter De Luxe, and the accompanying text. By circumstance the adjoining photo of Hudson Publications, the publisher of Outdoors and Fishing, just happened to include another angle of the Caravan Park Ltd display in the background and I've captured just that small piece of the photo too. The Jennison photo has been added to that post and it is interesting that the adjacent display was for Hardie and Speare who manufactured kerosene refrigerators which were used in caravans and mentioned on page 3 of this post.

In the same issue of the magazine this advertisement showing a Hunter Junior, which 'she who must be obeyed' took an instant shine to, really liked the twin portholes. Wonder where I can get one to please her? And, in the September, 1954 issue of the same magazine, this advertisement showing the Hunter De Luxe, the same illustration used in some previously posted adverts. A nice little cartoon drawing of car and van in the background too, although the door is on the wrong side! George

Another version of the 1958 vintage caravan brochure for Carapark Caravans as show on page 5.

An early 1950's vintage caravan brochure for the Carapark Range.
It is a very similar brochure to the other couple that I have, I think mainly the covers are different.

Part 1.

Part 2 of the brochure.

Once again the ourtouringpast.com website is leading the way in recording the history of caravanning in Australia.
After several weeks of detective work, Ive had a very interesting phone conversation today with a gentleman that started working for Carapark Caravans in 1956 as a billy boy and 18 years later was working in the design department.
Iam planning to pay him a visit over the next few weeks to record some of his memories so keep an eye out for updates.
Richard.

While helping with some research on an up coming article on Carapark Caravans I came accross this 1954 article about a fire at the Newcastle factory.

Newcastle Morning Herald, Wednesday 30 June. 1954

MAYFIELD BLAZE
£30,000 Loss In Factory
Damage estimated at £30,000 was caused by a fire which swept through a caravan factory in Maitland Road, Mayfield, yesterday afternoon.
All except one of the 75 workmen employed at the factory, owned by Caravan Park Ltd., escaped unharmed. Gary Clifford, 19, of Valencia Street, Mayfield, injured his right ankle when carrying equipment out of reach of the flames. Clifford was treated at Mater Misericordiae Hospital and allowed to go home. Firemen from five brigades kept the fire from the factory's paint store where hundreds of gallons of paint are stored. One fireman said: "If the flames had got anywhere near that lot the whole place would have gone sky high." Fireproof doors prevented the flames reaching the store room. Employees and passers-by pushed 20 completed and near completed caravans out of the factory before the roof collapsed. Two caravans, each worth about £800, were destroyed. The building measured 150 feet by 40 feet. Firemen were hampered by low water pressure. By the time they were able to bring pumps into action the fire had a good hold. The fire started at 3.30 p.m. and was brought under control by 4.30.
"Mass Of Flames"
Mr. R. Gratton, a welder, said: "It happened so suddenly. The whole wall was a mass of flames before we could do anything about it. "We all started to push the caravans out into the open as fast as we could." Mr. F. Kiely, attached to the paint shop, said: "There were people rushing in all directions, some of us helped to push the caravans out, while others shifted all the mobile equipment to safety, scores of outsiders rushed in to give us a hand." Some of the caravans, valued at £500 to £1000 each, were pushed into a lane at the rear of the factory and others were run into Maitland road. A company executive estimated the value of caravans and equipment saved at £50,000. Hundreds of spectators, including many children on their way home from school, watched the blaze. Several times firemen were hampered by scores of children who ventured close to the flames. The children repeatedly got in the way of firemen rolling out hoses. Five children standing about 10 feet from the building were drenched with water from a hose. Traffic in Maitland Road was diverted via Nile and Valencia Streets. The Managing Director of Caravan Park Ltd. (Mr. R. J. Rankin) said none of the staff would be dismissed because of the fire, "We'll need every man available to clear the place up and get into production again," he said.
"Work As Usual"
"All employees should report for duty as usual in the morning." Mr. Rankin praised the behaviour of all employees during the fire. "There was no panic and many of them took terrific risks to save the caravans and equipment," he said. Firemen said “the blaze was the biggest that had occurred in Newcastle for 12 months”. Brigades from Newcastle, Tighes Hill, Hamilton, Waratah and Lambton were directed by District Officer H. Douglas.