Jennison Caravans.

[Richard]

The following information and photos have been supplied by Jeff, who is a Grandson of John Jennison, and he has spent countless hours researching his Grandfathers history.

A History of John Alfred Jennison.


I would like to tell you about my grandfather John Alfred Jennison and his place as a major pioneer in the early Australian caravanning industry. I have over 60 photos , but as you will see, it is not only vintage vans that we will look at , but some fairly interesting stuff on cars and motorbikes as well.

I would also like to give you an insight into the remarkable journey I have had ,researching all this. Much of it I did not know, but with input from family, with the collation of many old photos , and then showing them to my mother and picking at her memories (which are fading rapidly due to alzheimers) as well as some amazing help, with early brochures and magazine articles from the 30, 40s and 50s , supplied to me by interested people and my cousins, who have watched this story unfold on the caravan website, as I have fitted it all together. I have even had total strangers buy original Jennison prewar memorabilia (logoed business stationary and the like) on ebay and send it to me , so enthused and caught up themselves ,have they become with my research and the telling of the story of John A Jennison and his Pathfinder caravans.

Born in 1898, John Alfred Jennison was orphaned in 1914, when both of his parents died within weeks of each other of the influenza virus. Shortly after that both he and his brother George left for Melbourne before ending up in Adelaide working for Henry James Holden coach/motor body builders . It was there that he learned his skills as a coachbuilder and engineer. He returned to Sydney around 1919 working in a motor vehicle assembly plant (it is unknown which or where). In Sydney he met and married my grandmother Doris in 1922, and shortly after the birth of my mother in 1923 , he moved the family to Melbourne where he worked (my mother thinks ) in a Chevrolet assembly plant. Further research has shown that Henry James Holden operated a vehicle and chassis assembly plant in Melbourne, in conjunction with General Motors/Chevrolet at that time .

John A Jennisons son John was born in 1925 and later that year , John A Jennison and his brother George ,who still lived in SA, rode their Indian motorcycles to Perth and back. In one of his diaries he comments that the road was so potholed and rough to ride on , that whenever the railway track ran parallel to the road ,they rode their motorcycles in the centre of the railway track on the sleepers because it was smoother. It was on the return leg from Perth , that John A Jennison spied a service station for sale in Salisbury SA. He returned to Melbourne and arranged purchase of the business , moving the family there in 1926, where his 3rd child Shirley was born and the story of Jennison Engineering really begins.
Soon after setting up in Salisbury he undertook his first attempt at motor car construction, building a small vehicle at his Salisbury workshop. He twice entered in the Sellicks beach car races without any success ( I believe that they were a point to point 10 or 20 mile race run annually) My mother remembers being driven to her first day at school in the car, her only seat being an old wooden fruit box. That would have been in 1928.

From there his interest turned to boat building. He constructed a boat out the back of his Salisbury workshop, with the first test run being at Victor Harbour in SA. As an aside , in later years when he knew he was dying of kidney failure, he made a beautiful 3 to 4 foot working scale model of the boat , to be given to his first grandson. Unfortunately I am number 3 !!!!

By 1930 he had built his first caravan, which mum thinks, was bought by his friend and neighbour and already a Chevrolet customer a Mr (& Mrs) Brumfield . The van was of the standard teardrop design of the day, his first slightly larger model (roadcruiser) that I have seen , being made in 1933 .

It is here I will diverge on to one of the many twists my investigation took , as I researched John Alfred Jennison and his place in early Australian caravanning history. Earlier on, I had joined the caravan forum to research my grandfather, and was receiving a lot of help from the members .
I decided to search the National archives records as well and I was amazed when on my first go, up came John A Jennisons designs and patent application for a pop-top caravan submitted in 1935. As you will see it was a pop top teardrop. This was also particularly interesting because I had only read on the website a few days earlier that the first modern pop top caravan appeared in the 1960s. I immediately ordered copies of those plans and application and was amazed to find his pop top roof was raised using a single winding point, operated by worm drive threaded rod, a method still used by wind up pop top vans today. Needless to say, the caravan website and a lady I talked to the SA museum who keep one of Australias most comprehensive photo collections, were very interested and have since upgraded their records!

In his written submission in support of his patent application , he covers aerodynamics in relation to wind resistance while towing amongst other , then unheard of, reasons for the advantages of pop- tops caravans.

There is a picture showing the pop-top frames under construction , out the back of the Salisbury workshop , note the large pop top roof hole. If you look closely you can see the bracer or travel bracer bar that my grandfather drew on the original photo on the back, his written notes explain what he was trying to do. With the large roof hole for a pop-top and with a wooden frame, he apparently had some problems with the frames rigidity whilst travelling. No doubt roads (or lack of) at the time would not have helped.

Over the years John A Jennison ran his business from a few different locations all within 2-3 klm of each other in the Mosman /Cremorne area of Sydney , trading under the names...Transport Engineering, Trailer Engineering Co, Jennison Trailer Engineering , after WW2 Pathfinder Caravans- Jennison Engineering and in his final years as his health deteriorated Pathfinder Caravans- Jennison and Burrell Engineering. (he brought Craig Burrell his longest serving employee in to the business as a partner ) He built trailers and caravans to specification or order, constructed , sold and hired out his own caravans under the NOMAD brand prior to WW2, and later concentrated on his famous Pathfinder caravans after the war.

Pathfinder caravans were universally acknowledged as the Rolls Royce of caravans . His 1948 pathfinder 16 footer came standard with internal shower and wall mounted radio . His quality of finish and level of appointments set new benchmarks that other caravan manufacturers were forced to follow. An old article , posted by one of the history buffs on the caravan website says that Jennison Pathfinders were the caravan of choice for the travelling showmans guild, with Easter being his busiest time of year, as all the showmen attending the Royal Easter Show would want their caravans annual service completed whilst they were in Sydney. They truly were , as his sales logo said - the ARISTOCRAT OF CARAVANS
I am going to diverge again!!......

Whilst researching my grandfather I was off on another tangent as well. I was trying to find the origins of some labelled photos I had heard of a Mrs Cole and her Wildeshott caravan and of the van being offloaded or loaded aboard the TSS (Twin screwed steamship) Zealandia. No one had ever heard of Wildeshott vans and enquiries to caravan enthusiasts /members in America, Britain and New Zealand had them searching their records with no success.

The Australian Maritme museum helped solve it in part, by supplying me with sailing manifest for the TSS Zealandia , the ship shown and mentioned in 2 of the photos , one of which shows the wildeshott caravan hovering over the hold of the the ship on 8/2/1939. The maritime museum confirmed that the Zealandia left Sydney on 8/2/1939 so I now knew it was not a caravan from overseas but one being exported from Australia , or in this case to Launceston Tas. But its origins and manufacturer were still unknown.

Eventually I contacted a computer boffin mate , and he put the photos through his CSI style computer program ,coming up with a fantastic result. Not only could we now read clearly, the Wildeshott, written on the side of the van but now we could also see that the writing on the front of the caravan read Jennison Coach. Indeed it was a special, made to order caravan for the Coles, by Jennison Engineering. I would also add again, that the originals for these photos, were only 2 X 1 in size.
At the outbreak of WW2 my grandfather scaled back/closed down his business and took a job as a foreman supervisor at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory, reopening the caravan factory at the end of the war in 1945-46.

Nearly finished!!!!!

Before and after the war John A Jennison had a running battle with local Nth Sydney councils who he wrote and petitioned to provide powered caravan sites in their council camping areas. He met a lot of resistance to this but the caravan industry was booming postwar and they eventually saw sense.
He also had another foray into car construction. He had a dream that in the future, families would be able to tow their vans to previously inaccessible locations using 4WD family vehicles, and being a doer he did it!! In 1946/47 John A Jennison bought a number of willys jeeps from US Army surplus and using the skills he learnt in early years working for Holdens coach and body builders chopped the jeeps , lengthened them and rebodied them as a woody 4WD station wagon . Technically the FIRST FOUR WHEEL DRIVE WAGON ever made in Australia. It is not known how many he made , but he did make at least two different models .

I would also point out that Jeep themselves ,did not make a wagon till 1950!

When Jennison customers bought their caravan ,they could select a couple of special extra options.
They could buy for their children, a miniature pathfinder which hooked onto their tin pedal car or a holiday time dog kennel also in the shape of a pathfinder caravan.

Sir Donald Campbell and his crew used Jennison Pathfinders when camped on Lake Eyre during his world land speed record attempts with Bluebird. By late 1940 John A Jennisons health was deteriorating due to kidney failure and because of his increased absences from work ,he brought Craig Burrell, his longest serving employee, into the company as a partner to take up the load.
John Alfred Jennison died at the end of 1950.

My mother and Uncle have always reckoned that our grandfather was a genius well ahead of his time. I know I am biased but having done all this research I strongly agree. John Alfred Jennison was a gifted engineer with an amazing vision for the future of his caravanning industry. It is openly acknowledged, that he set all the benchmarks for quality of finish and levels of appointment and luxury , unheard in caravans of that time. His ideas for pop top caravans, caravans with all the luxury and comforts of home, dedicated caravan camping grounds with powered sites and all the services to support the holidaymakers and 4WD family stationwagons that can take a family and caravan, to places previously thought impossible were years ahead of his time, yet since his passing , have all come true. In short he was a significant visionary and pioneer, in the creation of the modern caravan industry in Australia as we know it today.

[Richard]

The following three photos are of Jennison Pathfinder caravans from 1952 to 1956, with the first photo showing the Jennison Pathfinder pedal car caravan.
Note that all three photos show the very large roof hatch that was one of the distinguishing features of Jennison caravan.

[jennison]

I think despite the date of these advert photos that in both the first and 3rd photo, the van(a 16 footer) is a 52 or earlier model. They both still have the wooden window frames unlike the 2nd pic which is like my 14 foot 53 model with the aluminium frames. My only disclaimer to this is my assumption that they moved to aluminium window frames on ALL models at around the same time, not over a 3 or 4 yr period.
In regards to the roof hatch, their old advertising brochure from 1948 states..... "fully airconditioned with the largest roof hatch in the world"!!!
regards jennison

[Richard]

Hi Jennison.
The old ads make me chuckel sometimes. You wouldnt be able to claim that a van was fully airconditioned these days just cos it got a roof hatch, but I have to admitt that they do have the largest roof hatch in the world.

Richard.

[Richard]

The following photos were supplied by Jeff.

[jennison]

The van behind my grandparents in the first photo (previous posting)is a Nomad - approx 1936 to WW2-of interest the photo (and there is a better one showing it which I hope I sent to Richard) is at Newport Beach camping area in Sydney in 1939, just a little more crowded these days!

[Richard]

Photos to go here.

[Richard]

The Story of the Jennison Pathfinder.

As told by Mrs Doris Jennison in 1952.

What made your husband begin with caravans. I have been asked this over and over again. Nothing more romantic at first, then having a family of three, we found camping the most comfortable, satisfactory and economical type of holiday possible. Moreover, every one had a real holiday and could do pretty much as the mood dictated. Consequently, when I came upon an article on caravanning in an English Magazine, I was very interested.

In the early 1930s John Jennison was the proprietor of a service station in Salisbury, South Australia, where summer temperatures were often well over the 100 mark for days on end.

A sweltering night, and the bed almost too hot to lie on and no hope of sleeping, I wishfully thought out loud of the pleasure it would be to have a caravan parked under a shady tree beside the banks of a cool flowing river. Have you got that magazine handy ? John enquired. I had, and I produced it. He was nothing if not impulsive, and to think a good thought was to get busy with a pencil and paper, and the plans for the first Jennison Caravan were begun.

First came a lot of paper work as to weight and balance, materials and costs etc., then the plans were properly drawn. We were doing our camping in a caravan in the future, and this one was to be ready for the next Christmas holiday period. Work was begun with the aid of a friend who was a wizard with tools, and all the slack periods in the garage were used up and much midnight oil was burned in the months that followed.
However, it was finished at last, at about five minutes to Christmas, and we packed and set off. I cannot say we enjoyed that trip. How would it track ? Would the old Chev truck make the grade up Sellicks Hill with a caravan in tow ?

It fell to my lot to watch it round the curves, to see if there was any tail-wag or hopping or rolling, and if it followed the track of the truck tyres. My neck felt as if I would never get the kink out of it again and my eyes looked like being set cornerwise for good. John himself was like a cat on hot bricks, and woe-betide any of the family who felt like being smart in the wrong place.

The building of that first caravan created such interest in and around Salisbury that it was a leading topic of conversation. Interested spectators held up the work and requests for hiring it when it should be completed were so numerous that the commercial possibilities of caravan building dawned on John Jennison. He did not fancy the risk of hiring it, however, so after we returned from our holiday he sold it and began work on another, which had some improvements on the first.


A second van of this type was built for Mr Hassell of Sydney, and we decided to combine pleasure with business, by delivering it ourselves by road, and with the view of a probable starting up of production in Sydney, which was home to us, although we had been away some thirteen years.

Eventually, with Mr Hassells assistance, we secured a small workshop in Cremorne, and Jennison Road Cruisers went into production. A hire fleet of these little caravans was put on the road. Selling caravans was hard work in those early days. People wanted to try things out first, and hiring really was the education period for the present caravanner. There was certainly no waiting lists of purchasers at that time.

Gradually, as sales were effected, the demand for bigger and better caravans was created, and the domed roof caravan became popular. However, John felt he could improve on these, and a company was formed and bigger premises on Military road were secured. Here, Improvements both in exterior and interior fittings were effected and the lantern roof job came into favour. This was the beginning of roof ventilation. Hight had been a bug bear at first, but by designing a cranked axle which a Sydney firm made up for him he had conquered this.

Some time later, John joined the staff of Nomad T. E. C. as designing engineer, taking with him a new design. This was a streamlined domed roof coach. It was a really beautiful job, but its construction was too costly to be able to produce it profitably in those pre-war days before caravans became a must with so many of the motoring public. Modification was the only answer to this, and the J Model Nomads that followed formed a very fine hire fleet which was always very popular and kept busy.

The war stepped in at this period and caravans had to be shelved. John joined the Small Arms Factory at Lithgow and was later transferred to an Annexe at Marrickville, until the end of the war.

With Peace proclaimed, his mind returned to his old love and he designed the first Pathfinder for Mr J Sturrock, of Mosman. Then Mr J C Burrell joined him, and the Jennison Trailer Engineering Co. came into being.

The Jenison Pathfinder has had improvements here and there in interior fittings, but the streamed line exterior had reached the perfection that had been the ultimate aim over the years, and this has stayed as standard.

The long lifting roof and welled floor giving headroom without excessive overall hight. The elimination of all waste space and the utility of four rooms, lounge, bed dining and kitchen, all fitted into the space of a small sleep out, with a good area of floor space left, has about reached the acme of caravan perfection. Finish in the less seen, as well as in those that are seen parts, have always been strong points of the Pathfinder, and the most common remark of inspecting clients.

We, his family together with the men who worked with him, feel that the Jennison Pathfinder is a fitting memorial to the man whose love of his job made the Pathfinder what it is: The Aristocrat of Caravans.

Mrs D Jennison





S.L 15435667

[Richard]

1954 Article on Jennison Caravans.

It is interesting to note that this April 1954 article mentions that over the past 6 months Jennison have changed over to an aluminium exterior on all of the Pathfinders.

[Richard]

Jennison "Trailmaster" DIY Shells.