Our Touring Past

Chesney Caravans.
621-627 Gympie Rd. Chermside. Queensland (click on address for location)

Chesney caravans were originally started in Queensland and by the mid 70's was one of Australias largest caravan manufactures.

The following link will take you back to the main website to look at the Chesney brochures.

Brochure Collection

1951 Chesney Featherweight Ad.
Click on the following Pages to view more Chesney Brochures.

1966 Chesney Flyer.
Page 1

1968 Chesney Aluminium frame Article
1968 Checney Aero Frame Ad
1969 Chesney Brochure.
Front Cover Page 2

Page 3

Back Cover

1954 Chesney Feather weight Ad.

1954 Chesney Featherweight still with its original logo.

A 1959 ad for the Chesney Pacemaker.

I came across this little article the other day in an August 1976 edition of Caravan World.
It is a rally report for the Chesney Caravan Club of NSW of which Dad and Mum were members of from about 1971 right up till the club eventually folded, we still have the club generator and 40 ' x 40 ' marque.

My eyes nearly poped out when I read down the report with my Mum, June Potter winning the raffel. Its funny as I told Dad about the article and he still has the pale green "Corel" dinner set.

1951 Featherweight

This item from Modern Motor, April 1951 gives some details of the trip performed by the Fiat 500 with the Feathweight van. The earlier posted advert gives greater detail of the van. I think I'd have rather taken the train, the van looks big enough to use as a garage for the car!

George

Around 1978 the Chesney Caravan Club decided that the dual axle trailer that carried all of the club stuff was getting too hard to get to the runs, so the decision was made to purchase a small truck that could carry all of the gear and a member could also tow their van to the run with it as well.
So a old International truck was purchased, the back was modified, some repairs done with several working bee's. ( the old club trailer can be seen in the back ground.)
The truck was then painted and ready for the road. Here it is with Dad and Mums Chesney Pacesetter caravan.
The old International truck with the sign writing finished.
A weekend away, with some of the gear that was taken to all of the club runs.

A 1966 ad for Chesney with the revelation that " you could tow two of these vans with the average car ."

It is also interesting that the Sydney distributor is GLIDA Caravans, " Australias largest caravan retailer. "

I found this little article in a 1951 Motor manual. It is written by H Chesney on the pros and cons of using timber or steel chassis.

A 1953 Chesney Featherweight ad.