Tag: Motoring History

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Motoring, modernism and a new car showroom.

camdenhistorynotes

A new era in Camden motoring

The beginning of a new phase of Camden’s motoring history created much excitement and anticipation in March 1948 with the opening of the new ultra-modern car showroom for Clintons Motors at 16 Argyle Street.

Camden Clintons Motor Dealers building collage 2019 IW
A collage of the former Clintons Motors car showroom. The style building is influenced by Art Deco streamline detail to the exterior. (I Willis, 2019)

 

The year 1948 was a landmark in Australian motoring history with the launch of first Australian made mass produced motor car – the FX Holden sedan – in November. The National Museum of Australia states that

The Holden transformed suburban Australia, boosted national pride and quickly become a national icon. The car was economical, sturdy and stylish and was immediately popular with the public.

Camden Clintons Motors New Holden on display CN1948Dec2
Clintons Motor promoted the new FX Holden motor car in 1948. The new car was highly anticipated by the Camden community. (Camden News, 2 December 1948)

 

Clinton Motors announced in September 1948 that it would sell the new Holden motor car (Camden News, 23 September 1948). The first Holden car was displayed in the new streamlined showroom in  December 1948 and sold for £675. (Camden News, 16 December 1948)

Camden Clinton Motors New Holden CN1948Dec16
The arrival of the new Holden as it was just called was highly anticipated by the Camden community. (Camden News, 16 December 1948)

 

The new showroom displays motoring modernism

The former Clintons Motor building was an iconic stylish Art Deco Interwar influenced building with its clean streamlined appearance drawn from  American and French influences.

Camden Shirley Rorke Beth Jackman 1953 Clintons SRorke_adjusted
Clintons Motors Showroom with sales assistants Shirley Dunk and Beth Jackman in 1953. The business sold electrical goods as well as motor cars, accessories and tyres. (S Rorke)

 

The new showroom was described on the opening as ‘the most modern department store’ in Camden.

A blue and white building with modernistic streamlined front and wide plate glass fittings. Inside, behind imposing doors set between giant white pillars, are to be seen a range of colourful displays that glistened beneath batteries of flourescent lights. Big placards mounted on plastic coated display stands illustrate the advice which Goodyear gives motorists in obtaining tyres. Other plastic and glass tables hold an unexpectedly large variety of accessories for cars and trucks. (Camden News, 18 March 1948).

The new premises were constructed by Camden builder Jim Bracken on the former site of the Camden tweed mill which burnt down in 1899 and left a standing chimney for many years. During the Interwar period the site was used a horse paddock.

The new premises sold tyres, motor accessories and electrical goods including refrigerators. The showroom  ‘combined all the features that modern merchants in America have developed to improve their service to their customers’. (Camden News, 18 March 1948).

Holden FX 1948 Cover Sales brochure Wikimedia
The cover of the sales brochure for the new Holden motor car in 1948. The new FX Holden created a great deal of excitement throughout the community on its release. (Wikimedia)

 

Tourism and motoring modernism

The former Clintons Motors showroom is one of the first buildings that visitors encounter as they enter the town centre after crossing the Cowpastures Bridge and  the Nepean River floodplain on the former Hume Highway (now Camden Valley Way).

Camden Clinton Motors 1983 JWrigley CIPP

Clintons Motors at 16 Argyle Street Camden in 1983. The business was the Holden dealership for the Camden area. The premises opened in 1948. (Camden Images)

 

The former car showroom is just one of a number of Interwar buildings that visitors can find in the charming town centre. There is the former Bank of New South Wales (Westpac) building, the brick front of the show hall pavilion, the Dunk building car showroom, the former Rural Bank building, the former Stuckey Bakery building, the milk depot. Tucked around the corner is the former Paramount Movie palace and the Presbyterian church. Scattered in and around the town centre are a number of Californian bungalows which add to the atmospherics of the former country town.

 

The Clinton Group has a long history

The Clinton group  has a long history in the Macarthur region starting out a mobile theatre then moving into the Burragorang coalfields. In the 1930s they had a transport business moving coal from the valley to the Camden and Narellan railhead. The family formed Clinton Distributions which became an agent for General Motors Holden on 8 March 1945. Trading at Clinton Motors on the Hume Highway at Narellan the business sold Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, Vauxhalls, Bedfords and Maple Leaf trucks. The family incorporated the business in 1946 (Clinton Motor Group) and moved into Camden in February, (Camden News, 21 February 1946) opening the new showroom in 1948. The business operated on this site until 1992 then moved to the former site of Frank Brooking car yard and motor dealership at the corner of Cawdor Road and Murray Streets.

Camden Clintons Motors GMH Dealer CN1945Mar8
Clintons Motors opened for business at its Narellan Hume Highway site  in 1945. (Camden News, 8 March 1945)
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A camera captures a living history moment

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A camera captures a living history moment

It is not often that the historian can get a view into the past through the lens of the present in real time. I was able to this in Camden New South Wales recently at a photo shoot for the History Magazine for the Royal Australian Historical Society.

camden laura jane arygle st photo shoot 2019 iwillis
A photo shoot in Camden NSW for the History Magazine of the Royal Australian Historical Society. Model Laura Jane, photographer Jeff McGill. Location Argyle Street Camden 2018 (IWillis)

 

Photographer Jeff McGill and author Laura Jane were the participants in this activity. We all walked along Camden’s historic main thoroughfare, Argyle Street, which still echoes of the Victorian period.  Our little group made quite a splash and drew a deal of attention from local women who swooned over the ‘gorgeous’ vintage dress worn by Laura Jane.

sydney david jones market street 1938 sam hood dos slnsw
Sydney’s David Jones Market Street store was one of the city’s most elegant shopping precincts. The city had a number of department stores that attracted women from all over rural New South Wales. This image was taken by noted Sydney photographer Sam Hood in 1938. (SLNSW)

 

Mid-20th century enthusiast Laura Janes lives the lifestyle in dress, makeup and hairstyle and made the perfect foil for her History article on Sydney fashion, the David Jones store and their links to the fashion house of Dior.  Laura Jane modelled her 1950s Dior style vintage dress  in front of Camden’s storefronts that were reminiscent of the period. With matching handbag, gloves, hat, hairstyle, stiletto heels, and makeup she made a picture to behold captured by Campbelltown photographer Jeff.

camden laura jane looking class 2019 iwillis lowres
A photo shoot for the History Magazine of the Royal Australian Historical Society in Argyle Street Camden. The location is Looking Class retail outlet in a building from the Interwar period. The entry tiles are reminiscent of the mid-20th century that are representative of the period for model Laura Jane’s Dior style gown. (I Willis)

 

Laura Jane encompasses the experience of the country woman going to town when Camden women would dress-up in their Sunday best to shop in Camden or catch the train to the city.

Pansy Camden train crossing Hume Hwy L Manny Camden Images
The ‘Pansy’ Camden train crossing Hume Highway at Narellan in the mid-20th century. This was a light rail service which used a tanker locomotive and ran as a mixed freight and passenger service. The service ran several times a day  between Camden and Campbelltown railway stations. Here the train has just left Narellan Railway Station on its way to the next stop at Currans Hill. (L Manny/Camden Images)

 

A city shopping expedition would entail catching the Pansy train at Camden Railway Station, then change steam trains at Campbelltown Railway Station, then another change at Liverpool Railway Station from steam train to the electric suburban service for Central Railway Station in Sydney. The suburban electric trains did not arrive at Campbelltown until 1968.

burragorang valley women 1923 claude jenkins' service car at the bluff light six buick cipp
This image shows country women from the Burragorang Valley coming to town in 1923. They are done up in hats, gloves and stockings and travel in the valley service car run by Claude Jenkins. He ran a daily service between Camden and the Valley using this Light Buick Six Tourer. Here they are stopped at The Bluff lookout above the Burragorang Valley. (Camden Images)

 

City outings for country women often happened around the time of the Royal Easter Show when the whole family would go to the city. The family would bring their prized horses and cattle to compete with other rural producers for the honour and glory of winning a sash. While the menfolk were busy with rural matters their women folk would be off to town to shop for the latest fashions for church and show balls or to fit out the family for the upcoming year.

sydney royal easter show cattle parade sam hood 1938 slnsw 17102h
The Sydney Royal Easter Show was a regular outing for the whole family. The men would show their prized animals in the various sections hoping for a sash, while the women went shopping in town. This image by noted Sydney photographer Sam Hood shows the cattle parade for Herefords at the 1938 Royal Easter Show. (SLNSW)

 

Country women from further away might stay-over at swish city hotels like the up-market elegant Hotel Australia near Martin Place. These infrequent city outings were a treat and a break from the drudgery of domesticity and women would take the opportunity to combine a shopping trip with a visit to see a play or the Tivoli theatre.

The intrinsic nature of the city outings for country women were captured by the Sydney street photographers.   They operated around the Martin Place, Circular Quay, Macquarie and Elizabeth Street precincts and are depicted in an current photographic exhibition at the Museum of Sydney.

sydney hotel australia 1932 wikimedia
Sydney’s Hotel Australia was the city’s most elegant hotel on Martin Place and Castlereagh Street opened in 1891. The country family would stay here for a special treat when the Royal Easter Show was on at the Moore Park Showground site. This image is from 1932. (Wikimedia)

 

The images of the Sydney street photographer captured of moment in time and their most prolific period was during the 1930s to the 1950s. The country woman would be captured on film as she and a friend wandered along a city street. They would be given a token and they could purchase a memento of their city visit in a postcard image that they could purchase at a processing booth in a city-arcade. The Sydney street photographer captured living history and has not completely disappeared from Sydney street.

sydney street photographers mofsyd 2019 iwillis
Sydney street photographers were a common part of the city streetscape between the 1930s and the 1960s. They captured Sydney street life in a way that was unique and along with it provide the viewer with an insight into Sydney’s cultural life. These images are from the photographic exhibition on at the Museum of Sydney. (I Willis, 2019)

 

Laura Jane, whose lifestyle encompasses the mid-20th century, in an expression of the living history movement in motion.  The living history movement is a popular platform for experiencing the past and incorporates those who want to live the past in the present, aka Laura Jane, or relive it on a more occasional basis as re-enactors who relive the past for a moment. There are many examples of the latter at historic sites in Australia, the USA, and the UK.

The Camden photo shoot was an example how a moment in time can truly be part of living history where the photographer captures a glimpse of the past in the present. An example of how the present never really escapes the past.

There are host of these stories in my Pictorial History of Camden and District.

Cover Pictorial History Camden District Ian Willis 2015
Front Cover of Ian Willis’s Pictorial History of Camden and District (Kingsclear, 2015)

 

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A country town interwar garage

camdenhistorynotes

An interwar garage in a country town

Located in the upper reaches of the Williams River valley is the sleepy little town of Dungog nestled between the ridges that run through the town centre. A picturesque country setting.

Landscape Dungog view from LO 2018
The little town of Dungog on the Williams River lies in a picturesque valley in the Hunter region of NSW (DSC)

 

The town is characterised by its wide streets, a legacy from the colonial days when it was necessary to be able to turn around a bullock wagon.

An interesting and colourful collection of Colonial, Edwardian and Interwar buildings dot the town centre that make the commercial precinct of the town.

Dungog Dowling Street 1910 MWilliams
This postcard shows Dowling Street Dungog around 1910. The view today has many similarities with this picture. (M Williams)

 

The blacksmith was one of the key trades in Dungog as it was in most rural settlements in colonial Australia and in the homeland of rural England. Dungog’s 300 dairyfarmers certainly made use of the local smithy.

The motor car made an appearance in the early 20th century and the local blacksmiths turned their hand to car maintenance. The smithy repaired farmer’s wagons and ploughs then moved to look after motor cars.

Dungog Davey&Olsen Garage Front 2018
This is the front street view of the Davey & Olsen Garage. Established in 1920 it replaced a blacksmith shop and has many features characteristic of the Interwar period. There is street location of the petrol bowser and the rear workshop retains many features of the period. (I Willis, 2018)

 

Some blacksmith’s shops turned into the local garage with a petrol pump on the footpath and service workshop out the back.  Dungog has a number of garages and one of these is the Ford dealership and NRMA representative at Davey and Olsen.

The Davey and Olsen garage is found at 160-168 Dowling Street Dungog and is part of the 19th century commercial precinct made up of traditional trades and services along Dowling Street.

Dungog Davey&Olsen Garage 1920s 2018
A view of the Davey and Olsen garage from the Interwar period. The building is incorporated into the 2018 building when the images are compared with each other. (Davey & Olsen)

 

The family business acquired the Ford dealership in 1925 and the garage grew to serve the growing number of car owners which was encouraged by the construction of the Chichester Dam (op. 1926).

As the number of dairy farmers in the area declined the pressures of development passed the town by and the local garages and other buildings in the town centre have retained many of their original features.

Dungog Davey&Olsen Historic Plaque 2018
A history plaque located on the street frontage of the Davey and Olsen garage building. The plaque was placed on the building in 2008 by the Dungog Historical Society. A number of other historic buildings also have history plaques. (I Willis, 2018)

 

The morphology of the Dowling Street business precinct is similar to the town of the early 20th century.  The streetscape has changed little in over 80 years.

 

Learn more about the history of Dungog NSW

Dungog Heritage Study Review 2014

Michael Williams, A History in Three Rivers: Dungog Shire Heritage Study Thematic History. (NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, Heritage Council of NSW, Dungog Shire Council,  2014)

Dungog Royal Hotel

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Greens Motorcade Museum Park Leppington, a lost Sydney icon

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One of the icons of the southwestern Sydney fringe that has long disappeared was the car museum and picnic ground know as Greens Motorcade Museum Park at Leppington on the Old Hume Highway.

booklet-greens-motorcade-museum-cover
Cover of booklet produced by Ian Willis A Selection of a Collection, Greens Motorcade Museum (1981) that told the story of cars in the museum collection (I Willis)

 

The car museum opened in 1974 and had a collection of cars under cover in a museum hall. Museum volunteer Ray Sanderson recalls that the manager was David Short. He

was George Green’s right-hand man of his large collection, not just at the museum but storage sheds about the country. Not far from the museum was an old chook farm shed (commercial size) [that] housed more unrestored vehicles.

On the car museum site there was a re-creation of a early 20th century village with The Oaks Tea Rooms, the old Beecroft Fire Station, a garage complete with hand pumped petrol, and train ride which was a former cane train from Queensland. Rides were also provided by a 1927 Dennis Fire Engine and a 1912 English Star.

 

The Beecroft Cheltenham History Group states that the fire station was carefully shifted piece by piece from its original site to the museum park. They state:

In 1975 changes in equipment and the expanding number of personnel meant that the oldest fire station building was carefully taken down and reconstructed at Leppington in Green’s Motorcade Museum Park.

greens-motorcade-mus-flyer2-rsanderson
Greens Motorcade Museum Leppington Flyer 1970s (R Sanderson)

 

The museum collection was owned by woolbroker George Green who lived at Castlecrag in Sydney and was a member of a number car clubs in the Sydney area. George Green was a keen collector of Rolls Royce motor vehicles and foundation member of the Rolls Royce Owners Club of Australia in 1956. He was also a member of Veteran Car Club of Australia (1954) and The Vintage Sports Car Club of Australia (1944), which holds the annual George Green Rally in his honour.

gmm-tearoomfireengine-rsanderson
Greens Motorcade Museum with 1927 Dennis Fire Engine and behind them are The Oaks Tea Room and the old Beecroft Fire Station 1970s (R Sanderson)

 

George Green owned the museum in partnership with car dealer and collector Frank Illich. The manager of the museum was David Short of Camden from its foundation to its closure in 1982 when George Green died and the collection was auctioned off on site.

On the old Hume Highway the visitor and their family were met by the steam traction engine that was originally used to drive the timber cutting machinery  at the Woods Timber Mill at Narooma on the New South Wales South Coast. It was presented to the museum by Mrs Woods.

gmm-traction-engine-rsanderson
Former Narooma Woods Timber Mill steam traction engine which met visitors on the Old Hume Highway on the driveway that went up to the museum front gate (R Sanderson)

 

There was also a large picnic area which hosted many community events, car club days, children’s Christmas parties, corporate functions, and other events.

booklet-greens-motorcade-museum-bw-p3
Page from the booklet produced by Ian Willis A Selection of a Collection Greens Motocade showing the interior of the museum hall 1981 (I Willis)

 

The Vintage Vehicle Car Club of Australia held its foundation family day event at the picnic ground at Greens Motocade Museum on 21 August 1977.

 

vvcca-greens-motocade-21091977
First family day outing of the Veteran Vehicle Club of Australia 21 August 1977 (VVCA)
vvca-at-greens-motocade-museum-21081977
VVCA Family Day at Greens Motorcade Museum showing the extensive picnic grounds at the rear of the museum 21 August 1977 (VVCA)

 

The museum occasionally supplied its ‘old cars’ for film shoots, commercials and corporate events all over Sydney. At one time the museum management organised shopping centre car displays across Sydney, with a display at Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre after it opened in 1981.

One car in the collection was a Leyland P76 which was an Australian icon.

Another icon in the museum collection was a 1922 Stanley Steamer Car. The Powerhouse Museum states:

In about 1958 the car was purchased by George Green who from the mid 1950s collected some 100 vintage and veteran cars which he displayed at Green’s Motorcade Museum at Leppington, NSW, from 1974. In 1971 Green swapped the Stanley for a 1904 Vauxhall which belonged to Allan F. Higgisson of 22 Banner Street, O’Connor, ACT. Higgisson was keen to work on the Stanley, while Green wanted to restore a veteran car he could enter in the annual London to Brighton car rally. It was an unwritten agreement that should Higgisson tire of restoring the Stanley it would be returned to Green.

 

The National Museum of Australia’s has a 1913 Delaunay-Belleville Tourer which was part of the Greens Motorcade Museum Collection. Read story of the 1913 Delauney- Belleville Tourer at the National Museum of Australia and here. As well in the NMA Collection Database here