Last Day of Summer! Fourex Beer Keeps You Cool, 1929.

We have discovered a trove of newspaper advertising for Castlemaine Perkins and Fourex beer. In the late 1920's and 1930's the number of individual ads was prolific and original advertising copy seemed to generated for each edition of the newspaper, with the subjects being seasonal (lot's of cricket references) and the hot topics of the day. Below is one which makes reference to floods. Seems that no topic or event was off limits when flogging the amber ale.

To see more from our forage for Castlemaine Perkins and Fourex advertising, follow the label below.

Citations:

1931 'Advertising.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld.:1864-1933), 9 February, p. 5, viewed 28 February, 2011

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21667896

1929 'Advertising.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld.:1864-1933), 16 November, p. 9, viewed 28 February, 2011

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21492552

Case of the Missing Ford Super Coach.......Solved!

 

 

This story was originally published on the blog Sando and Sando and we republish with thanks.

 

I always thought the Greyhound Coaches brand was imported from the U.S.A. But no, it was an early Australian brand that ended up in the US. After WWII the Streamliner coaches were a futuristic vision of road transport and were the pride of the Greyhound fleet, the streamliner styling influenced the architecture of motorcoach terminals across the US.

The photo above is a group of streamliners at an unidentified location in Brisbane, Australia ca.1946. The second from left bus has a Charles Hope body powered by a Ford flathead V8, the five buses from the right are GMH / Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Bedford Transits.The gem in this picture is the bus on the far left, a 1938 Ford Super Coach. The coach was built on a Ford chassis in Brisbane; Australia by local company Watt Coaches and serviced the Brisbane to Tenterfield route from 1946.

The bus had an unusual centre door entry, and a distinctive four strip deco style lengthwise adornment on it's side. It sported luggage racks and has a rear boot/trunk that may have provided additional storage; oversized wheel arch panels on the front capped by swept back, bug eye headlights and the panels over the rear wheels gave the coach a sleek, low-rider look. It would have looked a treat in it's day, as it trundled the roads between Brisbane and Tenterfield. The Super Coach would have been well known and a real head turner for it's time and many folks would have fond memories of trips taken on that bus and the events surrounding them. Perhaps some even wonder what happened to the Ford Super Coach from the Greyhound Streamliner fleet?

I live in a mixed residential/light industrial area in an inner Brisbane suburb. We have a convenience store but also have panel beaters, fabricators, warehouses and overgrown vacant lots, one of the lots is a yard for retired buses. I often pass it as part of my daily routine and one day hopped the fence. The yard holds about 15-20 buses in various states of disrepair, many decayed. I walked the up and down the rows of buses and sitting up in the back corner of the lot, it's rear covered in weeds and shrubbery, was the Ford Super Coach. As soon as I saw it, I new it would have to be a bus of some note, so I did a bit of quick research and sure enough, I'd found an old Greyhound Streamliner, and a special one at that.

 

 

There's no doubt that this is the 1936 Ford Super Coach Greyhound Streamliner. The poor Greyhound is in a state of decay but I would not say that it is beyond saving, it has been pretty well stripped but the deco style embellishment down the side is still there. The special thing about this bus is its timber frame and use of VJ panelling.

In the interests of safety I didn't hop aboard but the side door is missing and you can have a look in. The lining of the roof has fallen away and exposed the timber frame and some of the electrical wiring is still there, intact. The floor of the bus is timber and the VJ planks are exposed in the step area of the entrance. The door is missing but must have opened outwards with the hinge positioned on the left side, latching on the right. The front wheel arch panel is also fabricated of VJ boards, you can see where the outer skin has separated from the timber. has a hand painted "The Greyhound" on it's side and the front roof panel; however the last paint livery that can be made out is branded Kangaroo Klipper and sports an early version of the QANTAS Airlines jumping kangaroo.

 

Interior, looking to rear.

 

VJ panelling of centre entry step.

 

Metal skin separating from VJ panels of front wheel arch.

 

Kangaroo insignia; door latch can be seen top right.

 

This Super Coach has some decay but is not so bad that it couldn't be saved and refurbished. For now it has a nice spot, rear end up against a high wall and is relatively sheltered from the elements and the western sun. If anyone has any memories of a trip taken on this Super Coach or perhaps your Great Uncle used to drive it between Brisbane and Tenterfield, please let me know; it would be good to share the stories with others.

Original Images Copyright http://www.sandoandsando.blogspot.com/

Additional Images sourced from http://www.nla.gov.au/pict/

Angus & Robertson Grand Opening of Australia's Biggest Bookshop...30 Years Ago.

 

 

The Angus and Robertson brand was in the news this week, for all the wrong reasons. The Red Group have faltered and it all looks pretty sad for the Australian book retailing business in general. Here's a full page advertisement from the The Australian Women's Weekly in 1980 when the book selling business was a big affair, 30 years go. Angus and Robertson were one of Australia's earliest book publishers and later a large store front retail business. One of their most famous publications would be Clancy of The Overflow, by AB Banjo Paterson. However the most valuable collectible books published by Angus and Robertson are those of Australian artist, Norman Lindsay. There is a copy of Two Hundred Etches (200 Etches), Norman Lindsay for sale at a bookstore in Melbourne for AU$7000.00+. That would be nice reading.

 

Citation:

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4398013

Vintage Ford Automobiles, 8 Rare Photos. Early example of a Ute / Pick-up Truck!

A rare set of 8 photos of early Ford motor cars, the bodies of which were made for Qld conditions. The Station Utility car with removable back seat is one of the earliest examples of what we fondly know today as the ute, in the USA it would be a pick-up.
Left to right and top to bottom: Ford Touring Car, Ford Roadster, Post Office Mail Van, Station Utility Car, Leather Merchants Delivery Van, Grocers Delivery Van, Bakers Delivery Van, Butchers Delivery Van.

Citation:

1916 'A FEW TYPES OR BODIES FITTED TO "FORD "CARS NOW RUNNING IN QUEENSLAND.', The Queenslander(Brisbane, Qld. : 1866-1939), 2 December, p. 27,viewed 19 January, 2011

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23611484

Flood Rubberneckers on Victoria Bridge, Brisbane - 1931.

 

There has been much talk in recent days of rubberneckers impeding the flood recovery effort. Seems that Brisbane residence enjoy getting out and about to watch the spectacle of their flooded city.This photo shows the bustling crowds gathered to watch floodwaters pass under the Victoria Bridge Saturday, February 7th, 1931 .

 

Original caption reads:

Throughout Saturday streams of pedestrians and vehicles passed over Victoria Bridge in order to view the rushing flood waters.

 

Citation:

1931 'Graphic Flood Scenes in Brisbane and Suburbs.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864-1933), 9 February, p. 7, viewed 16 January, 2011.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21667696

Rail Tunnel Proposed for South Brisbane - 1937

An interesting little map that shows a proposed rail tunnel from Highgate Hill through to the Stanley St. wharves. The tunnel would have emerged close to where the South East Freeway now cuts through for it's cross-river stretch into the Brisbane central business district. To my knowledge the tunnel never came to fruition but if it did,  the Northern portal would have been reclaimed by heavy engineering work of the freeway development in the early 1970's. The coast of the project was estimated at 80,000 pounds, you can read the full article linked through the citation.

Citation:

1937 '£80,000 TUNNEL SUGGESTED.', The Courier-Mail(Brisbane, Qld. : 1933-1954), 7 July, p. 14, viewed 7 January, 2011.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37046231

A Brief Photo History of the Plus-size Model.

I thought this was a mighty stylish looking etching and found it intriguing that the Plus-size apparel market seemed well developed in 1926.  I had a quick look in Wikipedia about the history of larger size apparel but the only historical reference I could find was for Plus-size models, claiming that the market developed in North America in the 1940's.
The photo below was published in 1932. The variety in the  bodily proportions of the models would seem to indicate  that Plus-size marketing and models have been with us for about 80 years.

Original caption reads:
Berlei foundation garments, demonstrated on living models, and providing the correct line for the new season's frocks, were part of the fashion parade yesterday at M'Whirter's. The parades will be continued daily up to Friday

Citations:

1926 'Advertising.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864-1933), 22 June, p. 18, viewed 3 January, 2011 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21052450

1932 'No title.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864-1933), 21 September, p. 14, viewed 3 January, 2011 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22014808