Hello again!
We are again trying out this new way of hosting a weekly coffee run. Last week we had an excellent post from Doug of a virtual tour of his shed, which was very comprehensive and entertaining.
What have you been up to this week? Any interesting ways of passing the time during the lockdown? Or have you made any progress on your cars? Please feel free to share below.
Today it will be 29°C and sunny in Camden, a lovely day for some virtual Veteran motoring! P.S. If you are having trouble with logging in or setting up an account, contact me at abbeypnewman@gmail.com
I should be spending the day varnishing the artillery wheels on my Oldsmobile, or at least mowing the weeds! But I'm spending today drinking coffee and finishing off a video of old photos sourced online that shows some of the vehicles used by our ANZACs in WW1 and WW2, I hope to upload it to Facebook tonight. I figured if we can't use our heritage vehicles for Anzac Day parades etc. I'd find another way to show the cars and trucks were used by our defence forces.
I've also been doing another line of research this week into one of my old favourite topics - charabancs, and along the way stumbled on to this fantastic photo of a chain drive FIAT at Deniliquin, caption says after a 45 mile journey from Murgha Station. Wonder if it's still in the Deni area?
Image online at https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/1ocrdrt/ADLIB110311031
Hi Jenny, sounds like a lovely way to spend the day! The video for ANZAC day sounds wonderful - if you would like us to feature it on the media section of the website, send us a link once it's finished!
Hi9 everyone
Normally I would be arriving at Curry Reserve at about this time wondering how many will be turning up - and thinking about what goodies there might be - Robyn's slices, Jan's cup cakes, and Bruce will have either fruit cake or a jam roll. In stead I was sorting Edison Diamond Discs.
I wonder what you are all up to
Working on a 1937 Daimler Light Straight Eight belonging to a friend. I have had the water pump on and off many times to fix a leak. It was not the seal. Made up a pressure test which I should have done first and found the problem. Should be OK this time - I hope!
Nice! At least you get faster with practice. Love Daimler's use of the word the term "light" with a straight eight. I guess light is a relative term.
Thanks for sharing
I was looking at some old maps yesterday which reminded me that there was no direct road to Newcastle for many years. Here's a bit about the bridge across the Hawkesbury from Wikipedia:
Peats Ferry, a ferry operated by George Peat from 1847 until the 1890s, provided a local crossing of the Hawkesbury River: at that time there was no direct road between Sydney and Newcastle. The ferry service was made redundant by the completion of the Sydney-Newcastle railway in 1889 with the opening of the first Hawkesbury River railway bridge. Between 1925 and 1930 the New South Wales Public Works Department, and subsequently the Main Roads Board, undertook construction of the road between Hornsby and Gosford, in order to provide a direct road route between Sydney and Newcastle. Upon completion of the roadworks in 1930 Peats Ferry was reinstated between Kangaroo Point and Mooney Mooney Point, pending construction of the bridge.
Construction of the bridge commenced in 1938 but it was not completed until May 1945.[1][8] Prior to construction of the Hornsby-Gosford road via Peats ferry the most direct road route between Sydney and Newcastle was via the Old Northern Road via Wisemans Ferry and Cessnock, built in the 1820s.
The Sydney-Hornsby-Gosford-Newcastle route was named as part of the Great Northern Highway in 1928, and renamed as part of the Pacific Highway in 1931.
Ther's an old DMR video about the bridge on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwnnamyZwcY
Some of our older members may remember going on the punt before the bridge was finished.
The Great Northern Road and its saving by the Convict Trail Project are other passions of mine. I am fortunate to have walked sections of the GNR in the company of archaeologists and historians, and to be one of the last to be able to motor through to historic Clare's Bridge in 2000 after its fantastic restoration initiated by the Project.
In 1927 the NSW Motorists Guide showed the Wiseman's Ferry - Devine's Hill
Shepherd's Gully - Road as the main route to the north. The punt at Webb's Creek,
Wiseman's Ferry was also in operation, but was considered a secondary route. Traffic to
the Hunter used Devine's Hill and Shepherd's Gully to access the Macdonald Valley and
then follow the newly completed Mogo Creek route. This use of the Old Great North Road
continued until the 1930s when the Pacific Highway was opened. The Old Great North
Road was the only route in World War 11 when the Pacific Highway ferries were removed
for war use. (Old Great North Road conservation Plan (2005) p.2-8.) https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/-/media/OEH/Corporate-Site/Documents/Parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/Conservation-management-plans/old-great-north-road-conservation-management-plan.pdf
There are period photos of cars in the teens and pre-1930s on the Great North Road just can't locate any at this time! I have harboured a hope that one day the NPWS would allow a few veteran and vintage cars and some horse drawn vehicles onto the restored sections of the Great North Road just for old times sake and an amazing photo opportunity. A ranger I knew on the Convict Trail Project said that as great as my idea was, he knew the NPWS management would not even contemplate such as PR opportunity.
If you've never looked at the history of the GNR there's plenty online about it, even better, when we are allowed out again, go and walk Devine's Hill, Wisemans Ferry, and do the the Convict Trail tour (you can do a fair bit from your car) - maps free at https://www.convicttrail.com.au/
As it happens I downloaded the conservation plan like two days ago.
Here is a scan from my 1927 third edition of NSW Motorists Road Guide published by HEC Robinson but originally put together by Joseph Pearson. I have an earlier edition but can't find it at present nor my 1913 Wilson's Sydney street directory.
And here's the description of the route
I have a 1914 print of "The Motor Traffic Act (No 5 1909) and Regulations". Remember how right hand turns had to be made going past each other rather than under each other as per now? Remember those blessed silent cops?
Or the old joke when someone hit a bump. "Was that a silent cop? Not sure but it is now."
And as a veteran motorist you had to slow down to 6 miles per hour (about 10 kph) when passing a school with the children coming out and 15 miles per hour (about 24 kph) within the boundaries of any city,
The whole act and regulations complete with index and formats for licences etc runs to only 40 pages and they are small pages - only just bigger than A6 (which is a quarter of A4). I shudder to think how big the act plus regulations would be today. I found this in one of the veteran cars I acquired. I find it quite fascinating. If people are interested I could do some better quality scans.
Looked on eBay. A 1937 edition ran to 164 pages - and may well have been larger pages too.
Hi Doug & everyone. Looking forward to getting back to our regular Coffee Runs. Just filling in time today upgrading my solar low voltage household lighting system. I built it about thirty years ago with an imported small solar panel & made my own control panel & switch gear as nothing was readily available in Australia at the time. Have bought a much larger solar panel, regulator & some heavier wiring. This will keep me busy for a few days. REMEMBER! Stay isolated & keep your batteries charged. Take care, Les Watton
If Vivian were to ask you what you were doing the answer might well be "Watts up, Doc!"
Well I am signing off for the present. Maybe next month we can have a real coffee run but if not we can meet up here again - and hopefully a few more will join us.
But please use the forum in the mean time. I think it's a great way to communicate.
And a big thank you to Abbey for setting it up.
Doug