During the 1960’s vintage cars were still to be found in the Victorian countryside often under a tree or if one was lucky stored in an old shed or barn.
This story happened that way but by accident as when the Austin in these notes was found it was simply a stroke of luck as I had noticed a wire wheel attatched to the rear of what appeared to be an Austin seven stored in a country town old shed.
For many years Melbourne was the host of an annual motor show where the importers of motor vehicles displayed their latest offerings. The Austin distributor in Victoria state had been ‘Austin distributors ‘since 1928 and at the 1936 motor show they chose to display a cream over black Holden bodied coupe which was dressed up with a rear window blind, timber internal trim and elevated on a large rotating pedestal.
Mr. Hunt was the successful purchaser of the car and it was registered with the numerals 216318 on black and white plates as they were in that period. He was the first owner and retained the vehicle for 36 years where he resided in the Yarra valley.
As a commercial traveller during this period I was always on the lookout for ‘seven’ bits and pieces to assist in the restoration of my 1929 chummy which was finally completed in 1975 but still in the need of fettling. Upon my return trip each month I would travel through the small town from time to time where Mr. Hunt resided and on one occasion around 1968 I noticed the aforementioned car and struck up a conversation with him. I have never been fond of ‘sevens’ post 1934 and unlike other previous callers I never once asked him if the car was for sale, I was only interested in our mutual interest of the Austin seven and he in my restoration progress.
Mr. Hunt owned a male dog which was evident by the condition of the four road wheels as all of them were rusted beyond redemption but it didn’t stop him from traveling the 3 km’s each day to buy the daily paper which he did into his senior years.
In early 1972 Mr. Hunts health was waning and he telephoned me and asked if I would purchase his car. I had acquired a 1929 utility to use on club events whilst the chummy was being restored but the coupe was a dry weather car and his offer had to be considered. By this time the car had only travelled 62000 genuine miles thus I bought the car on the 18/09/72.
Over the next 5 years the Austin participated in numerous events and the only attention needed was a small radiator repair.
12 months after buying the coupe I had embarked on our venture into self employment and as the company car from my previous corporate employer was no longer available the Austin became my daily drive.
In 1976 I was fortunate to be offered the Charles Goodacre 1931 genuine Ulster which was for sale in the U.K. My pursuits in the immediate past had culminated in purchasing a 1929 chummy project and a 1929 boat tailed wasp as future projects. All of the aforementioned and the coupe were sold to conrtibute funds in part for the deposit for the Ulster.
Early in 1977 the coupe was purchased by Alan and Gwen Mander from Adelaide. Alan revealed that he was intending to fully restore the car which he did in the following years and for a long time after completion it was displayed at that the Birdwood museum in South Australia prior to Trevor Mander retrieving it to be used regularly.
The Mander family have been the custodians of this Austin for a longer period than it’s first owner and it is pleasing to see that Alans grandson [Simon] is now continuing the journey of this splendid little car.
