Commer Van Oz Tour September Update!..

September Update!.

Distance since leaving home 15800Miles

Our tour of Tasmania ended on the 21st of September and although we had been there for nearly four months we still had not seen everything that Tas has to offer.

During September we added the West and North coastal towns to our list of visited places.  They included the unique mining town of Queenstown and beautiful Strahan, a long lost mining ghost town called Luina, then onto Burnie and picturesque Penguin. 

During much of our stay in Tasmania we based ourselves at Swansea, a friendly and very scenic holiday town on the sunny East Coast.  We rented a old holiday shack for the winter and planned our trips to explore the island from there.  The people of Swansea enjoy mild winters compared to much of Tasmania and they reflect the relaxed and friendly atmosphere that the town has.  Between trips to explore this beautiful state Amelia attended prep school and Amanda worked at the local Child Care Center.
The Commer was well received by the locals and we were told the historic local store 'Morris Stores' established in 1838 and still operating today, used a Commer like ours in the 1960's for delivery's.  Morris store is treasure trove where you will find everything you need at great prices.

As we leave Swansea we feel a little sad as it is a very easy place to fall in love with.

Visions of Swansea.

To the fantastic people of this seaside town we say a big thank you for making us so welcome and inviting us into your community.  

Approaching Queenstown.

Rain Forest, near Queenstown.

The Eagle, River cruise Strahan.

Meeting the Skipper

Cows grazing in the long paddock,  Gotta love it.

More old Mining tunnels

Smelter ruins to explore.

Mining town of Zeehan with Gaiety Theater far left.

Gaiety Theater, preserved

Gold mine ruins.

Another interesting place visited was the ghost town of Luina.
Actually we chose the spot as a overnight camp and soon realised we were in a the remains of a once thriving small mining town.  A quick google and we found the photo below.  A coincidence that we had set up camp in the same street as the picture.
Luina was established in 1876 during the gold rush and once had over 70 houses a School, Shop, Hotel & Post office. With the closure of the nearby Tin Mine in 1986 the town soon became abandoned and the site is now managed by forestry Tasmania.

Luina, Scene of car accident 1970, Commer is parked today where yellow vehicle is in the 1970 picture.

We had originally planned to prospect for gold in the area but after finding the remains of Luina I couldnt resist swinging the detector around the old town site, below is some more 'articraps' found near our camp.

Some of the items found on the house sites around our camp,

with 15 pre-decimal coins including one silver three pence.

Amelia, enjoyed playing Archaeologist and trying to restore some of the cars.

All the hill climbs around Tasmania have taken their toll on the old Commer and this months mechanical challenges included a blown head/manifold gasket and a faulty starting motor.

Replacing blown gaskets, leaking heater tap, repairing damaged starter, resetting valve clearances and full service ready to continue tour on the mainland.  With the electric starter out of action it was out with the starting handle until repairs were made.  luckily our spare parts dept "the trailer" had the parts needed ex stock and i was able to fit them at Swansea before heading back to the ferry.

On Commer Vans

Contrary to popular belief the Commer PB van is actually very easy to work on.  The floor is easily removed in sections to gain access to the engine bay and there is plenty of room to carry out repairs. A chap in the UK has successfully transplanted a Supercharged V8 into his Commer Van.

See this link http://forum.commervanfan.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6244

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In early September we had my Mother and Aunt come to join us on our adventures for a few days.

The Commer had a well deserved rest and we hired a car with enough seating for all of us and we headed of on a short tour of the south to show our guests some of Tasmania's highlights.  It was nice to have some visitors and Amelia loved spending time with her Nan.

Posing with the hire car and enjoying a bit of sunshine on the beach at Dolphin Sands/Swansea.

Historic Port Arthur,

convict penal colony ruins

Even Mum enjoyed exploring old tunnels, this one near Strathgordon.

                                                     

After Mum had left we had some more visitors Joe, Crystal and Sunny from Qld, we had met them five months earlier in Canberra and like us they were on tour in a van and travelling with a five year old.  Amelia and Sunny enjoyed a few days playing together and it was great to meet up with fellow travelers again.

Sunny & Amelia with their rigs!.

With our visitors continuing with their travels it was time for us to break camp and make our way back to Devonport and onto the ferry to Melbourne.  The ferry trip back was a lot smoother than the trip over and we arrived in Melbourne at 6AM.  We were welcomed back to Melbourne by Alex, Amelia's cousin and it was great to see her before we headed out of the city.

Goodbye Tasmania, its time to leave

Arrival at Port Melbourne, Ferry in background.

Alex, Amelias Cousin met us in sunny Melbourne.

Former Rootes factory Port Melbourne. Our Commer was assembled here or at the Chrysler plant in SA.

Before leaving Melbourne we stopped outside the building that was once the main Rootes assembly plant.  Almost all Rootes vehicles including Hilman, Humber, Singer, Commer were assembled here from complete knock down kits exported from the UK. Unfortunatley I am not 100% sure if our Commer was assembled here or at the Chrysler Commercial Vehicle Factory in South Australia as Chrysler assembled many Commer's.

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On Commer History,

Did  you know? 

Commer's were used by the British forces throughout the first World War

This Commer is MYRA a famous truck that served with the 70th Motorised Transport Division and carried ammunition to the front lines.  Driven by Private Joseph Coxhead 'pictured'. also known as “Mournful Mike” or “Coffee Coxhead” and his mate Private John Chisholm, both of The Army Service Corps.  MYRA was known as The “Crack” of the Siege Parks and from the interior to the coast as The Flying Commer

The Pride of the “B” Outfits

Myra and her brave crew did their part in supplying the front lines throughout the conflict.
Below is a list of some of the places MYRA worked during the War.

Rouen, Albert, Bapaume, Biefvillers, Hazenbrouck, Cassel, Les Moires, Caestres, Cartigny, Aizecourt, Peronne, Roisel, Longavesnes, Linnent (?), Ham, Cerisy, Corbie, Bray, Flesselles, Belloy –sur-Somme, Betaucourt-les-Dames, Hesdin, Flixecourt, Daours, Amiens, Villers Bretonneux, Villers Carbonnel,  Bohains, Busigny, Le Cateau , St Souplet, Mauberge, Landrecies, Jument (?), Biache, Abbeville, Reuchatel, Rouen.

MYRA, Born 1913 Still Going Strong 1919 

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DSLH =  15800Miles

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