Time to Roam Magazine Issue 3 - June/July 2013 | Page 24

Pictured: (Top left) 1953 Jennison caravan with period memorabilia. (Top right) A modern teardrop continues the tradition of Broadway caravans.
(Bottom) Two vintage Adventurer vans towed by Adelaide-made Chrysler Royals.

became common in the late 1960s. Mike Elly
of Ballarat owns a 1973 15ft Adelma Luxury
Liner which has only done 8,000km and is in
near-new condition. When he acquired it, the
caravan was still stocked with 1970s kitchen
implements and orange Tupperware.
Another interesting historical connection
is the link between Chrysler cars and vintage
caravans. Chryslers were built in Adelaide
and the luxurious Chrysler Royal is still a
favourite with the Chrysler Restorers Club
of SA. The owners of these large, finned
vehicles sought out old caravans which they
could use on club runs. So in South Australia
you can see plenty of impressive rigs which
have a Chrysler Royal towing a restored
vintage van.
Chris Howes, a previous president of

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the club, and his wife Cathy, the current
president, are good examples. They have a
two-tone green 1957 Chrysler Royal which
tows a colour-matched 1964 Globetrotter
Gold Coaster, both built in Adelaide.
At the last vintage van gathering at
Tanunda in the Barossa Valley, attention
centred on two striking Adelaide-built
Adventurer caravans parked next to each
other. Both were towed by Chrysler
Royals and had a matching blue/grey
colour scheme.
One rig was a 1960 wooden Adventurer
towed by a 1962 Chrysler Royal, belonging
to Ellen and Bob Haywood. The other was
an aluminium 1965Adventurer 14ft van,
belonging to Neill and Joan Wormald,
showing how much the design of caravans

changed in just five years.
But maybe South Australia’s biggest
claim to fame is that it produced the most
awesome vintage caravan in Australia’s
history. The aptly named Highway Palace is
a 42ft (13m) long fifth wheeler caravan towed
by a 1946 Fargo truck. It was built in 1949
by the Adelaide construction firm of Grace
Brothers (not the department store) as a
one-off custom built van for a couple living
in Pinnaroo, SA. The rig was way ahead of its
time with luxury fittings including a bath and
running hot water.
South Australians are justifiably proud of
the pivotal role that their state has played in
the history of Australian caravanning The
Caravan and Camping Industries Association
of South Australia commissioned Trevor Gill