Time to Roam Magazine Issue 9 - June/July 2014 | Page 20

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upfront feature

In like Flynn

Graham Southy and his 1956 Flynn caravan

Walking inside Graham and Linda
Southy’s 1956 elegant Flynn caravan
you sense a certain star quality.
Perhaps it stems from its history as a former
showpiece for Australian manufacturing.
The Flynn first went on display at
the 1956 International Melbourne
Motor Show, held in Melbourne during
the city’s golden Olympics year.
Roadhaven was regarded as one of
Australia’s top caravans at the time – in
fact the country’s foremost caravan
aficionado Keith Winser was the most
famous owner and promoter of the brand
– he owned four of them!
Graham and Linda bought
theirs six years ago. It had
been used as a sleepout
and kept under cover for
35 years, which explains its
outstanding condition.
Even today, the Flynn still
stands out from the crowd,
with its distinctive shape
and quality inclusions.

The Newcastle toaster
It’s the vintage caravan that
takes its name from the city
where it was created.
The Newcastle was built in 1960, using
components including a complete
body from the huge Carapark
company, based just up the road
in the Hunter town of Maitland.
Bob “Cobber” Kerr and his
wife Yvonne bought and restored
the caravan six years ago.
“It was built for a Port Stephens oyster
farmer originally and kept on a jetty
above a mangrove swamp,” Bob says.
“It was in remarkably good condition
due to its construction from “Reswood”
- plywood impregnated with resin.
“It was a very durable treatment
of plywood developed in the
1950s by Sydney company
Ralph Symonds Pty Ltd.”

Bob and Yvonne with their Newcastle caravan

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