About the time of the early 1950s, there were still a few cars coming onto the market that had been put up on blocks during the war period or had been converted into farm utes.

One of these was bought by my work mate. It was an English Swift roadster that had been turned into a Ute. It looked a little like a Morris but had a different radiator & a right hand gear change similar to the early Vauxhalls.

Some of the other cars to be seen around the Sunshine area at that time were a Vauxhall 30/98, Marmon straight 8, Singer sport, Triumph Gloria, MG sport, Morris, Boat tail Austin 7, Lancia, Buick straight 8 convertible tourer, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Ford, Graham Sharknose, La Salle, Huppmobile, Hudson, Essex and Reo Flying Cloud.

Some of the cars above were visitors as their owners worked in the area, like the Vauxhall 30-98, Triumph Gloria, Lancia, the Red Shark Nose Graham and the 49 MG YT Type Tourer.

While in the MC Mckay garage were 2 1939 Buicks, one of which was a limosine. We of course owned a 1929 Chrysler 72.

My childhood friend with who I grew up with Don Baxter, his father had a 1935 Graham beetle back sedan. The people living oposite had a 1938 Chevrolet, 3 doors up had a 1936 Ford Coupe ute that was very rough. Max an old school mate, his faher had a 1936 Willys which he restored, which at the time was a very unusual thing to do.

Max had got himself a 1929 Marmon Straight 8, though this got subsequently stolen and written off. When he got it back it had a rod out the side of the block. He replaced it with a 1937 flat back Ford V8.

Next to them, or close by was a 1935 Hupmobile and I can remember it having a very distinctive front. The big Hudson and Reo flying cloud, lived in East Sunshine while the boat tail Austin 7 lived at the local garage.

I owned a 1938 Morris 8/40, while another mate Ian had a 1940 Singer, his father owned a spotless 1936 25hp Vauxhall 4 Speed in maroon and black.

My childhood friend with who I grew up, Don Baxter and I got into mischief. Like all young children do and with him being a year or so older, I seemed to end up being the one who fowled things up.

Like the day we decide to ride his dads 2 stroke motorcycle around their front yard.  I managed to crash it into a very spiky shrub, don’t you always hit the only spiky tree in the yard? I think it was a Frances Barnett or something of a similar name. It was an assembled bike made up of stock parts running a villers engine. It put me off motorcycles for a number of years.

They later bought a farm and moved away however, sadly Mr Baxter past away and I think the Graham remained on the farm somewhere in the Trafalgar area.  Don and I also lost contact with each other over the years

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