A 1972 Toyota Corona Mark II
As I have alluded more than once I am a country boy.
I bought this car when I was 18 and at University the first
time.
I went to Uni that first time in Armidale NSW about 110km
(about 70 miles) from where I grew up.
A friend had rebuilt the car from the parts of three wrecks
and was planning to use it for rally driving. But his plans changed and he
decided to sell.
I needed a car and the price of $500 was something this poor student could just about
scrape together. As it happened I gave Mike $300 and a Gold Sovereign coin I
had in my coin collection.
 |
| Me (about 20) and Ian (about 18) |
Well that car did me sterling service. Being a young and
silly person I drove it everywhere - Sydney 475km (296 miles) in six hours.
Brisbane 464 Km (290 miles) in four and a half hours through the mountains along the New England Highway (I said I was
young and silly). Armidale is on the Northern Tablelands of NSW, at about 1,000metres
(3,280 feet) above sea level. Because of the cooler mountain climate the first European
settlers dubbed the area New England. I found the highway
was almost deserted late on Saturday nights and so the best time to travel.
My Toyota was the car I had when I married Deb.
 |
| I'm the Baby on the left, Deb is my child bride. The groom's men are my elder brother Michael and Ian. The bride's maids, page and flower girl are Deb's siblings |
We took it
on our honeymoon, we were so strapped for cash that we camped on the NSW north coast for our honeymoon.
About a year after we were married, we bought a newer car (a
1978 Holden). My younger brother Ian and I resprayed the Toyota so he could use the
car now he was at Uni.
Ian drove the car for another couple of years. Then he bought
a newer car (a 1980 Nissan ute).
It then passed to my Mum because her car had broken down.
Mum drove it for another three or four years between Armidale where she was
working part time and the farm where she lives with her husband Stan (next door
to the farm I grew up).
The car’s useful days came to an end when mum fell asleep at
the wheel.
But maybe the car was looking after her, Mum woke up in time
to avert a total disaster but the car was damaged to the point it was no longer
worth repairing.
A frequent Oz bush tradition is to have a car graveyard on a
farm and Stan’s place is no different (you just never know when a part might
come in handy).
I half imagine that when I go back to visit, the car that
was a part of years of our lives is kind of keeping an eye on us.
