In 1965 I emigrated with my wife and two children to Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia. It soon became obvious that if I was to get around at all, especially to work, I would need "wheels" - a car. All I could afford was £350, our total savings, and we became the owners of a well-used 1957 Morris Oxford De Luxe.
Initially I was very concerned about this car - it was courting disaster to travel at more than 45 m.p.h. because it drank a pint of oil every 100 miles at that speed and twice as much at 50 m.p.h. The brakes were very poor even when refurbished, and I needed advance warning so that they could take effect in good time. Another good reason for keeping the speed down to 45 m.p.h!
At the time I felt really sorry for myself but I could not afford to change the car and I had to make do with it. I kept it for years, and as time went by I began to realise that, although that car would never win a race, it would go almost anywhere in first gear, such as across a washed-out river bed with banks like giant stairs. The first gear was so low that I only used it for off-road expeditions and most of the time I pulled away in second. Not fast by any means but it worked. It would also go (slowly) through floods with the added discomfort of water squirting up through the rust holes in the floor.
The electric petrol pump had a nasty habit of clogging up at the most awkward times, resulting in either a complete engine stoppage or further progress only in leaps and bounds. It was reasonably easy to clean the fuel pump filter but as it was fitted in the boot it meant unloading all our stuff to gain access. If we were on any sort of expedition, this could take a long time because I carried spare water, petrol and oil for the ever-thirsty engine as well as food, clothes and tools. The boot lid had a downward curve and it was very easy to get so engrossed in fixing the pump as to forget the raised boot lid and get a nasty crack on the head.
Eventually I traded it in for a newer 1960s Morris Oxford but that car was totally different. I didn't like it and I didn't keep it long. How my heart sank over the next few weeks as I passed the garage where I had traded in my 1957 Morris Oxford. There it was, sitting on the forecourt, with the price stuck across the windscreen in large yellow figures. I felt that I had betrayed an old and trusted close friend. However, that's life I suppose. Even now, more than forty years later, I still occasionally dream that I am once again driving that car along an old bush road ....
Click on any picture below for a larger version. The pictures are scans from colour slides and black-and-white film more than forty years old.
| The 1957 Morris Oxford De Luxe at Cairns after an 1,100 mile trip at a top speed of 45 m.p.h. And I still had to drive back again! The exhaust pipe fell off just as we got back to Brisbane. It was late at night and the noise driving through the city was horrific. This is a small part of a scanned 35mm slide. | |
| On the road between Brisbane and Cairns approaching Innisfail. My wife and I and our two children slept in the car on this approximately 1,100 miles trip and I had to sleep with my feet sticking out of the window. The mossies (mosquitoes) were biting well, so I had to wrap my feet up in a blanket. One good thing about roughing it like this is that there is no problem getting up, breakfasted and on the road again - it's a relief! | |
| A closer view of the rear of the Morris Oxford. This small boot (trunk in the U.S.A.) contained all of our food, water, oil, petrol, spare parts, tools, changes of clothing, etc. It also carried any interesting rock samples which I might find during our travels. | |
| On the beach near Port Douglas, North Queensland. It was possible to drive on this beach in the 1960s with folded arms because steering was irrelevant in such a vast area. No one else was around and it didn't matter where the car went! I suppose that driving on this beach is now forbidden? | |
| On the way with friends to "The Lost World" near Brisbane. I have a great interest in geology and we were looking for opal - no, not precious opal but common opal which is a milky-white translucent colour. A piece viewed in a jar of water will sometimes show the true opal colours and is then known as water opal. Yes, we did find some. For many years I had samples of common opal in little containers but I have since lost them. | |
| An overnight stop on the route from Brisbane to Roma. An enjoyable trip but the little Ford van on the right kept breaking down and it couldn't keep up with my steady 45 m.p.h. | |
| A typical trip exploring the countryside around Brisbane, Queensland. The Glasshouse Mountains can be seen in the background. | |
| The Morris Oxford in the Glasshouse Mountains area. | |
| Exploring the countryside around Brisbane which was being opened up with a new road. | |
| On the long, straight road across the darling Downs in Queensland. The road went on and on like this for many miles. When you eventually reached as far as you could see, the view of another seemingly endless stretch of road opened up again! I wonder if it is still the same today? | |
| On a typical bush road somewhere near Brisbane. Probably a main highway now. | |
| Another new road under construction, this time around the Glasshouse Mountains north of Brisbane. | |
| The old faithful on our ten-acre block of land. We had just managed to clear ourselves a parking place so that we could get the car off of the road. Not that there was much traffic in those days! | |
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The 1957 Morris Oxford De Luxe took to the roads of India, where it became known as the Hindustan Motors Ambassador and began to mobilise the Indian nation. Now, more than fifty years later, it is regarded as "the soul of the nation" with a shape as instantly recognizable within India as the Taj Mahal. This car was to become, and still remains, central to India's history. For more information on this remarkable story, click on the Ambassador picture below.
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| Click on the picture to read about the Hindustan Motors Ambassador |
I have other web sites you may like to visit:
For the neglected British classic car the Standard Vanguard visit The Standard Vanguard
For Robin Hood visit Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest and Edwinstowe
For my National Service visit: National Service, RAF Marham, V-bombers and 207 Squadron
For my early life visit Life in the Swindon Railway Village 1937-1958 (or the Memoirs of a Swindon Nobody)
For thoughts on the meaning of life visit God's Viewpoint
Home address of this page: http://www.johnw55.freeuk.com/oxford
Page updated 22 July 2008