Motoring Then - and Now
The old photos throughout this website have graphically demonstrated the advances made in photography alone since the middle of the 20th century.
The two cars used in traveling around Australia's south east have shown there have also been other vast technological changes during the same time. The three main journeys covered in this website were recorded each day in log books.
Information in the logs included the times of arrivals and departures at the various locations visited, and the distances between places, as well as daily mileage totals.
The figures highlight the shorter road travel times of today compared with those in the mid 1900s.
There are several reasons for this.
First, the Morris 850 was driven at a cruising speed of 40 to 45 miles per hour.
The Austin A40 was usually driven at a cruising speed of 45 to 50 miles per hour.
As well as higher cruising speeds permitted by the design of today's cars, they are also generally more reliable.
The small Morris 850 was probably more at home travelling around the towns of the United Kingdom and making short trips between population centres.
It was a different matter in Australia, with its poorer roads and longer distances between towns.
In the 11-day trip over the Victorian Alps, a wheel change was needed due to a puncture on the second morning .
Repairs to the car's steering were required in a mechanic's workshop on the fourth day, and later that day another wheel change was carried out due to a punctured tyre.
On the seventh day a broken bracket holding the generator had to be repaired
by a mechanic.
The two cars used in traveling around Australia's south east have shown there have also been other vast technological changes during the same time. The three main journeys covered in this website were recorded each day in log books.
Information in the logs included the times of arrivals and departures at the various locations visited, and the distances between places, as well as daily mileage totals.
The figures highlight the shorter road travel times of today compared with those in the mid 1900s.
There are several reasons for this.
First, the Morris 850 was driven at a cruising speed of 40 to 45 miles per hour.
The Austin A40 was usually driven at a cruising speed of 45 to 50 miles per hour.
As well as higher cruising speeds permitted by the design of today's cars, they are also generally more reliable.
The small Morris 850 was probably more at home travelling around the towns of the United Kingdom and making short trips between population centres.
It was a different matter in Australia, with its poorer roads and longer distances between towns.
In the 11-day trip over the Victorian Alps, a wheel change was needed due to a puncture on the second morning .
Repairs to the car's steering were required in a mechanic's workshop on the fourth day, and later that day another wheel change was carried out due to a punctured tyre.
On the seventh day a broken bracket holding the generator had to be repaired
by a mechanic.
Another reason for the shorter travel times of today is the vast improvements made to country roads and highways in the past half-century.
There were no freeways in Australia at the time, and the main routes linking the capital cities had still to be sealed and transformed from the narrow gravel roads that were generously designated as "highways".
There were no freeways in Australia at the time, and the main routes linking the capital cities had still to be sealed and transformed from the narrow gravel roads that were generously designated as "highways".
Many of today's drivers will find it difficult to imagine a world where service stations did not abound. Outside the main cities, petrol pumps were often few and far between in the mid 20th century.
Sellers closed at the end of normal business hours and the author of this site remembers having to "knock up" a proprietor on the Hume Highway after dark, when it was realised the Morris 850 was running low on fuel, with many miles to the next petrol pump. |
At the time of the trips covered in the website, there were still many examples of the old style petrol pumps in use, as shown in the photo above left.
Fuel was hand-pumped into the glass container at the top of the bowser and then delivered by gravity into the vehicle's petrol tank.
Petrol rationing was also a factor which had to be considered by motorists planning a long journey.
Rationing began as a wartime measure on 1 October 1940 and continued for the next decade. Petrol rationing officially ended on 8 February 1950.
Fuel was hand-pumped into the glass container at the top of the bowser and then delivered by gravity into the vehicle's petrol tank.
Petrol rationing was also a factor which had to be considered by motorists planning a long journey.
Rationing began as a wartime measure on 1 October 1940 and continued for the next decade. Petrol rationing officially ended on 8 February 1950.