Roads travelled as kids...Where are they now?

[Goodwinfamily Member Find all posts View Profile Close Goodwinfamily]

A post from SAMO got me started on this....I can remember visiting grandparents at Belmont in Newcastle and then going to see the Sygna in newcastle harbour (The back Half) before it was towed to its place off Stockton Beach. We would drive down to stockton and watch the guys in their "new" 4wd drive the sand hills and around the shacks, Toyota's and Alvey reels everywhere!!!!

I suppose the idea behind this post is to get some stories and hopefully photos of what we all did when we we kids and our parents had the 4wd from across the country.

My grandfather was a foreman on the Snowy project and would tell me stories of driving the tracks to get to the sites. later in his life we would go out to the property he looked after in hisd old landcruiser where I would slide on the seat from one side to the other. I would watch this veteran of the Kokoda track dock the lambs and then wait as those young tails were cooked on an open fire to be eaten by an eager lad who quite simply loved his lamb and spending time with his grandad.

Memories and photos of the early days I hope will follow....over to the rest of you....

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Roads travelled as kids...Where are they now?

My memories of 4Wdriving as a kid is not travelling in them, but recovering them. My old man ran his own business that included a wrecking yard, crash repair shop and tow trucks to name a few. Just out of Whyalla where we lived was a place called 8 mile Creek, where apart from the beach there are sand hills and tidal flats. I remember going out to a few beach boggings to find only the roof rack showing above the water line at high tide ops: . but mostly people would drive out onto the hard salt flats and hundreds of metres or even kilometres out would break through the hard crust to find sloppy mud a few inches under the suface.

We had several different tow vehicles over the years including F250 tow trucks, then ex army ferrett cars (tanks with wheels) and finally an old Austin Gypsy 4WD, it had a cable drum on the back (we would take anything up to 3 kilometers of cable) and a datsun 1200 motor and gearbox mounted in the pasanger seat to wind up the cable drum when finshed.

The recovery method was always the same though, never venture onto the salt flats (even though we were assured often by those bogged that it was safe) :roll: . Then drag the cable out to the bogged vehicle, as the cable was heavy this usually meant dragging around 50 metres out, then back for another 50 metres, drag the first 50 another fifty and so on, hence us kids getting involved as we worked really cheap (read free). If the bogged car was a long way out this operation could take many many hours. Finally attach the cable to the tow point on the car and then snatch them out and keep towing them to the edge of the salt flat. With the old Austin with the datsun motor in the passenger seat winding up the cable was easy as, earlier methods including winding the cable drum by hand or even winding the cable by hand.

On one occasion the people bogged reckoned we were to expensive so they called a few mates, there was nearly forty vehicles bogged before they finally gave up and called us in, 2 weeks later they were all out :lol: :lol:

Sorry no photos at this stage, might see if my mum has any photos, she is on holidays at the moment though.

Cheers Andrew

[K & M McF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close K & M McF]

Re: Roads travelled as kids...Where are they now?

A point of fact, the Sygna ran aground on Stockton Beach in May 1974, it did not get towed there. Later, the front half was cut off and towed to Asia to be melted down.

[Richoson Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Richoson]

Re: Roads travelled as kids...Where are they now?

Hi Folks

Our 1st 4wd was a long wheelbase Suzuki Sierra 1.3lt. We had two girls and put all the camping gear inside. Now our two girls have 4wd's, kids, and still go camping and 4wdriving with us. The eldest will be at the Mt Mee trip this month with the grandson in a Navara (gasp!!).

Regards, Richo and Gay.

[StormyKnight Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close StormyKnight]

Re: Roads travelled as kids...Where are they now?

That's a great story Richo. My father was never a 4WDriver so I'm the beginning of the line so to speak. We did go camping & stuff but it was always in caravan parks. I hope I can go on a few trips with our kids & show them all the places again they went to as kids & appreciate it in a different light by driving there themselves. Only 4 years away for the eldest! Wow time flies doesn't it!

Cheers

[jeff s Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close jeff s]

Re: Roads travelled as kids...Where are they now?

Dads old Nissan/ Datsun Patrol.

Driving all over NSW, snow to lightning ridge, inverell etc. fossiking, skiing, and playing around.

Most fun track is now closed, but started along castlreagh road where the rowing lakes are now and across the nepean river and up the back of mt riverview and then out the back of blaxland tip on all the fire trails ending up around hawksbury lookout Yellow rock. he used to be in the mt riverview bushfire brigade so knew them well.
I have done most of it as I got my license and sierra. but on our last trip over there I tried to take my family in the prado, all locked up.
RIP dad,And probably car by now, never forgotten.

JEff.