With the Holden brand sadly coming to an end, memories of beloved old cars have been humming along like a V8 Monaro on the open road.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Elermore Vale's Tony Davis told Topics that he had several Holdens and they all performed well.
"Each one accompanied our family through a phase of our life. It is sad that we are losing one of Australia's icons."
Tony recalled buying an FJ Holden with low mileage from a bloke in Parkway Avenue in Cooks Hill quite a few decades ago.
"It became the pride of my life," he said.
Soon after, Tony was appointed to a teaching job at a school at Dareton on the Murray River, not far from Mildura.
He drove the car more than 700 kilometres to Dareton, accompanied by his dad.
"This was the first and only time he joined me as a co-driver. It proved a really good trip," Tony said.
In Dareton, he shared a house with two other blokes. Two young female teachers at the school - Robin and Elaine - lived in town in the so-called "teacher's flat".
Tony became good friends with them.
When the first school holidays arrived, he offered to take both girls home.
"I discovered that Robin lived in Cootamundra and Elaine lived in Dubbo - quite a long way from Cooks Hill," he said.
The trip went something like this: Dareton to Cootamundra, staying the night with Robin and her family. Cootamundra to Dubbo, staying the night with Elaine and her family. Dubbo to Cooks Hill, staying with his own family. Soon after, Tony began his return journey.
"My trusty FJ did it all and didn't miss a beat," he said.
His car was now nicknamed Teacher's Pet.
"When I returned to Dareton and had my car serviced, I asked my honest mechanic, "Does this car need anything?" He replied, "Absolutely nothing ... oh, hang on, perhaps a new driver."
He told Tony that he should slow down. Tony admits this was fair enough advice.
As for the girl he drove to Dubbo - Elaine - a few years later he married her. That was almost 60 years ago. "We are still very happy and going strong," he said.
Solving a Puzzle
Meanwhile, Eleebana's Alan Cameron has added his two cents to the cracking old photo of Charlestown's main street.
It was initially thought the photo was taken in 1954, but keen-eyed motor-vehicle enthusiasts spotted that the FE Holden on the main road was produced in Australia from 1956 to 1958.
"The final piece of the puzzle relates to the Volkswagen Beetles. The original Beetle had a split rear window that was replaced with a single window of the same shape in about 1954. This was replaced on the 1958 model with a larger rectangular window, as per the two examples in the photograph. As they were very popular, it is possible that they were brand new. But it's more likely a post-1958 photograph," Alan said.