AUSTRALIA´S FIRST CARAVAN.

NOW BETER DESCRIBED AS MOTORISED MOBILE HOME.

The home is built on the chassis of a 1924 Dodge Four. It was built in the form of a house by Mr. Kaesler at Nuriootpa in 1929 and he called it "Home from Home".

Later in 1929 the Kaesler family travelled to Goolwa in the "Home from Home" and arrived during the Back to Goolwa celebrations. They were introduced to Mr. Wells the Mayor. - Mr. Wells was very interested in the "Home from Home" and after much bargaining Mr. Kaesler sold it to him.

After the caravan was sold to Mr. Wells it remained in the yard of his house in Goolwa but it is not known how much use was ever made of it.

After the death of Mr. Wells the caravan was given to the District Council of Port Elliot and Goolwa and it was put on open display in Goolwa. Over the years it suffered minor vandalism and the removal of some parts until in the late 1960s the Council decided to remove it to storage at their works depot. It remained there until during a periodic cleanup in about 1973 a decision was made that the caravan was to be disposed of. A member of the local National Trust Branch arranged for it to be moved to the Goolwa Museum where it has remained ever since.

Numerous attempts to restore the caravan were made but none were successful until in February 2000 two volunteers who were familiar with the restoration of this make of vehicle came forward and offered to return the engine to working order and make the vehicle roadworthy.

The first task was the purchase of four new tyres, tubes and rust bands at a cost of nearly $1500.

A number of parts had been acquired over the years but not all were suitable so obtaining the right parts still entailed some scrounging, the cannibalism of parts acquired, repair of existing parts, modification of some parts and the use of one or two non-original parts. The non-original parts will eventually be replaced with the correct parts as time and money permit.

On Anzac Day 2000 the engine was started for the first time in probably 70 years and after a bit of fiddling it ran surprisingly well.

New brake linings and the cleaning, straightening and adjustment of seized and rusted brake rods made the brakes effective again.

All electrical wiring had to be replaced and indicators were fitted. The headlights do not appear to be original, but are in working order and only needed new globes.

The radiator surround was badly rusted out at the base and needed rebuilding and repainting, and the engine bonnet had to be replaced with the correct type and then repainted. The front mudguards have been replaced with reconditioned ones. All this work was done by the local crash repairer, and now makes the remaining original bodywork look rather shabby.

On Monday September 4^th 2000 the vehicle was driven for the first time and taken for a service and the fitting of a new muffler and exhaust tailpipe.

The rest of the bodywork and the " house " is task for later. The window glass has been replaced where it was either missing or cracked in side windows (all toughened glass this time), and a new windscreen glass has been fitted. Unfortunately there is no record of how the vehicle was fitted out internally.

The vehicle is now in working order and is registered. It has of course been necessary to make some concessions to the current requirements of the Road Traffic Act and turning indicators have been fitted as have rear vision mirrors.

The Branch has spent approximately $3000 on the restoration as well as many hundreds of volunteer hours to bring the vehicle to its present condition.

In early 2007 the Goolwa Branch was approached by a representative of the Mitsubishi Canteen Fund asking whether we had a project that could be considered as a possible funding project.

The Caravan was named as a possible project and we were asked to provide a submission for consideration. A Conservation Plan was prepared and presented for consideration and in December 2008 we were advised that a donation of $20,000 had been made available for the project.

This donation will enable us to do a complete conservation and restoration job on the vehicle that will involve the lifting of the body from the chassis to allow for a complete cleaning and repair of that part and then repairs to the body panels and the fitting out of as much of the interior as we are able to do. Again there will be many hours of volunteer labour put into the project as well as the work of a number of local trade's people.

Hopefully one day it may even appear in the Bay to Birdwood Run.