Touring caravan

Propert Motor collection

Touring caravan

The Propert three-berth touring caravan is part of a large collection of advertising material prepared by and for the Propert Trailway Products company of Sydney. It is one of two Propert caravans in the National Museum's collection.

Its pink exterior, geometrically-patterned linoleum floor, laminex fittings, anodised aluminium kitchenware, vinyl coverings, Mexican-pattern curtains and internal décor of cream, fawn, red and black clearly evoke the mood of the fifties. This was a time that saw the development of the Holden car and the end of petrol rationing. For the first time, many Australians had access to a motor vehicle and the disposable income and leisure time to enjoy it. Caravans had existed in Australia prior to the Second World War but it was not until the 1960s that family caravanning holidays became popular.

Thomas Propert (1889-1969) founded the Propert Body Building Works in Sydney in 1910. For twenty years the company built car bodies for imported chassis but, partly in response to the economic downturn and changes to the car assembly industry, it moved into caravan building in the 1930s. The Museum's pink Propert was neither a production-line model nor a prototype. It was a one-off built for advertising purposes.

The Museum's other caravan is a 'Trail-a-Cabin' folding model that was built to a 1952 patent. This van was purchased new in the 1950s and used on several family holidays before ending its working life in the mid-1980s as an on-site van at Eden in New South Wales.

The two caravans and associated advertising material reflect the holiday and leisure culture of Australia over three decades. They also reflect the size of the Australian caravan-building industry in the same period.