DOTS: Daylesford edition

[Nauraushaun]

Here are some pics from a hike in Daylsford. Some have cars in them.

No idea what this is. No badges, and the rego expired so long ago it doesn't even register. Wonder if it still works - would have to assume it does given it's in the front yard just off the road.

Field full of old Holdens. Me, apartment dweller, marvels at having space for 5-10 unused cars. A VS-ish ute is just out of shot to the right - presumably it still works, or died more recently than the rest.

Leaving camp near the Weribee River, ~7am just after sunrise

This is the Spotted Pardalote. Oft heard but rarely seen, due to being absolutely tiny, I managed to capture him in decent focus down binocs shot with a smart phone.

Saw a fox slink across this log while picking my way through the mud.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@Nauraushaun I believe that's an old Canadian military vehicle. Ford based, I think? Could be wrong.

[EssExTee]

@Nauraushaun @WhoIsTheLeader it's a Canada Military Pattern (CMP) Truck. They were built to spec by multiple manufacturers including Ford and GM.

[Nauraushaun]

@EssExTee nice! i guess your option for this sort of vehicle were reasonably limited back in the 50s and 60s.

[EssExTee]

@Nauraushaun war surplus sales was a booming business back then.

[Ad absurdum per aspera]

@Nauraushaun said in DOTS: Daylesford edition:

Wonder if it still works - would have to assume it does given it's in the front yard just off the road.

Tire ruts are not exactly fresh but certainly have less and lower plant life than the rest of the yard, so either it runs or somebody went to a lot of effort to push it into position. It also seems to be carrying some sort of bedload, though that could just be the tops of whatever is in the background.

I didn't recognize it, but a bit of googlewhacking suggests that @WhoIsTheLeader and @EssExTee are right about its being a Canadian military vehicle (an unusually "Cars"-sequel-ready one, I might add). Specifically, a Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) truck of WW2 vintage and ongoing usage that could have either Ford or Chevy underpinnings. Apparently there were also quite a few shipped overseas knocked-down, and those destined for Imperial entanglements were right-hand-drive versions like this one.

[Ad absurdum per aspera]

@EssExTee — Oh, yeah. As part of the postwar military drawdowns, a tsunami of materiel swamped the world, to the point where it created problems for companies that wanted to manufacture new stuff. Certainly here in the US, lots of things would be available for pennies on the dollar of their original cost, often through "Army-Navy stores" that sprang up.

You'll need something to carry all the stuff!

Credit

The surplus was optimized for Army priorities, which included durability when flogged like, well, an Army mule and used in horrid conditions, but did not involve going fast or being the least bit comfortable except compared to going through the same conditions on foot. This opened the door to things more attuned to civilian needs. But for logging or mining or bashing around the farm, they could be just the thing.

Here's a fun rabbit hole to go down, albeit a bit light on truck content.

[Nauraushaun]

@Ad-absurdum-per-aspera that all makes sense, but i find it a bit perplexing that it ended up here. we got a bit of conflict on our shores in WWII, but generally we're just really far from the action. maybe it made sense to send the vehicles here for training then send them back halfway across the world with troops?
maybe this one was just a knockdown kit, sold new here and never actually user for military stuff.

[SilentbutnotreallyDeadly]

@Nauraushaun
Those old CMP trucks are a not infrequent sight in rural Oz...though they are getting harder to find. Almost always they in that condition...or worse.

We have Spotted Pardalote nesting in our front yard and vegetable garden at the moment. And because they typically dig nest burrows in banks of earth...they are both in inconvenient places. One is an excavation for an extension to our house. And the other is a vegetable garden!!!

[Nauraushaun]

@SilentbutnotreallyDeadly i actually think i saw another one in the small town of daylesford. maybe they're related.
lucky you! such handsome birds. i hope you're enjoying their company, inconvenient or not.

[pip bip]

@Nauraushaun @WhoIsTheLeader Chev Blitz (maybe)