Took the opportunity to visit the Bylong Valley to day and find Wep and Jess’s camp site near Ginghi. Was successful in my venture but disappointed in the weeds and scrubby growth which prevented me getting photos with the same angle. It has changed in 73 years but still recognisable.
Great effort. Walking in your father’s footsteps. How interesting to see the differences – yet similarities in the landscape. How much of our country’s landscape has changed in such a short time.
I just came across this website and was interested to read about Bill Pidgeon’s life and work.
I thought you might be interested to know that his caravan was a Jennison Road Cruiser built by John Alfred Jennsion, one of the pioneers of the Australian caravan industry. He started building caravans in 1934 in South Australia, before moving to Sydney. He designed and patented the ‘pop-top’ mechanism shown in the photos of the caravan. After World War II he began building Jennison Pathfinder caravans which are very well known and highly regarded. Wonderful photos.
Thanks for your efforts in establishing the website. I now know something about Bill Pidgeon’s paintings.
Richard, thanks for letting me know what model the caravan is. I had not tracked that down yet so was pleased to receive this information. As a child I used to play in this old van. I loved it. It was cream in colour with a big red flash down the side and the interior was a red vinyl. Pretty sure it wasn’t leather. I did a Google search on the model and sure enough found a discussion board dedicated to them and a thread discussing my father’s caravan itself. How cool. I can now join in the discussion and solve some mysteries for them now. Cheers, Peter Pidgeon