Why we gave it all up to live in a vintage caravan
In a quiet suburban street of Leppington, in outer western Sydney, there’s a caravan that has been capturing imaginations around the world.
Yvonne and Bob Kerr had no idea that when they found the 1962 caravan in a front yard in nearby St Mary’s, that it would appear on a morning TV show, in glossy magazines, and on mugs and wine bottles. It even has cufflinks fashioned in its image.
“There must be something about it that people find appealing,” Bob says with a touch of bemusement.
“It looks friendly and it has a lot of nostalgic value. We think it must remind people of going on holidays to the coast when life was a lot simpler.”
“Driftwood”, as the Kerrs quickly called their plywood van, began turning heads as soon as the couple began taking it on holidays, towing it behind their FJ Holden. That was more than 20 years ago.
Motorists would smile and wave at them as they zoomed past the quaint, mint-green van trundling along at 80 kilometres an hour in the left-hand lane of the highway. Others would stop on the road and take photographs.
“A lot of people think truck drivers would be fairly aggro towards us, but we find they’re usually the opposite,” says Bob. “They often flash their lights coming towards us, as if to say ‘G’day.’ Most of them are very considerate of a couple of slow old caravanners like us.
Every time they stop for petrol, there are questions. The most common include: ‘Does it have an icebox?’ and ‘Can you sleep in it?’
For the record, they do, although being over 180 centimetres tall, Bob admits he has to sleep diagonally in the little fold down bed at the back.
Pulling into caravan parks at night, they barely had time to unhook Driftwood from their car before they are surrounded by curious onlookers. Some have been reduced to tears because it reminds them of their childhood.
“People really relate to it because the 1960s were a time when overseas travel was not available, but the FJ Holden came onto the market. The average person could buy it and it had enough power to tow a caravan like Driftwood.
“One woman even told us she had her honeymoon in a similar van and brought us photographs of it from her album.”
Bob has a scrapbook bulging with articles about Driftwood. It’s been professionally photographed more than 20 times, the first of which was for a swimwear advertisement for Sea Folly. This prompted a flood of magazine and newspaper articles, and an appearance on Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s morning TV show.
They recently discovered a UK company making cufflinks, badges, stickers and earrings based on a photo of Driftwood.
A US artist has also immortalised the Kerrs’ pride and joy with a watercolour painting, complete with its trademark cream stripe and Southern Cross.
A sign that Driftwood travels well. Photo: Edwina Pickles
“It never ceases to amaze us how popular our little van is,” Bob says.
But like many of their fellow vanners, the Kerrs are more interested in fitting it out with matching vintage items than basking in the limelight.
Every year, more than 150 vintage aficionados gather to swap tips on maintaining their van’s authenticity. Many of their vans are 1960s time capsules.
“Old wares and antique shops are the usual haunts for crazy caravan buffs like us,” he says.
So far the Kerrs have fitted Driftwood out with a 1960s icebox, a tartan esky, old kerosene lanterns, and fold-out camp chairs. It’s like a mobile museum.
The couple paid $600 for Driftwood in 1993. Today, thanks to the boom in the vintage caravan movement, Bob reckons it would be worth more than $9000.
“We travelled in a modern caravan once, a 22-footer thing. It was all jazzed up, with every modern convenience, but it just didn’t have any character. When we pulled into a caravan park we were just like everyone else,” says Bob. “No one said a word.”
“When we pull up at the lights in our FJ, with Driftwood behind us, and we see people smiling, we feel special, and proud. It’s a really nice way to go about the world.”
What a lovely story. Do you think you could ever embrace the caravan life?
Written by Ali Gripper. Republished with permission from Domain.com.au.
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