The days when the family car was a death-defying hotbox on wheels

Our first family car was a large Vauxhall that had two wide side doors and a huge back seat. It was so roomy our family of eight could squeeze in and be seated, even if it was mostly on each other’s laps.

There was no such thing as a seatbelt, baby-seat, child restraint, air-bag, air-conditioning or in this case ‘bum’ room for all. Once we were all in, it was difficult to see where we were going, but it was an outing and adventure for our family.

Safety wise, in comparison to today’s standards, it was dangerous and high-risk to drive this car, and its passengers, on the road. We did not know any better and to us, it was a mode of transport that did not involve walking, pushing prams or waiting for buses and trains. Sadly, this car was a ‘bugger of a thing’ (Dad’s words), as it constantly needed maintenance and repair.

Our next long-serving motor, was a Hillman Commer van, espoused to our large family in the late 1960s.

It was a small manual, 4-cylinder car, with driver, passenger, and two rear van doors. The van section had no side windows and two tiny, fixed windows at the rear. There were single, driver and passenger seats, which when tilted forward allowed passenger access to the elevated van section. Other than the two front seats, the van was unlined and not upholstered. I surmise, my dad, an army soldier, must have traded the old Vauxhall on his way home from work, as our new van (khaki green in colour), resembled a smaller version of a closed-in army transporter, missing the camouflage paintwork.

My siblings and I were excited when he drove it home. This quickly changed when we realised there was no seating for six children. To transport us all, Dad, a carpenter by trade, hastily built two hardwood benches that fit internally over the back wheel hubs. How he fixed these to the metal car, I do not know! What I do know is when he turned corners or came to a quick break, my siblings and I slid around the vehicle like loose oranges falling from their crate at the fruit and vegetable shop.

To solve this problem, Dad’s next wizardry was to build a hardwood, bench seat that stretched across the middle of the van. Mum had a hand in the décor and tried to make it visually appealing with a floral covered cushion on the seat. Unfortunately, now pretty and padded there was still not enough ‘bum’ space for six children. Although a whiz, Dad built the back of the bench too high, and that cut off access to the rear of the van. He did however, securely wedge the bench between both sides of the van, which stopped the seat moving, alas not the passengers (definitely could have used seat belts here).

Another problem, especially in the Australian summer was the lack of air-conditioning. Okay, there was no air-conditioning, but we did have an ‘air-cooling system’. It was called ‘wind the window down and let the breeze flow through’. Yes, I said wind the window down. (No electronic buttons to push here!).

We used the handle, clockwise for up, anti-clockwise for down.

Unfortunately, our air-cooling system was reliant on there being a flow of air through the vehicle and given the tiny rear windows were fixed, the cooling system was faulted. The breeze mostly blew Dad’s pipe smoke into the back of our ‘hot box on wheels’, where it accumulated for us all to inhale.

It was often hot, airless and tense in the back of the van and like captured prisoners, without a view, music or the radio to soothe our souls, my siblings and I turned on each other. In fact, the Commer Van was a simmering pot for sibling wrath, with Dad warning us time and time again to shut up and stop bickering; all to no avail.

If only my parents had access to a large ‘people mover’, DVDs and headphones and we could have sat back in our comfortable, secure, air-conditioned seats, watching the latest Disney creation. Or if we could have sat quietly playing on our iPad, Gameboy or Nintendo, or listened to our favourite list on Spotify with our iPod or iPhone. If only!

Do you remember your first family car? Tell us about it.

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