Title "Brown family in car, Exeter (unidentified)"
Archives Office of Tasmania
Appears to be a British assembled 1912. Great picture!!!!!
I have had a copy of this photo for some time in my archives and has been subject to much detailed analysis. Although this photo come from the Tasmanian archives, I think the car is possibly an early Duncan & Fraser coachwork from Adelaide. I have a photo of a truly exquisite "tulip" bodied roadster from the Duncan family, but compare the cowl. This is why I think this is a SA built car and not from Tasmania.
Photo is courtesy of the Duncan Family. I must stress that research is at a very early stage and is continuing.
Wow, David, there's only one word for that - gorgeous. What a beautiful car.
That's a pretty little jewel !
Danial beat me to the comment ! Danial, ever find anything floating in your engine ??
Dan, thanks for asking. No, I haven't found anything in the engine. Did the oil drain, poked around with a piece of mechanics wire from the bottom and then from the top with a strong magnet. Going to let it go at that for now. I don't really have the facilities to tear down a motor. Maybe in the spring may dig in to it. My son -in-law keeps threateing to build me a real garage...grin...
David-
My first observation was the plaque on the firewall of the Tourer. It appears to be the typical Duncan & Fraser badge placed in the usual location so I aggree it is a Duncan & Fraser bodied car that found its way to Tasmania.I often wondered if there was a tourer version of the Tulip Roadster. Now we seem to have the answer. David, you will have to add some extra chapters to the book!
I think you will find that most of the photo's stored in the different Australian States are collected and recorded from photo's donated or found in that state. This car may never have left South Australia it could have been sent to a relative in Tasmania and ended up being donated or found and held by the Tasmanian archives. Often documents and photo's are sent to library's History societies, museums etc when deceased estates are wound up.
We have seen several photo's in one State's records that are of cars taken in other States.
David and Peter are most likely correct. The photo caption shows the photo taken in Exeter, which is/was a north west suburb of Adelaide, not far from David's original home. Hence the South Australian connection and Duncan and Fraser.
Allan from down under.
Could be Allan but there is also an Exeter in Tasmania??
Probably does not matter too much where the photo was taken but good that it survived, maybe someone has bits of one of these cars and is inspired to remake one. Sure would like to see a Tulip roadster some day!! or the tourer.
Now to make you all cry. The remains of one of these tourers was found out past Port Lincoln in the late 1950's. They didn't know what it was at the time and wrecked it for the early 'T' parts.
I have been trying to dig up the photo, but it is eluding me at the moment in my piles somewhere. Meanwhile, here is one from the rear quarter courtesy of the State Library of South Australia PRG 280/1/10/271.
On the facade of the building in the background are the words "South Australian", so I'd say the photo was taken in South Australia, not Tasmania.
Great observation David. I have never compared those two pics before. Note the different than standard splash aprons on both of the cars and what looks like a 1910 rear fender on the touring. Both cars look to be 11-12 era.
Thanks for the photo Dane.
Mark