Is this the First K Ford to arrive in Australia?

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: Is this the First K Ford to arrive in Australia?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mark herdman on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 08:03 pm:

Earliest evidence of the first ford arriving in Australia to Davies & Fehon, Sydney.

1906-10-15 Mon-K Ford Arrives-SMH P11


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mark herdman on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 08:06 pm:

Stumbled across this photo and article recently of the same car.

1906-10-24 Wed-1906 K - Davis & Fehon-Referee P06









and caption


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mark herdman on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 08:09 pm:

Looks to be a very early radiator, Bob agrees. Not the first style but appears to have swaged edges and could be slightly higher than the hood.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mark herdman on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 08:12 pm:

Here is a similar early Swaged radiator




Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mark herdman on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 08:16 pm:

A little more on the Australian import



Dated the same day as the photograph

1906-10-24 Wed-K Ford Test Run-SMH P12


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 08:32 pm:

Canadian Ledger shows the following Model K's destined for Sydney Australia
Serial 207 Sept 27 1906
210 Aug 2 1906


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 09:25 pm:

Another with the Victoria body and second radiator:



Does anyone have an idea how long shipping would have taken from the U.S. or Canada to Australia then?

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Trevan - Australia on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 09:43 pm:

Rob , I think it would vary considerable mainly due to the number[if any] of stop off along the way --Eg, New Zealand or South Africa --depending on which route it took from the East Coast of USA ?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Trevan - Australia on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 09:48 pm:

Note the test driven chassis vehicle must have the plug wires coming from way back at the dash mounted coil box as there is no magneto fitted.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Stokes on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 03:58 am:

Hi Bob,

I did some research into shipping times from Canada to New Zealand a while ago.

I found that most ships took about two-and-a-half months to berth in NZ (usually Auckland first) after having left Montreal, having called in to Australia first.

The route was by rail from the Canadian Ford factory to Montreal, although sometimes this was by ship, using the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence Seaway. Then they would cross from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, and call in to Australia before coming on to New Zealand. I found no evidence that the ships went into South Africa on the way. Most ships, if not all, bound for NZ went to Australia.

I hope that is of some help.

John Stokes
New Zealand


.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Stokes on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 04:01 am:

Oooops - sorry - I'm not ignoring you Rob! Just a quick message for you and Bob. John


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kerry van Ekeren (Australia) on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 04:03 am:

As I had read some time ago that pre T days, India was Canada's biggest export market, any idea how many ended up there?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Trevan - Australia on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 04:05 am:

Thanks John,
That info makes it a lot easier to establish a time.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 04:26 am:

Good day Mates, :-)

(I just spoke on the "telly" wi me mate Bob a day ago :-))

Yes, that ads to the timeline. By the time a chassis is bodied in Canada, moved to the east coast of Canada and shipping time, quite a lot of time has elapsed.

Could this be K Model #207 listed shipped from Canada Sep 27, 1906?

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Trevan - Australia on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 04:55 am:

Dunno Rob, 18 days seems too short a time especially if the ship has to go though all the procedures as in 2014 .[like having to getting in line to get a wharf for unloading process --plus then all the paperwork as you have just been through on an import .


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 05:02 am:

Ohhhhh, I wasn't awake yet, and thought it was a two month difference.

Did some cars possibly ship directly from the New York branch to Australia/NZ (I believe I read about such a thing)?

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Henry on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 06:00 am:

Did they have to ship from the east coast? There was a Canadian ship that arrived into Sydney on the 9th of Oct 1906, 2 days before the newspaper article says the car was unpacked from its crate. It came from Vancouver via Honolulu and onboard were 66 cases of automobiles and parts.



Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Trevan - Australia on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 07:13 am:

UMM !! 66 cs automobile and parts --- Could that mean Eg. ONE AUTOMOBILE & 65 cs[cartons of automobile parts ]?.
Then again this coming out of VANCOUVER seems odd ?.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 07:31 am:

That would not be unlikely Bob. In fact it would be the quickest way to get a Ford to Oz. Click here:
http://www.american-rails.com/canadian-pacific-railway.html


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 07:34 am:

#207 & 210 appear to have been shipped through a New York agent. Does this make sense? Did it go direct from Detroit and only appeared on the Canadian ledgers or was it shipped from Walkerville to New York?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 07:47 am:

Kerry
The list of Commonwealth exports covers 1911-12 and newer
In The Shadow of Detroit by David Roberts


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 08:54 am:

Steve,
I believe I read that some cars went through the New York branch (Ford had a NY warehouse). The article talked about employees crating the cars there for shipping. I think all the Fords for England we t through it. I believe some Fords for Aust/NZ also went through this way. I also think they were still listed as Ford Canada cars, although I don't know if they were ever in Canada.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 12:04 pm:

This article mentions the New York warehouse. I have another article that seemed to imply cars from Ford-Canada would also be shipped from this location, but of course, am not able to find it now:




Another post "pig nosed" radiator 1906 Model K:



And the "down under" (Maybe in NZ?) Model K racer/speedster. I believe Mark or one of our friends from Australia or OZ posted this. There is another photo and a story about it too (in more derelict condition):



And, a video with almost twenty minutes of nothing but Model Ks, past and present. A couple of our "down under" friends are in it, about a quarter of the way into the video:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7t4briz5bqu8hu3/NLDW6MoRBS


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 12:19 pm:

The link didn't work. Try this one:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d2z7fwurdztgwzn/Video%20Dec%2022%2C%2011%2034%2053%20P M.mov


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Stokes on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 03:14 pm:

Rob,

The exports referred to in the May '07 newspaper report will have been from the US to Britain. However, you are correct in saying that some Fords came to NZ/Aust directly from New York. But it was not the usual practice. Quite how and why (and when) they did this I don't know, as the tariff and tax regulations stated that the cars had to be exported from Canada.

I guess (and it is that, a guess!) that for practical reasons it may have made sense to not ship a car (or other products) a long distance to Ontario, only to have the same car (or products) make the journey back again, out at sea! The trade relationship between Canada and the US was a very good one and I can see officials agreeing to such practicalities from time to time.

The bottom line was, the cars were going to be exported and everyone knew there was no scam going on. Much later, as Canadian sales took off and production couldn't keep up, the Canadian government agreed to Ford importing parts from Canada to keep the sales going, so long as those parts were exported as completed cars. Ford of Canada had to pay the import tariff on those parts, but they got 95 or 99% of it back when the parts were exported. That helped keep the Ford of Canada business ticking over (making hay for Canada while the sun was shining).

Dave and Royce,

Ford wanted to ship the cars directly from Walkerville - to load the cars there - to reduce handling (time and costs). The beaten shipping route was as described above.

When you look at a world map, you would think that the shortest route to Aust/NZ would indeed be via the Pacific from the American west coast. But it is not until about 1914 (memory) that the first reports can be seen, of "automobiles increasingly being shipped from Vancouver". I wonder if the war had something to do with that. Perhaps the Rockies topography was a serious barrier too! And still the greater number travelled via Montreal.

John Stokes
New Zealand


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Trevan - Australia on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 04:10 pm:

Rob ,
My records say[X FORD MUSEUM] the first ''K''left for AUSTRALIA on August 2nd


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 04:42 pm:

Bob,

Great document. Was there any other info with it?

Thanks for posting,

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Trevan - Australia on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 05:23 pm:

Sadly NO Rob.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 07:51 pm:

If anyone wants a copy of the Canadian K numbers, send me an email
stemilcorporation@gmail.com


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 08:19 pm:

Steve, I have them at home however don't recall, do you know if all the Canadian cars show up on Trent Boggess U.S. ledgers?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 09:49 pm:

Rob
the K CDN ledgers are located at The University of Windsor Archives. They were never sent to Ford Oakille Ontario.
Ford Oakville closed its archive a few years ago and sent their records to Ford Archives (not Benson) in Detriot


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 09:54 pm:

Rob
I sent the CDN k ledger to you April 2013 along with 40? other documents


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 10:01 pm:

Steve
Yes, thank you. I do 't know for sure, but I believe all the cars on that ledger are included in Trent's ledger, just not sure. I'll look when I get home.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Friday, January 24, 2014 - 08:43 am:

The only Commonwealth export K's shown in the Canadian Ledger are #207 and #210. These appear to be shipped through a New York agent.
I am beginning to believe that all the export K's never entered Canada, but were shipped directly from Detroit.
Am I wrong?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Friday, January 24, 2014 - 08:50 am:

That would make a lot of sense Steve. There were so few K's built (less than one per day) it would hardly make any sense to build any in another location.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Friday, January 24, 2014 - 09:26 am:

I believe to qualify as a "Canadian built" car and avoid the high tariffs into Canada, only chassis or components had to be shipped to Canada and assembled.

I thought Canadian authorities were relatively strict about this, although it's not an area I've looked into thoroughly. (help me out Canadian and Commonwealth guys)

Ford sold 86 Model K in May, and 101 in June 1906 and Ford was stretched getting them out the door. The first production Model K weren't ready for sale until mid April, and only 17 were moved out that month.

Between the first Model K sale and September 30, 1906, Ford sold 301 Model K (Ford 1906 Fiscal Year records) and had produced up to car number 348 (Trent's Ledger research).

Working six full days a week, the raw numbers come to about 2-3 Model K per day. Ford was also attempting to get the Model N out to, and finally did in mid July, 1906.

I have several articles that talk of building a maximum of four to eight Model K in a single day during this time.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Friday, January 24, 2014 - 10:09 am:

Ford Canada shipped its first Model N on July 26 1906 to Dominion Auto Co. in Winnipeg, Manitoba Serial #25 .

Perhaps Canada could not handle assembling K's & N's at the same time because of space limitations. I am just speculating as I was not there.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Stokes on Friday, January 24, 2014 - 04:28 pm:

Rob,

Unfortunately I have to work today but will look later. As far as tariffs is concerned, it helps to understand the mood at the time.

In the Dominions, of which NZ was one, keeping trade within the Empire was a priority - emotionally, as much as anything (it is said we were more British than the British). For automobiles, this was true as early as the Model K era.

Tariffs did not only apply across the US - Canada border. Tariffs were also imposed by the Dominions in order to protect Empire trade. In New Zealand, coach builders, already feeling their trade was threatened by the arrival of built-up motor cars, lobbied for protection. As time went on this was more manifest in Australia than NZ.

That explains the market to which cars were being imported. Over time, cars coming to NZ from the USA became subject to restrictive tariffs, in order to protect Empire trade (ie favouring Great Britain and Canada). I've not got the timeline in my head but I do know that we were promoting Canadian-made in the K era. Not heavily, but it was there. It became heavier later on when the Brits realised they were missing out, and as a sop to the declining coachbuilding trade.

Of course, the exporting nations (US and Canada) had a very good relationship (as eluded to above in earlier post). But what they could do to make things happen (eg export directly out of USA instead of Canada) also had to be tolerable to the importing nation's authorities and tariff regimes.

John Stokes


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Friday, January 24, 2014 - 04:50 pm:

Steve,

Trent Boggess research (Ford Ledger) shows K #113 to Walkerville on 5/21/1906. N #25 to Walkerville on 7/20/1906. Apparently it didn't take long to assemble and send N#25 on to Manitoba on the 26th.

K #207 and #210 aren't on the Ford ledger (unless I'm missing them).

I think maybe some cars were sent through the Ford New York branch, then directly on to overseas locations, maybe including Australia and New Zealand (a guess). If so, I wonder if they were shipped to Walkerville for "rubber stamping" by Canadian importers, then right back to Detroit or on to New York. I tried to find railway rates from Detroit to New York but didn't have any luck.

Lots to learn.....


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mark herdman on Sunday, January 26, 2014 - 12:14 am:

Thanks everyone for your input.

This is a 1903-1954 production report, including Canada. Note how small production was in Canada compared to USA. Be interesting to count up all the production numbers from the ledgers and compare the numbers. I'm not sure if these years are fiscal or not. With Canadian low production numbers like this, I would imagine they would have struggled with export orders.



Note 1906 Canadian Production dropped while USA has increased by almost 5 times


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mark herdman on Sunday, January 26, 2014 - 12:31 am:

Here is some information for a the fist year of production in 1905. (1905 figures do not include the F production in Canada in late 1905 which there were suggesting the figures are for Fiscal Years)

Unfortunately the article doesn't mention any model figures for 1906 except new K & N models as well as the F from 1905





Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kerry van Ekeren (Australia) on Sunday, January 26, 2014 - 01:08 am:

Numbers for Canada do differ a little to 'The Story of the Ford in Canada' publication, so which is going to be correct?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Stokes on Sunday, January 26, 2014 - 04:19 am:

Figures given in "The Story of Ford of Canada" are essentially the same as those given in "American Business Abroad" (ABA)...

1905 - total production 114 cars - 107 Model C, 7 Model B (ABA is 117 and no exports)

1906 - total production 101 cars - 54 Model C, 12 Model K, 35 Model N (76 cars exported) (ABA is 99, incl 26 exports)

1907 - total production 327 cars - N, R, S and K (91 exported) (ABA is 327 incl 86 exports)

1908 - total production 324 cars - 13 Model N, 4 Model R, 164 Model S, 137 Model S Roadster, 6 Model K (114 cars exported) (ABA is 324, incl 112 exports)

John - New Zealand


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Sunday, January 26, 2014 - 02:24 pm:

For some reason, many sources list Ford selling over 8,000 cars for 1906. However, in Fiscal Year 1906 (Oct 1 1905 - Sep 30 1906) Ford only sold a little over 1500 cars. This was their "transition year, with some Model B, a few Model C, and Model F as the only Fords to sell until mid April, when the Model K made it to market. Model N reached production in July 1906.

This is the number of Fords I've found for FY 1906. Models C, B and F are estimates made by dividing Ford fiscal records by known dollars per car Ford took in (I have the total dollars of sales for these models, but not the number of cars sold). Models N and K are listed along with dollars of revenue and profit.

If calendar year is used, the number will be somewhat higher, with three more months of N sales, and three less months of F,B and C sales. I've also seen an estimate of 1505 cars in 1906, but don't recall the source.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mark herdman on Sunday, January 26, 2014 - 06:37 pm:

This is the earliest Add for referring to Ford in Australia (after the initial import of 2x A fords in 1904)

It appears to be an F Ford and talks about 1905 models. It came from a Victorian News Paper.

There is evidence of F Fords in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. So there were agencies for Ford prior to Davies & Fehon in Sydney in later mid 1906. As there were no exports from Canada in 1905 (fiscal year) The exports of F and possibly other models must have come from USA and partly continued into at least 1910 from the Ford Job Cars I have seen.


Mark


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