TATRA truck expedition Australia 1935

UNIQUE EXPEDITION.During tiie last few weeks, inhabitants of some lonely way-back stations have rubbed their eyes at seeing a most unusual looking vehicle. On close examination they decide that It Is a motor caravan, and read on a nickel plate on the door 'Expe-dition of Zoological Department— Na-tional Museum, Prague, Chechoslovakia.' And the expedition consists only of Dr. Jiri Baum (Director ot the Museum) and his wife. Not a very big expedition, but what It lacks In numbers It more than makes up for in efficiency and enthusiasm. If you were asked Inside the caravan you would see weird and wonderful things. In specially built cupboards and fixtures are an array of sliding trays or drawers, wblch hold glass containers In which are contentedly reposing a nice array of spiders, lizards, beetles and other Australian natives, little knowing that they are having their last look at Australia and will wake up some fine morning in Prague. (Oh yes, they'reall alive! ) Here Is an example of Dr. Baum's efficiency. Several consignments of our lizards and tarantulas have already been sent borne to Prague by air mall, and they arrived safe and sound, all alive and kicking ! The whole caravan is a model of self-contained efficiency. It Is built on a Tatra 2-ton chassis, with six 7.60-15 tyres, and the caravan body and special fittings were built by Uhllk, of Prague. Total weight is 4 toqs. Inside the caravan, In addition to tlie accommodation for 'live stock' are bunks, a cooking stove, a dark room with running water tor developing photographs, and every conceivable convenience that Dr. and Mrs. Baum and the designers of the flttlnsre could think of to ensure comfort and efficiency In the work of the expedition. Tbat all the contingencies of this expedition were carefully thought out In advance Is proved by the fact thatfo far (7.500 miles) there has been no accident and only four punctures since the tyres Were lilted on in Prague. Three months ago they left Prague with their Tatra and drove to Italy. The next lime the doctor took the wheel wae at Fremantle. They have driven overland from Fremantle to Sydney, calllng at Adelaide. Melbourne and a number of country towns en route. Most of the trip has been spent in the wilds, ths doctor ptowline around pnotopraphlng and capturing his specimens, with Mrs Baum as first lieutenant and chef. They will go through Queensland. then to Japan and home via America. At one stage they were alone for 18 days in the desert What an epic of self-reliance, courage and patience ! Two people, with an Imperfect knowledge of our lantackle 1he hazardous overland journey that manv Australians would shrink from Bui ir vou hud met them and been, ibeit enthusiasm, and realised

 
 

Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 4 December 1952, page 12

12,000-Mfle Expedition On the point of leaving on a 12,000-mile truck expedition which will include some of the remotest parts of Central Australia and WA, are (from left) Mr. P. J. Epling, Mrs. Birdsell and Prof. J. B. Birdsell of the University of California. Prof. Birdsell, who is one of the world's leading anthropologists, will spend the next 18 months studying aborigines, assited by Mrs. Birdsell and Mr. Epling, who is an American university student.

 

Remember this guy ? He was often in the news for different expeditions he was involved in, boats , cars, trucks. 

  Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Tuesday 29 August 1978, page 15 . Truckers' expedition cuts :the east-west journey. Hans Tholstrup and the M.A.N, diesel in which he made the trip.MASSIVE turbocharged M.A.N, truck has carved 1600 kilometres off the existingroute from Perth to Townsville. Driven by Hans Tholstrup and Phil Cornford, the 25 tonne 6x4 tandem-drive diesel truck took 14 days to cross the continent. They believe the trip could be done in 10 days, but delays occurred due to unseasonable flooding near Ayers Rock.The semi-trailer was taken across some of the nation's worst terrain, the route passing through Kalgoorlie, the Gibson Desert, Alice Springs, the Simpson Desert, then across Queensland to Townsville.It is believed to be the first time a fully laden truck has ever crossed Australia through the centre.Expedition leader Hans Tholstrup considers, the new route to be a future link between the west and east coasts. The truck was carrying a range of products including a symbolic iron ingot which mining magnate Lang Hancock asked Tholstrup to deliver to Townsville. The truck's route is very close to the Western AustralianQueensland rail link which Hancock has wanted for years..

 

Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Tuesday 15 August 1939, page 138000

MILE MAP AND TALKIE TRIP

On an 8000-mile trip, which will take them from Adelaide to Perth, and thence around the coast to Darwin and through the centre of Australia to Adelaide, a fully-equipped party has left Melbourne in a 1 1/2 -ton Chevrolet truck.The expedition will obtain detailed information of the route, and a talkie film of the interior, for the Shell Company, and through them motorists contemplating travel along this route. The expedition comprises Mr. R. h. Murphy, Shell Company tours officer, Mr. Roy Driver, cine cameraman, and Mr. J. C. M. Cameron, who recently motored from England to Australia. At Stawell. the party will be augmented by Mr. T. King, who has conducted many tours through outback The party will be away for eight weeks. With £4000 worth of motion camera equipment, they expect to secure 10,000 feet of pictures, for world distribution. The growing interest of motorists In long overland tours prompted the Shell Company to organise the expedition.When cleaning plugs fitted with mica insulators, avoid the use of emery cloth or other abrasives. These will destroy the smooth finish of the mica surface, causing the plug insulator to collect enrbon more readily.

 
 

Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1965), Friday 31 August 1928, page 12

CHEVROLET EXPEDITION REACHES CAIRO. The Chevrolet Expedition, which is travelling from Capetown, South Africa, to Stockholm, Sweden, a ten thousand mile tour, reached Cairo on the 6th of August. The arrival at Cairo is a triumphal culmination of a journey carried out ' over almost impassable country where streams have been flooded and tracks obliterated by torrential rains. Although never be-fore has such an arduous trip beenundertaken in light stock car, Captain I Lacey, leader of thc Expedition telegraphed from Cairo that the Sedan and Truck arc both in excellent me-chanical condition. Facing difficulties unknown to transportation when en.tcring thc Egyptian Sudan, those who know thc staying power of Chevrolet had every confidence thc journey to Cairo would bc completed by road, showing thc world that the endurance claimed for Chevrolet is a veritable fact even under undreamed of ob-stacles. That this confidence was fully justified is shown by thc fact that the journey was-overtand all the way wit.h no recourse made to transit by cither boat cr rail (thc customary method of motorists who endeavor to negotiate conditions in this practic-ally roadless part of thc world). I _

 
 

Fighting Rust wrote:

 

 

This pic of the Tatra appeared in the Benalla Standard 26 March 1935 under the headline Unique Caravan In Australia:

A pic of them in Western Australia with the caravan. 

 

Perenjori Pioneer (WA : 1930 - 1947), Saturday 16 March 1935, page 4Dr. Jiri Baum and his wife just before leaving for ihe South West, beside the Tatra Caravan.

  Interesting Visitor for South-West.West Australia has long been famed for harbouring every type oi noxious insect that crawls, bites or stings and most people try to avoid them as much as possible, but we have 'now, a distinguished visiting naturalist from ^Czeclio Slovakia touring • the south-west of this State to study and colleci snakes, flies, beetles and' particularly spiders. - . Doctor Jiri Baum and his wife who accompanies him on his travels have journeyed extensively in pursuit of information on the habits of insects,'and from experience acquired in Africa during a trip by road from Cairo to Cape Town has designed and had built caravan suitable for tropical conditions and bush roads. The caravan is lightly but strongly built and. provides adequate sleeping accommodation for two persons, well lit, with windows fitted with curtains to keep out heat and glare and additional mosquito -screens so that at night a free circulation of air is permitted without flying insects invading the well lit interior. .Washing andcooking accommodation are situated. at the rear end, and * dark room for photographic work is placed near the water supply tanks.To enable Dr. Baton to keep in touch with current events a large radio is fixed near thereof, where it does not I inconvenience the travellers,The caravan is mounted on a Tatra -6-wheel chassis, the motor of which deviates considerably from the standard practice to which we are accustomed. • A four-cylinder air cooled engine, the- cylinders being horizontally opposed, two on each side of the crankcase, provide the power which is transmitted through a gearbox giving eight forward and two reverse gearings. The drive from there goes to the two rear axles both of which are fitted with differential action. A locking device enables both axlei to drive solid thus obviating any difficulty in sand or mud. Dr. Baum intends to stay in the West for about five months and we trust that any of our readers in the South-West who may meet him in his wanderings will do their utmost tc make both his wife and himself feel welcome amongst us so that when he returns to his native country he will carry back pleasant memories of hii tour in South-Western Australia.The Tatra - 4-cylinder Horizontally-opposed Air-cooled Engine.Dr. Jiri Baum and his wife just before leaving cor the South-West, beside the Tatra Caravan.

 

Was that 4 cyl air cooled engine a VW/Porshe deal or a fore runner of them?????

Hi Brocky

It's interesting. 

In the late 1930s, Tatra began a infringement case against Porche/ Volkswagen, for copying the flat 4 air cooled engine. The case was continued after the war , and continued until 1965  when  Volkswagen lost and paid a million Deutche Marks $$  to Tatra.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_97