Swap meet find 1942 Inter

[Mike K]

I did a TAFE course years ago and the guy sitting next to me had grown up in Coburg in the early 1950's - he said Bill Hughes was his best mate at school . He would visit Bill and be goggle eyed at the fantastic model train setup Bill had .

This chap said there was a council tip across the road from their yard and anything of low value , not worth selling, would be pushed into the tip . He used to scrounge the tip as Hughes had thrown out thousands of mortar bomb holders , the clips being made from gun metal , he would spend a few hours there and take the salvage to the scrap metal yard and make enough to go to the pictures .

He said the old man would buy a new Rover car each year !

I know one of them went to Europe on a buying trip as some German items were turning up in their yard .

They used to run full page adverts in the Weekly Times .

At one stage they were buying so much surplus , they ran out of space and they rented a paddock at Broadmeadows , trouble is the paddock owner was selling off the stuff on the side !

[motto]

Vic Drew was the proprietor of Vic Drew Used Trucks. He had three children that inherited the business when he passed away, they were Bill and Les and their sister Val.
Bill knew no other life except the business of buying and selling parts for trucks belonging to bygone times and his knowledge was (is) quite extensive. He has an alert manner and is happy to share his knowledge and memories. He still runs an offshoot of the business in an old shop across the road from the original yard in Mt Alexander Road, Ascot Vale.
Val died many years ago, she worked in the business until overcome by ill health.
Les wanted nothing to do with the business except to get his hands on his cut. He and Bill were always at war and it took years to liquidate the property held by the estate.
One of the yards was Rosamond Road, Maribyrnong where Highpoint West shopping centre now stands. A very large quantity of ex government trucks and parts was accumulated there behind a corrugated iron front fence but no side fence and no security. Kids got in and smashed what they could. I remember sets of Harley Davidson engine bearings scattered on the ground and NOS CCKW open cab windscreens pulled out of the crate and broken. All very sad.

David