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Ute History #3.

I purchased this ute from an elderly Sydney gentleman by the name of Vern Blackwell. Mr Blackwell started the restoration but it grew stale when he developed an interest in fast racing yachts. I purchased it from him in 2005.
Mr Blackwell found the bones of this vehicle whilst camel trekking across the Simpson Desert in the north of South Australia and later retrieved it with a 4 wheel drive ex military truck.
The ute had a colourful history. It was owned by a grazier on the north side of Menindee in NSW by the name of Percy Periwinkle. Mr Periwinkle and indeed the ute received considerable publicity in the 40’s when the publican at Menindee, Dizzy Day had a severe heart attack. The local airstrip was too wet for the Flying Doctor to land and transport Dizzy to hospital. Dizzy was made as comfortable as it was possible in the tub (bed) for the ride over a gravel road to the Broken Hill hospital. Dizzy’s wife May went with him but she was much more comfortable in cab. The incident received considerable publicity because both Percy and Dizzy were well known and popular throughout the outback. Dizzy did survive.
The ute had a sad ending. It was stolen by a infamous couple who were known to be in the area at the time. Mr Blackwell found it on the Strzelecki track some 60 years later. The dingos the crows and ants had dined off the bodies of the couple until only the skeletons were left. The couple were well known for their antics and their names. He, Bundy, named after the famous “Bundaberg Rum” and she a German expat named Heidi or Heid for short. It is said an American couple who plundered and killed in Louisiana were named after them.
Well now the ute has a charmed life. It hardly goes out in the rain and that is because it doesn’t rain much. I keep it in my garage next to my town car, a VW. They have difficulty with language but they tolerate each other. I’ve never thought about it before but one could call the VW “the cabbage” and the A “coca cola”representing their respective countries of origin. No, just joking, the A will always be Woofa.Express. Woofa pictured below.