Mr Joseph Bradshaw was born in 1905 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900-1960 ' project. Here he remembers being the proud owner of the second car in Liverpool, in 1927.
Transcript
JOSEPH: I had the second car in Liverpool. Did you know that? A little baby Austin in 1927. The old Father Walsh, he used to be the Managing Superintendent of the Liverpool Hospital, he had the first car and I had the second. A little seven-horse baby Austin. I bought it in Sydney, in Paddington, off a fella by the name of Billy Cannaulty [?]. They were a hundred and twenty pounds imported from England you know. It was an Eight Hour [Day] weekend. My first daughter at the time was five, I think she was, Phyllis. I saw this advertisement in the paper: 'Baby Austin - a car for ninety nine pounds'. And I said 'By Jesus'. I thought to myself - I had a horse and sulky at the time - I said 'By Jesus, a car, it would do seventy miles to the gallon'. I got hold of a fella I knew pretty well, Charlie Rynan [?]. He had an egg place. He used to deliver the eggs. Anyhow, I got him to come to Sydney and have a look at it with me. He drove me down and we had a look at this car for ninety nine pounds and I bought it. He said 'How are we gonna get home?' and I said 'I'll drive it', and you mightn't believe it, I drove out into Centennial Park in Sydney with Billy Cannaulty and myself and Charlie Rynan. Had a bit of a drive and I said 'Righto!' and I drove it home. Drove it home, followed him all the way to Liverpool here when I lived down in Mill Road. There was no traffic, and blue metal roads. There was none of this macadamised roads, Liverpool was a blue metal road, only one, no lane ways or anything like that, no footpaths; a bit of asphalt here and there. I drove it to Canberra that weekend, and all around, right to Canberra, across to Yass, up over the Blue Mountains, home. Twenty five shillings for petrol, that's all it cost me. Camped out. Canberra was only just beginning to be built at that time. You could rent a room, it was, with a fireplace in it and two beds. You had to have your own linen. Two and six [pence].
