My 1960 Morris Oxford. Series V.

It would have been around 1970 or so when I had this car. I had been working at British Leyland in Zetland, Sydney, when once again the travel bug bit. A workmate had this car for sale and I bought it. Loaded all my worldly possessions and headed north, once again. The car was actually quite comfortable as a long-distance thing.

Designed by Italian car guru Farina and powered by a BMC B series 4 cylinder  engine, four speed column change transmission, it was no drag car but it cruised comfortably and economically. It took me faithfully over the Blue Mountains and north to Queensland, to Brisbane again, to be exact. The car had a 1140cc four-cylinder flat head engine, it produced 32bhp (24kw) and could reach a sizzling 60 mph (97kph).

In Brisbane, I got a job with the Brisbane City Council.

At the time, early 1970's. Greater Brisbane was just coming out of the 'outhouse' era...many homes still had a toilet situated in the back yard, these little 'Out-houses' were serviced by a council gang who called to everyone's home, took out the 'dunny-can' which sat under an enclosed  wooden seat and emptied it into a truck.

Clearly, an expensive and perhaps an unsavoury occupation.

Hence, it was decided the BCC would do as most of the civilised world had done and install a city-wide sewerage system. It was on this system I worked, all around the Mt Gravatt area, south of Brisbane.

I was a dogman, my job was to direct a crane driver lifting dirt from the base of a large open topped tank, men would be inside the tank, in a large hole, using jack-hammers and other digging equipment, as the earth was removed from the hole the tank would slowly drop down, it was interesting, stable, well paid, work but, as usual, I tired of it. It had been some time since I visited Sydney, and I was in for a life-changing time.

I traded the Morris and 'upgraded' to yet another Holden....