Time for some Newman Nostalgia!
Today we thought we'd share another of Dale Neill's wonderful stories which we though you'd love as much as we did.
Dale graduated from St Joseph's (Marist, now Newman) College, Subiaco, in 1961, and went on to become a professional photographer and further, a brilliant educator in all facets of photography.
His stories though, are the absolute bomb! (Pardon the pun.) Enjoy!
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Flashback: My first ever car, 1961.
My mate Graham 'Wally' Walden and I bought this 1934 Vauxhall straight six for £5, 10 shillings (roughly $170 today) while we were both in Leaving (Year 12) at Marist Brothers in Subiaco.
The motor wasn't working. The previous owners, two young guys from Victoria, had run it without water in the radiator and cracked the engine head. We spent every weekend for two months, totally besotted by our car, and determined beyond belief to make it run again.
This photo was taken the day we turned the engine over with a crank handle and the six cylinders spluttered into life! Oh! What a beautiful sound that was! It was one of those rare moments in life of complete self-actualisation, a 'first class miracle', a moment of revelation and exaltation.
We felt like kings.
We wiped away the grease and grime, showered, and put on our Sunday best duds.
Then we cranked the engine again and sauntered off down Cambridge Street, Wembley, at the breakneck speed of 30mph in our 'Al Capone' roadster, and parked at Lake Monger where we drank a couple of Cokes.
We drove our mobster rod with running boards, rear 'dickie' seat and long gear stick to school each day. Not only were we the only kids driving to school, we were probably the only ones who owned their own car! [Dale later admitted they didn't have a drivers' licence at that point!]
Wally and I sold the Vauxhall in October for £10. It wasn't going when we bought it and it wasn't going when we sold it, but I'd learnt how to disassemble an engine and repair a cracked head.
Wally and I had more fun, broke more rules, made more noise, picked up more girls, and created more havoc than I care to remember! But no animals were hurt and no nuns were injured in the journey.
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Shot on Hanimex C35 camera with Kodak Pan film.
