As an indication of the flood of cars imported into Australia, there were 15,000 cars brought into the country in 1917, of which 10,000 were Model T Fords, 2,300 Dodges, 1500 Buicks and 1200 others.

The experiences and hardships of pioneer motorists, particularly in the outback, has become Australian folklore (Fig. 16), as described by Max Colwell in his book Australian Transport

The ability to repair almost any part of the vehicle with makeshift tools and fencing wire; of stuffing tyres with spinifex as a last resort and using leather hacked from the driver's boot as a friction pad between slipping clutch plates. The ordeals of bogged vehicles in appalling tracks; of using wide greenhide belts passing under the back and front mudguards, transforming the car into a kind of caterpillar tractor which would cross sand under its own power. Not to mention the misery of endless road corrugations which inflicted crippling punishment on drivers of inadequately sprung vehicles, together with the inevitable punctures which were a regular feature of early motoring, aggravated by the high pressure required by the tyre's construction. These were days when drivers were forced to use their initiative and imagination to keep their vehicles running and to overcome the hazards of the road. Stories of their exploits abound.[10]

16 1919 Ford Model T extensively modified for 'outback' travel (La Trobe Collection State Library of Victoria)

In the early years of the new century the arrival of large numbers of imported cars began to make a serious impact on the established coach and carriage building industry and in 1902 the Government imposed customs duty on imported motor bodies to encourage local manufacture.

Overseas vehicle manufacturers established dealer-assemblers who assembled the chassis which arrived in a semi knocked-down (K.D.) condition and added a body, often of local design and manufacture. In 1913 about 2000 bodies were produced locally and 4900 imported. The Government imposed a ban on importation of motor bodies in 1917 to conserve foreign exchange and shipping space. In the following year, however, an unorthodox plan was introduced which allowed one motor body to be imported for every two chassis. The incentives were such that the dealer assemblers entered into or encouraged others to enter into, the motor body building business to permit sale of complete cars using the imported chassis, and the industry grew with a very large number of different makes being offered for sale.[11] In 1924 the records show that the number of different new car types sold in Australia were 102 of which about 40 per cent originated from the United Kingdom, 10 per cent from Europe and 50 per cent from North America.[12]

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering