Thread: snowy mountains video

IIRC
The first 13 Landcruisers were imported in 1958 by Les Theiss who was a contractor on the Snowy Scheme. They went on general sale in 1959.
This meant that for at least 10 years the Authority used Land Rovers and NOT Land Cruisers. As far as I'm aware the actual Snowy Mountains Authority ( as opposed to their contractors) never had more than a few ( if any ) Landcruisers right up until the end of the construction phase (early 70's).

The Dodge power wagons were a mighty vehicle and used by the original surveyors and hydrographers and stream monitors. They carried a ton of equipment (survey,measurement and camping) into remote mountain areas long before there were any roads. The Land Rovers didn't have sufficient payload.
Some of the other vehicles used were:

1949 One of the first seven

Eucumbene Dam site 1958 ___2 months before completion

The mighty Antar Jan 1954 near Munyang

An Austin 4X4 descending into Tumut 1 c1953
(These are frequently incorrectly identified as Dodges

You'll notice

NOT A BLOODY TOYOTA IN SIGHT

Originally Posted by UncleHo

G'day Jimbo110

Have you thought to make a copy of this available to our Administrator "Incisor" as he is/was compiling a DVD of the 60th and other early Landrover history

cheers

I have started going through my old videos and digitising them. This was 3 minutes from a 1 hour video I borrowed from the local landrover club in the mid 90's. Lots of series 1 stuff and the change to series 11's. From memory I also have some of the promo films of the early Camel Trophy events, including the Aussie event, but I do remember the sound is not that flash on some of them, and they are not that long like the later, '87 on productions. If Dave wants them I have no problem processing them onto DVD and posting them over. You tube has reduced the quality of this one, the original I have is quite clear, like watching an old movie.

For those interested in Dam building at about the same time over here, this is a very good watch:

These New Zealanders - TVNZ ondemand

I was born in Otematata a few years after this film was done as Dad worked on the Dams

hey this is turning into a good history lesson... just what we need to know if the Tojo guys want to get into a debating match....

Just a shame that from the great start LR weren't able to recognise / capitalise on the head start they had here in Oz.

Had heard that Theiss brought the first Tojos for the Snowy Scheme but didn't realise the timeline and numbers involved.

Is it true that Theiss went to Toyotas because of parts supply issues????

Paul

Theiss went to Toyotas as part of his more grandiose plans to set up the National Franchise for Toyotas. He just happened to have some contracts on the Snowy at the time. As far as I'm aware the trumped up parts issue was part of a dis-information campaign that came later. So was the story that he especially imported Land Cruisers for use on the Snowy. His main ambition was to get in first with the Japanese marque. The main reason that he succeeded and the Toyotas started to sell was that Land Rover started to become subject to the whole BMC/British Leyland debacle. Toyota took over the 4 wheel drive market in Australia because British Leyland didn't want it ! Not because Toyota had the better vehicle.

Toyota could't get there 'til Land Rover made the roads for them

Originally Posted by ivery819

Theiss went to Toyotas as part of his more grandiose plans to set up the National Franchise for Toyotas. He just happened to have some contracts on the Snowy at the time. As far as I'm aware the trumped up parts issue was part of a dis-information campaign that came later. So was the story that he especially imported Land Cruisers for use on the Snowy. His main ambition was to get in first with the Japanese marque. The main reason that he succeeded and the Toyotas started to sell was that Land Rover started to become subject to the whole BMC/British Leyland debacle. Toyota took over the 4 wheel drive market in Australia because British Leyland didn't want it ! Not because Toyota had the better vehicle.

What has to be remembered was that until the early seventies, if not later, Rover was unable to produce enough Landrovers to meet demand. This is what gave Toyota and Nissan an opportunity. (Jeep did not count - they were in the dollar area and there was almost no sales to and fro between the dollar and sterling area.) In particular, the re-equipment of the Australian Army with Landrovers to replace the jeeps used up till then, meant that Australia's total allocation of Landrovers went to the army for about six months. Which meant that if you were anyone else, you had to either wait or buy something else.

Rover operated on the assumption that there was nothing else, but Theiss was prepared to take the risk and import Landcruisers. When he started in 1958, they were no real competition (no low range, and numerous other shortcomings), but Toyota was prepared to change rapidly (as a far bigger company than Rover, they were able to) and by the mid sixties when I first used them, they were in many ways competitive. Rover, seeking to meet this problem, merged with Leyland in 1967, apparently unaware that Leyland planned to take over the whole British motor industry. By 1972 it was apparent that the advvantages Rover sought from the merger were not going to happen, and the next ten years were pretty dismal for Landrover.

In the Australian situation, the shortage of Landrovers, in the first half of the sixties in particular, gave Toyota their toehold, and one thing gave them a major advantage - a better power to weight ratio. Add to this a longer wheelbase (121" in the FJ45) and better load carrying (1 ton vs 0.75 ton), and you could ignore the semifloating axles, three speed gearbox, awful steering, awful fuel consumption, terrible carburetters, broken wheel studs, failing alternators, water leaks, dust leaks, upholstery that disintegrated in Australian sunlight, seat frames that collapsed under Western weights etc.

Also helped that unlike with Landrover, the dealer actually tried to sell it to you, and the after sales service really was service. (The company I worked for at the time re-equipped with Landcruisers in 1965, to replace the two wheel drive International 120s and Holden Utes that failed to cut the ice - which in turn had replaced the Landrovers they had decided were too expensive to maintain in about 1962 - I drove a FJ45V from 1965 to early 67 when I was not driving my own S2 later 2a)

John

G'day Folks

I will add a little more to what JD said, Theiss Bros.was a major contractor on the Snowy Scheme as they were one of a very few that had earthmoving equipment, which they had salvaged from Ex US military bases in the Pacific, first with a borrowed barge, then with an LST, (Landing Ship Tank) as the US military just walked away from their bases at the end of the war, leaving or dumping millions of dollars of gear,from hand tools to bulldozers, Theiss salvaged this equipment(just went from Island to Island and collected it) and that is what made them the leading earthmoving contractors in Aust, most other equipt was hired through C.H.E.P. (Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool) which was also ex Lend-Lease or Military equipt. in 1957 Les Theiss went to Toyota Japan to try to get the Australian Distributorship of Toyota vehicles in Aust. he succeeded, and part of the deal with the Govt was that for every 1 vehicle brought in 2 vehicles worth of spares had to come in, that is what sold them in Aust, SERVICE, something that BMC/Leyland and Landrover never has been able to come to terms with Arnold Glass (Capitol Motors Sydney) took up the Nissan/Datsun franchise, 1959/60 under the same 2 spares for 1 vehicle deal. that effectly killed the British Car in Australia.

Hope that is of some interest

cheers