Australian Steam Car

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30667, 5 February 1965, Page 9

Australian Steam Car

•THE oldest Australian-built car has recently been on display in the Tasmanian office of a national airline. The car is a Finlayson, a locally-built steam car named after its builders, and made in 1900. The builders were a Tasmanian engineering firm. Between 1900 and 1904 the firm made nine vehicles, including a 12-passenger bus and three eight-passenger cars. The car was discovered stored away in the firm’s loft, and given to a Melbourne engineer, Mr W. Buchanan, for restoration. This work took 18 months.

The only information about the original car came from a statement left by a former managing director of the firm, and from the hazy memories

of some of the men who had helped to build the original car in 1900. Some of the parts were in first-class condition, but others were little better than scrap. However the original chassis was complete. New steering gears were obtained from a 1904 Minerva, and the wheels from a Model T Ford were fitted with pneu-

matic tyres. The original boiler could not be found, so Mr Buchanan had to build one. Now the Finlayson will run quietly along at a maximum of 20 miles an hour, and it has been issued with Tasmanian registration plates.