A new book by Ian Collis takes a nostalgic look back at how Australians used to holiday during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The collection features vintage caravans, seaside motels and charming snapshots of summer road trips past.
Iconic Attractions and Roadside Stops
In 1964, John Landi wanted something to make passing traffic stop at his roadside banana stall in Coffs Harbour. He knew it would have to be big, so with local engineer Alan Chapman they designed the Big Banana, now a major tourist attraction.
Other highlights include a family posing for a holiday snap on the road to their caravanning getaway, and travellers looking out at a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) plane on the tarmac at Darwin airport in 1960.
Beachside Leisure and Family Fun
Bathers enjoyed the in-ground swimming pool at the Beachcomber private hotel in Surfers Paradise in the 1960s, while a 1970s mum relaxed while her children played by their caravan. People also enjoyed the dodgem cars at Luna Park in Sydney in the 1950s.
El Caballo Blanco, an amusement park on the Hume Highway, 60km from Sydney, was popular during the school holidays with their famous Andalusian horses. A prawn-eating competition at a Queensland holiday resort on the Great Barrier Reef took place in the 1970s.
Coastal Escapes and Inland Adventures
Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury River has long been the perfect spot to hire a houseboat for a holiday on the water. Cabins on South Molle Island, one of the Whitsundays' 74 islands off the central coast of Queensland, were featured in 1963, alongside the packed beachfront at Surfers Paradise on Queensland's Gold Coast.
Wattamolla Falls in NSW has long been a popular spot for swimming, fishing, snorkelling and bushwalking. The Puffing Billy Railway in Belgrave crosses the Monbulk Creek trestle bridge in Selby, and Hawaiian-themed nights were popular at Coolangatta's Pacific Village resort in the 1970s.
