Collector Classics
The 22 cars were damaged during a fire aboard a Dutch freighter in Vancouver Harbour and written off by the automaker
It was a dark day in Vancouver automotive history six decades ago when a barge load of Austin A40s was dumped in English Bay — on purpose.
There was a British Invasion long before the Beatles and other bands from across the pond hit the airwaves in B. C. It was the compact Austin A40 automobiles that took the province by storm.
Vancouver- based Fred Deeley Motors had been the distributor for Austin cars in the province since 1932. Their tiny, underpowered Austin 7 compacts weren’t suited for B. C.’ s varied terrain and radically changing weather conditions. While the 7s were only good for city use and the larger 18 models with an 1,150- cc engine were more powerful, sales were sluggish.
Deeley convinced Austin Motors to build a left- hand drive export model as the manufacturer was about to release a brand- new car in 1948. That car was the Austin Devon A40 equipped with a economical 1,800- cc four- cylinder overhead valve engine coupled to a four- speed transmission. They had real leather seats and many were equipped with sun roofs. There were also pickup trucks, vans, station wagons and even ambulances available.
Once the cars started arriving in Vancouver and Victoria, they started to sell like hotcakes. Deeley moved 1,250 Austin A40’ s in 1948 — the first year of production. Sales soared in 1949 with 3,274 Austin cars sold in the province. In fact, the Austin outsold all other makes that year. Sales went into the stratosphere in 1950 with a total of 5,186 Austin cars sold. They seemed to be everywhere and they were being imported by the shipload.
In four years, total sales of Austin vehicles in British Columbia were worth $ 15 million to the 40 Austin dealers throughout the province. Deeley, the distributor, was also the most successful dealer selling one of every three Austin vehicles through sales outlets in Vancouver and Victoria.
The Austin A40 was Britain’s No. 1 export product earning $ 70 million in its first four years of production. The company was turning out a car every 44 seconds.
For 10 days in August 1951, Deeley held a giant Austin of England show in Vancouver’s Seaforth Amouries. The company sent an airplane- load of executives over to set up and run the show. It was a hugely popular event showcasing cars, trucks and even an Austin ambulance.
To heighten interest in the show, Deeley brought in a famous race car from England powered by a supercharged twin overhead cam engine.
Austin cars were the most popular makes seen on the streets of both Vancouver and Victoria. But there was a dark day to come.
On April 28, 1952, the Dutch ship Dongedyk caught fire in Vancouver harbour. The freighter was carrying 50 Austin A40 automobiles and light trucks. The Vancouver fireboat showered salt water on the freighter to extinguish the fire. The water damaged some of the vehicles.
On May 9, 22 of the most severely damaged Austin vehicles were loaded on a barge and taken out through English Bay to be dumped at the entrance to Howe Sound. Some valuable items like batteries and wheels had been stripped from the vehicles. The tugboat River Ace used a cable to pull the new vehicles off the barge. Photographer Robert O. Bentley captured the event with his historic shots that are now part of the Dominion Photo Studio collection in the Vancouver Public Library.
A spokesman for Austin of England, owner of the vehicles, was quoted in a Vancouver Sun story about the Austin car dump, saying: “We don’t want anyone to have any doubt in his mind when he buys a car. We are making sure no one claims his car is acting up because it was damaged in the fire.”
A subsequent article written after a tugboat crew was spotted spending a day dragging over the spot warned people who may want to go fishing for a new car that “the legal situation is ticklish. The ownership is still vested with the company that had them dunked.”
Austin continued to ship cars to Canada for the next 25 years. The Austin Mini cars and later the Austin Marina were sold from 1972 to 1978. But the glory days of market dominance really ended for Austin with the introduction of the hardy, economical and reliable Volkswagen Beetle to Canada beginning in 1953.
Then, in the mid- 60s, North American manufacturers introduced compact cars into the marketplace, further pushing Austin cars into the background.
Austin cars will be present at tomorrow’s All British Field Meet, billed as The Greatest Show on British Wheels. The all- day event takes place at Vancouver’s Vandusen Botanical Garden. The show pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the MGB along with Lotus cars and Norton motorcycles.