The Indian Connection
Mike Munday grew up in Gembrook which is in the Dandenong Ranges area of Victoria. As a youngster he went strawberry picking so as to get the cash to purchase his first motorcycle, a BSA Bantam at the age of 13. By the time he was in his early 20s he had acquired the usual run of Triumphs, BSAs and a 1929 Twin Port Ariel. He was attending swap meets and becoming active in wheeling and dealing. He became a secondary school teacher for nine years specialising in Art and History. However he spent the last 5 years of that career looking at how to get out of that occupation and focus on what he wanted to do – motorcycle trading. He resigned and headed off to England with his savings. He did the rounds of the wholesalers, Russell Motors, Wassell, MCA and others. He moved to Queensland and negotiated with the owners of the Ettamogah Pub to build a building adjacent to their premises which is located on the Bruce Highway, Sunshine Coast. This was the start of Pioneer Motorcycles. It was also the start of the Restoration Period when people were busy restoring the types of machines that they had owned in their earlier years. Although other traders such as Modak in Melbourne and Ryans and Eades in Sydney had been around for many years, Pioneer was the first of the ‘new breed’ of machines and parts suppliers. Others were coming onto the scene such as Jon Munn of Classic Style Warehouse, Melbourne who also purchased machines from Pioneer. Mike was keen and motivated and saw the need to gain maximum exposure and did so by attending swap meets from Bendigo to Cairns. To keep pace with the turnover of stock Mike was continuing to purchase parts from his suppliers in England. When opening one such parcel he found that the parts were wrapped in newspaper, the New Delhi Times, India. This got Mike thinking and undertaking some detective work and following this up with inquiries at the Indian Consulate. This resulted in him travelling to India and meeting up with Mr W.C. Kohli. This man was well educated and an astute business man who had been displaced from his birthplace in the north during some political upheaval in the late 1940s. India of course had previously been part of the British Empire. Vast quantities of British motorcycles and parts had been shipped there, especially during the World War 11 period, hence the local population used these machines for daily transport. Kohli realized that there was a need to buy and trade in both machines and their parts. He made purchases from the local military disposal stores as well as buying from other countries such as Egypt and Pakistan. He commenced the trade name Eversure. He was quickly recognized as a worthy supplier, so much so that in the early 1970s some of the major dealers in England went to India and commenced buying up the New Old Stock that was on hand. He also supplied American suppliers, Domi-Racer and Bob Stark of Starklight Cycles with Indian Chief, Scout and 741 parts and machines. The New Old Stock parts he was able to acquire included chronometric speedos, mag/dynos, Lucas headlights still in their original cartons, girder forks and Burgess Air Cleaners in the War Department packaging. By the time Mike arrived the stock had diminished to some extent. As the new parts sold, Kohli was getting local manufacturers to copy these items. In fact by the late 1970s Eversure was the largest manufacturer in the world of classic British parts. Mike’s Pioneer continued to trade with Eversure until 1994 when he sold Pioneer. Part of the agreement with the new owners was that he would not partake in the motorcycle trade for a period of seven years. He had already commenced Roadside Relics which he then operated at Gympie. This business trades in automotive artifacts such as enamel signs, oil bottles and petrol bowsers. However after that period of exclusion had expired he decided it was time to get back in touch with Kohli at Eversure. He went over and renewed the business connections and commenced operating as the Australasian Wholesale Distributor supplying motorcycle dealers both here and in New Zealand. This time he traded as E. & M. (Eversure and Munday) and this ran parallel to Roadside Relics. However, as with us all, Mike is not getting any younger and has decided to retire from his role as Eversure (India) sole Australasian distributor. He can then concentrate on the restoration of his own collection of bikes ranging from a 1911 Lewis to a 1949 Sunbeam. He does hope that another enthusiast will pick up where he leaves off and continue to supply the trade in conjunction with Eversure. Mr Rakesh (Rocky) Kohli, present proprietor, is hoping for a smooth transition that will see the parts business continue in the hands of one exclusive wholesaler. Mike is prepared to sell for the wholesale value of the remaining stock on hand – no goodwill added. So anyone interested should contact Mike direct during business hours on (07) 5482 1400.
See you next issue, Pete