From Our Australian Correspondent.
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The pioneer work done by the various agents and by THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR, in endeavouring to get people to realize the many advantages to be gained by the adoption of motor haulage in Australia, is at last having some enect, and one is beginning to see in what way business is likely to go in the future. At the present moment, firms which are sufficiently satisfied to purchase a trial machine show a decided tendency to do so only after their first seeing the actual one which they intend to purchase, so that some firms, which are quite in a position to obtain orders, are failing to move simply because they cannot secure delivery in less than two months. It is, of course, not a matter of serious importance, as all are "in the same boat," but British manufacturers might well note that this state of affairs exists and might see if they cannot do something to overcome it.
I referred, a few weeks ago, to a service started by a Dennis char-abanes between Glen Innes and Inverell. The car continued to work regularly and efficiently until a few days ago, when the tires, which incidentally had been guaranteed by their manufacturer for 10,000 miles, suddenly collapsed after less than 2,000 miles of running, with the result that the car is being largely blamed for the failure. In addition to that, there are certain cars running in Sydney to-day, which, although they have been working for some months, have travelled no appreciable distance before their tires are also showing signs of going, with the result that all these firms will be faced with the necessity in the near future of purchasing new tires, and, as not one of the manufacturers of the tires to which I refer is represented in Australia, it either means that these firms will have to import their owr tires or to have their wheels altered to suit those which can 13.:% 1,archas2d on the spot.
Such news only tends to point more forcibly the lesson which -' Homoc " tried to drive home on the 8th July last, when he pointed out the need that existed for manufacturers to pay more attention to the tires they fitted to their vehicles. This is particularly important, where vehicles are intended for export, as people in the Colonies ure only too ready to blame the vehicle for what is really the fault of the tires. Manufacturers would he well advised if they recommended their agents to purchase a good, if moreexpensive, tire than they have been in the habit of fitting. These guarantees of 10,000 miles, as " Boma: " truly stated, are of no value when a car is laid up, as is the Glen Innes one12,000 miles away from replacements! I am well able to sympathize with the owners and the agent in this case : the moral is an obvious one—buy a good tire.
A real commencement has at last been made in the use of commercial motors here, and one that is likely to lead to business of huge proportions. At the commencement of the year 1909, Sydney—and New South Wales for that matter—could only refer to the failures of the past, having not one single commercial motor at work! The year closes with eight at work, and many more on order, although it was only in the latter part of April that these vehicles first appeared. Melbourne was not quite so badly off, as it had just received an order from the Postal Department for two Albion delivery vans, whilst one or two others were working in a desultory manner for some of the larger firms. Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia were all practically without commercial motors of any kind ; Tasmania possessed one or two motorbuses, which have since been put to work in Victoria. Now, one hears, on all sides, of improved business prospects, of greater realization by the public of the value of motor haulage, and lastly, but by no means least, that people are beginning to appreciate that the faillitsis of the past were to some extent the inevitable forerunner of future sucCess.
The year 1910 will, probably, see an enormous increase in the numbers of motor vehicles employed for all kinds of business purposes—the haulage of passengers as well as goods— in all the States, and by the end of the year the order-books of the principal agents, are likely to be as full as they can hold. It is particularly gratifying to be able to note that those commercial motors which are making headway in the Commonwealth are all of British manufacture, and that scarcely a single foreign-built car is receiving any consideration at all.
A note must also be made of the changed attitude, on the part of the Press, to the subject of the commercial motor, it being now generally conceded that an enormous future lies open to this form of transit. One must particularly mention, in this connection, that 'The Sydney Morning Herald" devotes a column, twice a month, to a consideration of commercial-motor topics. British manufacturers of motors and accessories should see that they are well represented in Australian territory, in order that they may get their full share of the business that will be done during the year that is, as I write, nearly upon us. E.F.B.