Cornmers Popular in Australian Agriculture
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COMMER chassis now being assembled in large numbers at the Rootes plant at Fisherman's Bend, Melbourne, have been favourably received by Australian operators, and adopted for a variety of tasks in the Dominion. Orders for these vehicles have exceeded the present rate of supply.
The powerful engine of the Commer model R and its cab temperaturecontrol system suit the country's arduous conditions. Some of these vehicles are in use as platform lorries drawing four-wheeled trailers, others as tippers on road work, and some as tractors for timber haulage. Tippers are also employed for the haulage of coal, ores and bulk wheat.
On long-distance services between the State capitals and the main provincial towns, semi-trailer outfits are used to carry general merchandise, sheep and cattle, cement and manure. Other vehicles, fitted with special bodies with automatic loaders, convey bulk grain to city silos for storage. Commer lorries have also been used to handle the big harvests of fruit and tomatoes.
In the hill districts in the various States, many Commers are employed on conveying logs to the sawmills. Sawn timber is also carried in bulk loads to the cities. Apart from its use in the building industry, the timber is employed in making containers to carry fruit and other goods.
Transport Improved The Australian News and Information Bureau states that the transport system concerned with these commodities has been greatly improved since Commers were adopted.
In the Victoria sawmill district, the average loading of a timber vehicle is 4,000-5,000 superficial ft. . Logs are transported from the felling areas down mountain roads to the mills.
Interstate-type bus bodies, with capacity for up to 36 passengers, have been built on the Commer chassis.
Twenty-eight different types of Commer and Karrier chassis are assembled at Fisherman's Bend.