Request for information: Australian Humber 12 special bodywork

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Letters to the Editor

It's been almost two years since I bought a 1933 Humber 12 in Australia. I am not familiar with English cars, but this one caught my eye. The beautiful body shape is completely different from the cars I already have, and it has a special appearance. It took me quite some time before I found out which type of Humber this is.

One thing which makes this car "special" is the drawing under the bonnet. Through the maritime museum in Sydney, I found out that this was a drawing of the aboriginal tribe “Kuyku Garpathamai Mabaig” and it is a female figure. This tribe is the only one of its kind that beheads its enemies.

This Humber is a cabriolet and looks quite feminine to me. There is also a plate bearing the Taylor & Co. name under the bonnet, because they rebuilt the engine in 1939, which was pretty early in its life. Several details show that the car's construction has been adapted for the conditions in Australia. For example, the front axle has been reinforced and the chrome grille has been replaced by mesh. Australia has a lot of gravel roads and the system that opens and closes the grille slats, depending on the outside temperature, has been removed. The shape of the body has not been recognised by anyone.

Finally, we found a registration number on the gearbox "12 / 1201." I found out that it's a Humber 12 drophead coupé which was originally completely white with a red leather interior. In the 1930s, it was common for car manufacturers who exported cars to Australia to ship them as CKD (complete knocked-down) kits to avoid import tax. These kits had to be assembled within Australia. It may be that a CKD package was purchased by a coachbuilder who applied his own design, but I don't know.

I hope there are readers who recognise this car and can say where and by whom it was made.

Mark Snoek
The Netherlands

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