Summary
Alternative Name(s): Truck International AR Series 160
Harry Johns was a boxing and wrestling entrepreneur who toured the agricultural shows of Australia's eastern states between the 1930s and 1960s. This vehicle reflects his lengthy involvement in the business. The cabin and chassis from the International AR 160 Series were purchased new by Johns around 1954; the rear body section was grafted from his previous truck.
The vehicle blends social and technological significance on a national scale. Travelling boxing troupes can be traced to the late 1800s, but it was not until road transport improved that troupes became a regular feature of country shows. Instead of relying on rail and local transport, Johns' troupe could travel direct from show to show, his truck a travelling advertisement carrying several tons of set-up equipment. It was donated to the Museum by Harry Johns Jnr and Francesca Rose in 1996 and has been conserved to represent the condition in which it was last used in 1969.
Significance
The truck is is a highly evocative relic of a past way of life. It is immediately indicative of a now almost vanished feature of life and leisure for large numbers of rural and city Australians - the sideshow alley of agricultural shows It also has strong associations with the recent Koori past in that many of the boxers who travelled with the Harry Johns troupe were Aboriginal fighters.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Mrs Francesca Rose, Mr Harry Johns, 22 Apr 1996
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Manufacturer
International Harvester Company of Australia Pty Ltd, Dandenong, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1954
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User
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Model Name or Number
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Brand Names
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimension
880 cm (Length), 250 cm (Width), 280 cm (Height), 4000 kg (Weight)
Weight 4 metric tonnes
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Exhibition Collection Management
8.2 m (Length), 2.3 m (Width), 2.6 m (Height)
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Dimensions
8.8 m (Length), 2.5 m (Width), 2.8 m (Height)
Measurement From Conservation. Measuring Method: Max. dimensions as per conservation requirements.
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References
Truck manual in Trade Lit collection at Scienceworks Article in Museum Summer 1998 No 10. Broome & Jackomos, Sideshow alley. See Social History Collection Management File No 556.
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Keywords
Aboriginal People, Agricultural Shows, Boxing, Boxing Troupes, Itinerant Work, Rural Victoria, Sport
