Allistair 'Bud' Smith: "Many years ago, around the late 1960’s or early 1970’s, one of my dad’s mates came across a 1919 Essex roadster in original unrestored condition in the town of Toogoolawah (Queensland, Australia). Unfortunately for my dad’s mate the owner had plans to restore the car and advised that the car wasn’t for sale. Early Essex cars are well known and regarded in Australia, largely due to the efforts of Norman ‘Wizard’ Smith and his inter-city records. For many years my dad tried to find this car in hope that he might buy it, but he never managed to locate it. Many people had stories about what happened to the car: it crashed into a gum tree because of its poor two wheel brakes; it was destroyed in a shed fire; it was exported to America.
Just recently I was on a rally in our 1929 Dodge DA and a member of the public approached the club members and asked if anyone was interested in buying another vintage car. Given that I had recently sold my 1931 Morris Garages via PreWarCar I expressed interest. The elderly man said he had a 1919 Essex Roadster which belonged to his late Father. He explained that he lived only a few minutes away and I could come and see the car if I wanted, naturally I seized the opportunity and followed him back to his suburban Brisbane house. When we arrived he invited me into his garage where he proceed to unstack a large mound of boxes, blankets and what-not to reveal a blue Essex roadster, parked up on blocks. As we discussed the car he revealed that he had grown up in Toogoolawah; it soon became obvious that the car I was looking at was the very car that had been ‘lost’ for many years. With the car back down on its feet, we wheeled it out into the sun for the first time in a very long time, although far from concourse condition, it still looked rather enchanting. Naturally I negotiated a price and eventually bought the car home. It was last registered and run in 1981, so I am currently going through the recommissioning process, but that’s another story."