Aunty Betty
By David Chaundy

Page 3

Aunty Betty’s chassis was completed on 27th August 1924. Chassis number 8096 was fitted with a 5 seat tourer body finished in Elephant grey. Her wings and valances were finished in Black stove enamel. Her wheel spokes were painted in Elephant grey with the rims and hubs picked out in Black. Her interior was trimmed in blue crocodile grain deep buttoned leather upholstery complimented by a grey and black fleck carpet bound in blue leather cloth, to match the upholstery. When complete she was given car number 2TT5827.

The car was ordered as a fully equipped “special” 5 seat tourer complete with spare wheel and tyre, dashboard clock, luggage carrier, driving mirror and folding windscreen for the rear seat passengers.
She was one of the last 2TT cars built totally by hand in the old way and finished with the old oil based coach enamel protected by a clear coach varnish. The enamel was sprayed on at Austin from 1919 but was never as durable as the cellulose paint that replaced it soon after the start of the 3TT series 12/4 cars in 1925.

Having passed inspection Aunty Betty was packed in her wooden packing crate with dry charged battery and tool kit and shipped to Auckland. She arrived late in 1924 and was displayed in Dexter motors showrooms. By the time Aunty and her sisters arrived in Auckland they were obsolete models. The 3TT series launched in September 1924 offered customers the benefit of 4 wheel brakes and friction dampers as standard. Consequently they were far more popular with the buying public.

Dexter Motors managed to sell the other two sister cars but couldn’t sell Aunty Betty, the public wanted the latest specification on a car as expensive as an Austin 12.
Starting at £475 in New Zealand an Austin 12 was not a cheap car. A fully equipped special 5 seat tourer like Aunty Betty would have cost £510! An Austin 12 was fully £100 more than an Essex six imported to New Zealand at the same time. Seen as a durable quality car, the discerning motorist seemed willing to pay the extra money for Austin dependability despite the mid 1920’s being far from easy times. (See Dexter Motors advertisement from late 1924)

In February 1925 Mount Eden green grocer Mr Francis Powell passing Dexter Motors saw Aunty Betty in the showroom. Interested by what he saw he stepped inside for a closer look. After examining the new car Francis visited his friend John Seabrook of Seabrook Fowlds Ltd Symonds Street Auckland to discuss it.

At the time Seabrook Fowlds were motor dealers with franchises for Leyland Lorries and the Paige Motor Co of Detroit selling their Jewett cars. John Seabrook known as Jack, had set up his business in 1919 selling Leyland trucks, soon afterwards he expanded moving to a much larger building on the corner of Symonds Street and City Road Auckland on 3rd March 1920.