The little Fiat and Chesney caravan climbing the Marburg Range.

Marburg History

The Little Fiat That Could

© Jane Schy 2026

Brisbane Telegraph (Qld.), Monday, 27 November 1950, page 23

TINY FIAT PULLS 4 BERTH CARAVAN
By Les Vowles 

It must be admitted that the writer set out last week in a spirit of scepticism to accompany well known motor competition driver Pat Carroll on a caravan trip from Brisbane to Toowoomba. The reason for this frame of mind was that the car chosen to pull the four-berth, fully equipped caravan was a little 500C Fiat. Prospects that this 569 c.c. car, even though its four cylinder, overhead valve engine develops 16.5 brake horsepower, would perform at all satisfactorily with two passengers and a nine cwt load behind, seemed remote. 

But the record of the trip showed that the Fiat completed its task creditably. 

 Highlights were:

• The entire trip was done at an average speed of 26 m.p.h. – higher than the maximum at which it is  permitted to tow a caravan. 
• The Marburg Range was climbed with ease in third gear – with two lower gears up our sleeves. 
• The final long, steep climb up to Toowoomba did not overtax the little car, which purred up at a steady 12 m.p.h. pace. The range climb took 11 minutes.
• The radiator was not boiling at the top and when the engine was switched off, there was no sign of running on. 

The caravan used on the test was a Chesney Featherweight, designed for use behind cars of 10 and 12 h.p. With a double and two single berths and full equipment for a holiday awheel, it weighed slightly under nine cwt. For this trip bedding, etc. was loaded forward to give a slight nose weight – on account of the Fiat’s small size and weight. Usually this type is loaded to put no weight on the draw bar. 

Caused Surprise
The unusual combination of a baby car and big caravan attracted attention on the road and it was amusing to see many overtaking motorists almost fall out of their vehicles with surprise as they passed. From behind, they had been able to look through the rear and front windows of the caravan without seeing the low-set car ahead, and the caravan must have seemed self-propelling. 

Ipswich was reached in 50 minutes, Highgate Hill being the only climb on which second gear was needed.  

The outfit rolled along quite comfortably and as fast as one would wish to travel by caravan. Naturally, third gear was called on for slopes that were more than slight, but in top on level going up to 40 m.p.h. was attainable. 

The caravan brakes were not coupled up for the trip but braking with only the car’s brakes proved adequate. 

Most surprising feature of the run was the climb up the Marburg Range. Using second for the steep pull up from Marburg township, the Range proper was approached at 30 m.p.h. and third engaged early. From that point a forced change down to second never seemed likely. 

Taking over from Pat at Gatton for the later stages, including the Main Range test up to Toowoomba, the fact that a caravan was being towed, soon became almost forgotten.

The outfit handled without effort. There was no override and only occasionally on roughish surfaces did any sway set up. This was easily corrected. 

Beyond Helidon, the steadily rising road called for more frequent use of the gear lever. 

On the Toll Bar, first gear was engaged early and the 2½ miles or so of steep ascent were covered at a steady pace with some throttle in reserve, on the steepest pinches and without excessive overheating.

The trip was not undertaken to recommend the 500 Fiat as a suitable car for caravan work, but rather to show the real capabilities of the modern small car. 

On the trip back to Brisbane without the caravan, I found the car seemed to relish long spells of full throttle driving and could be handled with confidence at what were, for a car of its size, high cruising speeds.

The 500 C Fiat is priced at £607, including tax. The Chesney Featherweight is £395 complete.

Note:  The author of this article, Arthur Leslie Vowles (1897-1956), was a journalist from Kedron who wrote prolifically for the motoring section of the Brisbane Telegraph. In his early life he was a prominent, professional cyclist (Wheeler) and competed in road racing and at the Brisbane Velodrome, a famous wooden board track at Alexandra Park. He started writing for the Sports column in 1936, concentrating more on motor sport from 1946.

The 1950 Fiat 500C was made in Turin, Italy, at the Lingotto and Mirafiori  factories. Introduced in 1949, it was the final major evolution of the original “Topolino” line. Known as “Little Mouse”, it brought significant visual, structural, and mechanical updates to modernise the car for post-war drivers compared to the earlier 500A (1936–1948) and 500B (1948–1949).

The Chesney Featherweight was a lightweight, vintage caravan manufactured by the Chesney Caravan Co. Alex Chesney started the business in 1950 after buying a property at “Chesney’s Corner” on Gympie Road, Chermside, Queensland, in 1950. Initially he traded in used vans and small builds before expanding into a major Australian caravan manufacturer.