In the early 1930s, a handwritten letter landed on the desk of Hubert French, Ford Australia's general manager.Henry Ford was initially dismissive of Bandt's designIt came from a farmer's wife from Gippsland, with an idea and a plea for a new type of vehicle — something to take her to church in comfort on a Sunday, but still be able to carry the pigs to market on a Monday.
And that was the letter writer's main complaint, that their truck's leaking side-curtains let in the rain. "But it was really a development along the way of an existing vehicle, into something really special." "He described it as a 'kangaroo chaser,'" said Robert Ryan of Sydney, the proud owner of a rare 1934 Ford ute.This is the only known surviving factory prototype of the 1934 Ford Coupe Ute.The ute never took off in the United States, but in Australia, the Ford V8 side-valve, 75 horsepower, coupe ute, launched that year, was an instant success. General Motors produced its version of the ute soon after.Ford opened a car-making plant in Geelong in 1925.
The muster began in 1999 with the aim of bringing some revenue to the then drought-stricken district and the hope of putting the town on the map.It has been a monstrous success — some years more than 10,000 utes and their owners converge from all over Australia. These days there is a wider range of makes and models, but regrettably, no new utes are made in Australia.Australian-made utes, especially the early Fords, are especially treasured by enthusiasts.
Tragically in March 1987, on the very day he was interviewed about the origins of the ute, Mr Bandt was killed in a car crash while driving home.