BorninEngland,RobmovedtoSydney 20
yearsagoandhasspentmostofhiscareerin
themedia— initiallyasa magazinejournalist
andthenina businessrolewithintelevision.
Hisintroductiontorenovatingcaravans
cameinquitea circuitousroute.
“Iwasalwaysa fanofopshops— I usedto
collectsecondhandandantiquatedbooks,
andoldvinylrecords,”hesaid.“Thatthen
extendedintoretroornamentsandart;I
justlikedthefeelofoldthings.Eventually
I boughta cheapmid-centurychestof
drawersandrepairedthem,andI was
hookedonrestoration.”
OneChristmas,Robdecidedhewas
goingtotryandavoidthemallfora year
andonlymakethingsorbuysecondhand
itemsasgifts— partlytobreakhisshopping
addiction,andpartlyasa reactionto
consumerculture.
“Ijustrealisedthatshoppinghadbecome
a leisurepursuitandI wantedtostartdoing
somethingmyself,”heexplained.“Making
andrepairingmorestuff,andgenerally
beingmoreawareoftheenvironment.
“MyDadwasalwayssomebodywho
mendedandrepairedthings,ratherthan
boughtnew— likea lotofhisgeneration.I
alsostartedfollowingPinterestandbeganto
upcyclethingsandmakemyownfurniture.
I’dbuyreclaimedwoodfromthelocaltip
andturnit intosomethingoriginal.”
Havingcoffeewitha friendoneSaturday
morningtheyhituponanideatobuya
caravanandrenovateit.
“Weweretalkingabouttinylivingand
howit wastakingoff,andmyfriendsaidhe’d
beenthinkingaboutgettinga caravan,”Rob
said.
“Aweeklaterhephonedmeontheway
homefromworkandsaidhe’dfoundonefor
$2000thatneededdoingup.Heaskedif I
wantedtoput$1000inanddoit together.”
Thatwasthestartoftheloveaffairwith
vans,andsincethenRobhasdonetwomore
withhismate.AGE: 50
LIVES:ALLAMBIEHEIGHTS,NSW
NATIONALITY:ENGLISH
FAVOURITECARAVAN:MILLARDROB
PROFILE 1:
“We restored an old Viscount to start with,
then a second one, and then more recently
we worked on a Millard. Neither of us was
keen on the style of the Millards initially, but
they’ve really grown on us – and they have
loads of room inside.”
Rob tries to work in a sustainable way
whenever possible and uses repurposed
wood and materials.
“Obviously there are things like paint and
adhesives that have to be bought, but we
look to keep as much of the original vans as
possible,” he said. “We sand and fill damaged
walls and doors, and bring them back to life.
Polish up old clocks and handles and fittings.
“We also buy some of the wood and
furniture from op shops and the tip. There is
some modernisation to be done, but you cancreate a great vintage feel from using old things
in keeping with the van’s style.”
The vans tend to take around three months to
restore, just working on Saturdays. And as Rob
explains, it’s a welcome relief from sitting at a
desk all week.
“It’s almost like a form of meditation,” he said.
“We’re both office workers and at the weekends
we unleash our ‘inner tradie’. We get the radio
on, put on scruffy clothes and have fun doing
creative, physical work.”
Next up, Rob has his sights set on even bigger
projects.
“We’d love to turn a caravan into an old
English pub!” he laughed. “Bar, chairs, tables
and dartboard. Park it in the backyard and have
our own home away from home.”“We restored an old Viscount to start
with, then a second one, and then more
recently we worked on a Millard”
54 caravanworld.com.au