Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[roverdriver]

Poor Gloria had only been used for local trips for some time and wanted to get out and stretch herself over a longer tour. My wife and I decided to visit the Tarra Bulga National Park.

Driving up the Tarra Valley, we paused for some photo stops.



There are lots of very photogenic places along the route.





Consequently, Gloria had to pause many times.



Eventually arriving at one of the park's entrances.



The park is a reserve of remnant rain forest. Gloria had to wait outside as she would not have managed to negotiate the narrow tracks.



It is late spring, so tree ferns were uncurling their new season leaves.







After our hour and a half walk, we set off to the top of the hill to the Bulga section of the park, and stopped for lunch, sharing it with one of the locals.





The last February bush-fires had come to the very edge of the park, so as we continued on our way we could see some of the devastation.



It was good to see that some of the native eucalyptus trees are showing good signs of recovery.







However the trees in extensive pine plantations have all been killed.



The more mature (now dead) Pines are being harvested and milled.



Down in this valley, you can see the trees that have been felled laying like blackened stick, waiting to be taken away.



And here is a truck-load heading off to the mill.



From here we continued on our way home. We had a very interesting trip. The park and Tarra Valley were very enjoyable, but driving through the burned country was somewhat sad.

Total round trip just on 150 miles. Fuel consumption 22.8 mpg. Strangely Gloria managed to complete the run, feeling a lot less tired than her passengers
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Richard H]

Shame to see that rainforest going

Very smart Rover though

Richard
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Richard Hughes

[Rick]

Fascinating trip by the look of it

R
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[peter scott]

Nice trip RD. Do you get a lot of "my dad had one of those in the 50s"?

Peter
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[roverdriver]

[peter scott]

I was watching University Challenge the other night and it was mentioned there that the word rover derives from the Dutch word "roofer" or robber in English.

Peter
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[roverdriver]

[poodge]

As a dutch born kiwi,I have to disagree with Peter
The dutch word for "robber" is in fact"rover",sometimes spoken as "berover"I doubt very much that anyone would name their car ,or bike for that matter,after a felon:).
Is it possible the name came from Ireland,rover having been a common word in the Irish language?I'm assuming that's where the english rover ,meaning rambler etc.,came from.
Of course I could be completely wrong,being just a dumb dutchman

[roverdriver]

As I understand it, Poodge, J.K. Starley named his bicycles 'Rover' because one could use them to rove the countryside.
At the same time, late 1800's, there were many fictional adventure stories, and a few factual ones written about the Vikings who were considered the world's greatest rovers of Medieval times. They actually colonised Greenland when it was a lot warmer than now, and even, rather inconveniently for some historians, went to America.

Sorry, can't bring authors to mind at the moment, but the style of writing like H. Rider Haggard's work. So at that time there was quite a strong connection with Roving and Vikings. The stories tended to avoid too much reference to pillaging, but concentrated on their travels and adventures.

I don't know if Starley made the Rover/Viking connection, but the name plate on bicycles was shield shaped. After the very earliest (circa 1904/5) cars, the radiators were also shield-shaped.

Later the longship and viking head became emblems.

Someone might be able to enlighten us to when that Rover/Viking connection was made.

I agree that one would not want to associate ones product with the word robber, but if rover (meaning robber) came into English a few centuries ago, and then allowing for the inevitable gradual change of meaning, I can understand robber becoming wanderer or explorer or traveler, and therefore a good name for a bicycle.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[peter scott]