1934 Singer

This is a sketch of the 1934 Singer, one of three owned by the late Peter Hill formerly of Windang, Wollongong, NSW.   Peter started out with a love of old cars in the early sixties.  He found a vintage car at Mt. Keira in an old garage.  The widow of a World War 2 soldier had this old car locked  away.  Pete found it... He purchased it.  Pete's grandfather, Athol Souter, sold cars on Parramatta Road.  A bit different to the first car we shared, an early model Vauxhall, we drove from Lane Cove to Wollongong... down Bulli Pass.  We never actually tested the brakes.  Pete has gone now. He died 2005 in Victoria, Vancouver Island.  A victim of Motornuorone disease.  

I was fortunate to visit Peter after his journey to Mackay to see his son, David. He invited me over to Swartz Bay, Vancouver Island, where he lived with his wife Professor Laurie Baxter.  Peter had just started to rely on a wheelchair.

Peter worked at the Times Columnist at Victoria, Vancouver Island, and had a  building business on the side. With all that he never lost interest in Vintage cars.  He had a number of vintage cars.  British Columbia is a haven for vintage car people.  

I have photographed his model car collection and  the clock collection.  I will post photos of same in due course.

Peter started at the Port Kembla Printery and moved on to the Sydney Morning Herald and the Gold Coast Times during which time he toured the world, and discovered Vancouver Island in Canada.  Peter was a collector. The 3 Singer cars were all restored by him.  We visited the Canadian Rockies by car where I made numerous sketches of the countryside. Our destination was the Calgary Stampede.  A great venue.  The wheelchair never stopped Pete.  He said to me that he didn't have much of a chance of a pleasant death.  Nothing to look forward to, but he made the most of it.  His last E-mail to me was... " Mate I can see and I can still wiggle my big toe.  Never lost his sense of humour.   Laurie, his wife, is a Professor at the Columbia University.