Australian International K5

[Matt Austin]

Fascinating, thanks Tony. Those pics are proof that good stuff is still out there. I'd certainly be interested in seeing if any spares might be available, locally or further afield. Among other things, a seat would be very handy!

I had a breakthrough, when talking with Keith Webb and Mike Cecil, and I thank these gentlemen for going out of their way to help me. These are fascinating vehicles, and I was very happy to learn that many of the military records had survived. Rather a mundane topic, and knowing the bureaucratic mindset (a little too well!), I was impressed that they'd been considered worthy of retention, when the postwar disposals were complete.

Mike asked for various details, and he was able to find that the Army registration number was 43362. So now I know what to paint on the bonnet and tailgate. Before I do, I'm going to continue some non-invasive examination to see if any of the original numbers remain. Given that the truck is still in its military paint, I wonder if the original numbers have faded beyond recognition?

The fact that a few trucks of this type are turning up in not far from me, I wonder whether they were surplussed locally? These vehicles were ordered by the AMF not the AIF, so they didn't go overseas. I'm wondering if they were used at the recruit training base at Kapooka, which was quite busy during the war years, obviously enough? It'd make sense that there would've been a good number of trucks set up for troop transport.

Turns out that this vehicle was sold back to IHC, probably at the end of the war. I wonder if IHC bought a batch from Kapooka, and sold them locally? I'm looking through Trove to see if I can find any postwar advertisements for surplus material being sold from Wagga.

It's a fascinating study, and I hope to do it justice.

Cheers,
Matt