Travelling down under

At the start of the 1950s, Volkswagen had big ambitions. The war had only been over for less than a decade, but in that time, Wolfsburg had restarted production in a bomb-ravaged factory that many thought suitable only for demolition, started exports to neighbouring European nations and the USA as well, and introduced a brand new model, the Type 2 Transporter.

It was promising stuff. But, far away on the other side of the world, there seemed a challenge too great for even the ever-optimistic boss of Volkswagen, Heinz Nordhoff, to contemplate. And that was Australia. It was a huge country and a tough one as well. Unlike well-developed (if war-ravaged) Europe, vast tracts of Australia were inhospitable and untamed by civilisation. Outside of the cities and towns, Down Under was a notoriously difficult environment for people and vehicles.

Desert storm

How difficult exactly? Well,