Ute fiction, Holden style

As part of a discussion about How To Reduce Your Petrol Spend To Zero Overnight, a post at Henry Gee's blog The End of the Pier Show, I commented:

"All good Australian crime fiction has a ute in it somwhere." (Thinking, Peter Temple, Adrian Hyland, etc). To which Henry replied: 

"The Ute must be the updated version of the Holden Pickup (unless the two are consanguineous simultaneous the same thing), as in this extract:

Bruce Strayne walked into the bar. There she was—Sheila—the girl of his dreams, the mata hari of Wagga Wagga, looking like a million dollars. “What kept you, Richard Bruce?” she said. Her teeth were like stars (they came out at night). She had the voice of a buzz-saw and the smoker’s cough of a ‘57 Holden Pickup.

From Picnic at Hanging Participle by Adelaide Brisbane, reproduced without permission."

Just as well I didn't mention the footy, then.

Comments

[Kerrie]

According to my sources the Holden Ute was born in 1951, and of course was manufactured here in good old Adelaide at the Holden factory at Woodville
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=42746
and
http://trucks.about.com/cs/utes/a/holden_utes.htm

[Karen C]

The origins of the Australian ute allegedly go back to 1932 in Geelong Victoria, at the Ford Factory

http://www.utes.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17

Is one version of the story - and that's the one I remember by Grandfather explaining when I was a young child and we'd gone to pick up yet another ute in a long line of Holden, Ford and Vanguard utes for the farm.

The Deniliquin Ute Muster http://www.deniutemuster.com.au/ has to be seen to be believed :)

For the rest of the great article

[maxine]

Thanks, Kerrie and Karen! Fascinating. I have posted your comments over at Henry's blog, too.
http://network.nature.com/blogs/user/henrygee/2008/06/12/how-to-reduce-your-petrol-spend-to-zero-overnight#comment-10367

[kimbofo]

The ute is, indeed, an Australian invention. Did you know there is even a magazine devoted to it: http://www.australianute.com.au/about.htm

Also numerous books, of which my Other Half has several, although for the life of me I can't find them now to tell you the titles. I'm sure you can probably google them!

[maxine]

Thanks, Kim -- yes I knew it was an Australian invention, and now I know more about it than I ever could have imagined! What with yours and Karen C's magazines, I am replete with utinformation.

[Henry Gee]

After "She looked like a million dollars" I'd meant to type "(all green and wrinkled)" but this somehow disappeared in the wash, and NN doesn't let you edit your comments, as you know.

[Kudzu Fire]

interesting writing

[maxine]

Well, Henry, I am just glad you left the picnic at hanging participle in!

[Clare D]

Just 'appreciating' the teeth coming out at night gag...