Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

1930 Cadillac V8 Service Car

Northern Advocate
1 Sep, 2018 01:18 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A car sometimes overlooked in the Big Back Shed at the Packard Museum is our Cadillac V8 Service Car. The vehicle seats eight people and once belonged to the well-known firm – Newman Brothers.

Newman Brothers started as a horse-coach business in 1879 then moved into the service car business in 1911. They ran a fleet of V8 Cadillacs and advertised them as a luxury car for the discerning traveller wanting to view the scenery on the way to their destination. Newman's main depots were in Napier and Nelson, from there they ran the service cars and later buses.

Service cars first appeared in New Zealand around 1905. A number of the horse-coach companies gave up their horses and moved into service cars, especially as few individuals owned their own car. With improvements in roading and the invention of the pneumatic tyre, these cars halved the time of the horse and coach.

Newman's weren't the only company to get into the service car business. No licence was required to drive these vehicles, so many other companies, including 'freelancers', took up the business. By 1930, there were 497 service cars in New Zealand. However, the fierce competition meant many operators eventually went out of business.

The 353 cubic inch V8 Cadillac, such as ours, was one of the most popular cars to be operated. Often these vehicles were purchased second-hand in the United States, imported into New Zealand, where they were 'stretched' and 'rebodied'. If you take a close look at the back of our car, you can see where the original rear panels have been remodelled and the car lengthened to cater for the extra seats.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The lengthening of these cars was undertaken from the 1930s to the mid-1950s by a company named Crawley Ridley, motor body builders in Wellington. They worked for Newman's as well as other companies.

Eventually the service car was replaced by short wheel-base coaches and, today, the mini-van. Our car is a reminder of the luxury travel available in a by-gone era.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

live
Northern Advocate

Up to 50 people evacuated from homes after wild weather, clean-up begins

11 Jul 08:08 PM
Northern Advocate

'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Joe Bennett: A journey through Cyprus and its vanished pygmy hippos

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Up to 50 people evacuated from homes after wild weather, clean-up begins
live

Up to 50 people evacuated from homes after wild weather, clean-up begins

11 Jul 08:08 PM

The North Island is expected to get off to a wet start this morning, with lingering rain.

'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Joe Bennett: A journey through Cyprus and its vanished pygmy hippos

Joe Bennett: A journey through Cyprus and its vanished pygmy hippos

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Comment: Two decades of inspiring arts and community connections in Kerikeri

Comment: Two decades of inspiring arts and community connections in Kerikeri

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP