Could mine have been a Cripps Bakery van?

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I had tried to buy a J Type many years ago, but couldn't afford it. That van had been owned by Cripps Bakery, an old local company that is still in existance. Roly's site has an old archive photo of one of their vans which is very interesting. I located the photo on the state archive website as well as a higher resolution scan.

I was curious as to where the photo was taken, its a rather nice old building, and unusual in being conjoined. On a hunch I opened google maps and punched in the street name written on the van, and the number 272 (off the door of the house), and sure enough, its 272 and 274 Argyle Street. The houses are still there with industry all around. The bakery was at 269 Argyle Street.


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One thing that I'm not certain about is the colour. My van seems to have been a creamy beige colour, possibly with black mudguards, but the one I looked at years ago had maroon guards. The Cripps Bakery colour scheme was creamy beige and maroon back then (still is in part). Its a shame the archive photo is black and white.

I realised another link between J vans and this photo. The Globes lighting van that used to be in Hobart for many years was always parked in the carpark next to the house in the photo above. Perhaps it was a former Cripps Bakery van too.