While Australia had to wait about 18 months for the arrival of the Mini, it was done with one of the most memorable advertising campaigns in Australian motoring history. BMC Australia was suffering from rather dull, but worthy cars and by 1961, there was very little in the way of salvation on the horizon. The original Mini as introduced in England initially had a luke-warm reception, and it wasn't until about twelve months later that British sales started to take off. The micro car market here, represented by such cars as Fiat's 500, Goggomobile and the Lloyd Hartnett was very small, and BMC Australia were worried that the Mini would fall into the same category in buyers' minds.
After an intensive engineering campaign to 'Australianise' the car for our conditions, thought was given as to how to promote it. The name 'Mini' was to be avoided, as this gave connotations of tiny and cheap. As the car was to be sold only as a Morris, it was given the rather unoriginal title of 850, denoting the engine capacity. The word 'incredible' was used in all the advertising, as was the term 'East-West'.
Ian Milbank, the company's brilliant advertising manager, came up with the idea of releasing the car as if it were human. The entire country was amazed on the morning of March 23rd 1961 when they opened their papers to find an almost empty blank page with a tiny births notice in the middle. (Some papers nearly refused to allow the ad for technical reasons).
BMC thought they would be lucky to sell 10,000, so were quite unprepared when the public did visit their showrooms. On that first day an unprecedented amount of orders were taken for the little cars, which were only available in red, white, blue or yellow. On the back window, a transfer told the world that this was 'The Incredible Morris 850 with the East-West Engine'.
Gradually, as the local content was increased, the car started to receive differences which made the car unique to this country. We never had the wire interior door handles, our trim was a stronger vinyl, and after a short while, the grilles were anodised rather than painted.
The "Morris 850" was available until 1966 and used the same 34bhp 848cc powerplant as all UK Mk1 minis. The only difference was to the gearstick, which featured a small bend near the top. Early cars have 8AM prefixed engines, later units using the Oz assembled 8Y unit.
In October 1962, the Mini Cooper was announced, and this was BMC's first concession to the word 'Mini' in this country, even though the public had called it that from day one. Australia received the 997cc version, the same basic 997cc engine unit as the UK 997cc Cooper, but the compression ratio was dropped from 9:1 to 8.3:1 to compensate for the lower octane fuel being used in Oz at the time. This dropped the power output (normally 55bhp) to 52bhp @ 5800rpm but brought the torque up to 53 lb/ft @ 3500rpm instead of 44lb/ft @ 2900rpm. The final drive was 3.76:1 with 3.44:1 as an option. Before long, the stronger 998cc version replaced the 997 unit by mid 1963. This was the first Oz mini to have a remote gearchange. The Coopers soon became the car of the moment at most race tracks around the country.
Before the release of the Cooper, an unofficial modified model was sold in 1962 by selected dealers as the Morris 850 Sports (pictured above left). This had twin carbs and the dealers did the conversion, not BMC.
The Mini Van was announced in April 1964, and went for many years, usually reflecting the same changes undergoing with the saloons.
In mid-1964, the 850 received a number of worthwhile alterations, one of them being the fitment of a rear numberplate base in local dimensions rather than the British one, which always looked untidy. Other improvements included:- rubber diaphragm seats instead of "webbing" type,
tenth of mile reading on Speedo, waterproof covers for the distributor and coil,
twin-leading shoe brakes, "B" type gearboxes (3-sync), Oz designed steering rack.
The big news came in 1965 with the announcement of the Mini DeLuxe in March. We now got the 998cc engine which was the same as the ones fitted to the Wolseley and Riley variants in England. Power went up to 38bhp, and torque was up to 52lb/ft @ 2700rpm. All were supplied with the 3.76:1 final drive.
The greatest concession to comfort came with wind-up windows. Whether it was more comfortable or not is open to question, but the Hydrolastic fluid suspension was also included.
Following the Morris 1100, the DeLuxe had a sticker on the back window in the shape of a drop with 'the '65 Mini Floats on Fluid too'. The reference to '65 was dropped in later years.
The DeLuxe boasted a better quality trim, key-turn starting and bigger brakes. It was
produced until March 1969.
The standard 850 continued alongside it for a while, and it and the Van were endowed with wind-up windows before long. By the way, the Van always used the same grille as the 850, not the punched out slots the British one used.
By August 1965, the Morris Cooper S was announced, and this car really needs no introduction here. Suffice to say, it was the first Australian production car to offer lap-sash front seat belts as standard equipment. It also came with two fuel tanks enabling 50 litres capacity and a laminated windscreen.
The Australian S always used the 1275cc engine; similar in specification to the UK cars. Power was 75bhp @ 5800rpm and torque was 80lb/ft @ 3000rpm.
The 970 S and 1071 S were never officially sold here, although some were brought in privately. A string of race track victories followed the Cooper S, including the outright win and 9 of the top ten places at Bathurst in 1966.
Another model made its debut in Australia in 1966, the Moke which started life with a 998cc engine. You could have it in any colour so long as it was green, and this little vehicle was aimed pretty much at the rural community. With its 10 inch wheels and low clearance, it appealed to everyone BUT the farmers.
By the time the 13 inch 'Big Wheel' Moke appeared in 1968, you could get it in any colour, and it sold well from then on.
In late 1967, the Mini Matic ( Mini Deluxe Auto Mark I ) was available, and this clever four-speed automatic transmission made by Automotive Products, appealed to a small section of Mini buyers.
Production lasted until August 1968 when it was replaced by the Mini Deluxe Auto Mark II.
The rather inept Leyland management took over by late 1968, and as a result of their market research, they decided the Mini needed more power.
In very short time, the Mini K found its way onto the market place. This was to be "Morris Mini Deluxe MK II" but the decision was made to call it the 'K' (which stands for Kangaroo) - and badge the car accordingly.
New features saw the K getting the same instruments as the 'S' without the 120MPH speedo, an alternator, dished & padded steering wheel (still bus like) and 4-speed syncro. This was the last round-nose car to be introduced in Oz, and was built in Sydney from a claimed 80% local content and was said to hold 30% of the small car market.
This was the first production round-nose mini in the world to feature the 1098cc engine. Power increased to 50bhp.
The simple reason for the 'K' appellation came from the confusion that may have been caused by calling it the Morris Mini 1100. Is this a big Mini, or a shrunken Morris 1100? The K with its bigger motor and all synchro gearbox appealed many people, so the car sold well. Priced at $1780.
The Cooper S was Mark II'd later in 1969. This Cooper S was produced with an oval 'S' badge and bolt on wheel arch flares, as some authorities were not pleased with the stock setup, complaining the wheels were outside the guards.
By 1971, the old round nose was felt to be dated, so the square-nosed Clubman replaced the Mini range. The body design was updated including a grille with six horizontal bars, resulting in the new Clubman 1100.
The round nose cars now went completely out of production, with dribs and drabs of round nose S's, K's, 1100 (base model) and vans still being sold in the dealerships. After that stock of round nose cars were sold, no more were made in Australia.
The Clubman was available in S, with the 1098cc engine and the Clubman GT, meant to replace the Cooper S, with the 1275cc unit.
The clubman GT had the full spec Cooper 'S' motor, and not the de-tuned 55bp motor of the UK 1275GT.
Unfortunately the model did not live long, and many GTs were plundered for their 'S' motors during the 1980's when clubmans were quite unpopular.
The Morris name went by April 1972, with the car becoming known as the Leyland Mini. Because the 1098 was difficult to comply with our anti-pollution laws, it was decided to offer only the 998cc version.
The Hydrolastic suspension was gradually phased out through cost reasons, and the original 'dry' suspension retained.
By now, the Mini's age was beginning to catch up with it, as its competition came from Toyota, Datsun and Mazda, but it kept selling right up to 1978.
By this time, a few specials came along, such as the SS, the Sunshine Special, the LS and the 1275LS, and these helped promote the image.
The 1275LS was Mini's swan song in Australia. This quite comfortable Mini sold in only small numbers, only 400 produced, but a surprising number remain today. It was a package that probably would have gone on to sell well if only Leyland hadn't gone under.
The Moke, however, continued through various guises and engines. The most outrageous was the Californian which could be had in 1973 with a floral top. A 'utility' version was announced in 1979, but the Moke staggered on till 1981 as the only Mini representative here, before the tools to make them had been sold off to the Portuguese.
Minis which were not available officially here, but are occasionally seen include Austin, Wolseley and Riley versions, the Austin Mini Countryman and Morris Mini Travellor, the Pick Up, Cooper Mark 111, and any 1980s and 90s specials, such as City, Mayfair and Ritz versions. We sent the wind-up window door kits to the South Africans who produced another bewildering array of Minis. These included a Wolseley 1000 (it didn't have an extended boot) and an Austin version which did have an extended boot. We did export to New Zealand Austin versions of our cars, but they didn't have the rippled grille; they made do with the Morris grille with an Austin badge. Mokes made their way all over the world, some as far as Greece, and of course on this side of the Pacific.
Local production of Minis ceased in Leyland's Enfield plant in New South Wales in October 1978. All in all, about 212,000 Minis in all guises were sold in Australia. For something that was given a welcoming birth, it lasted for an extraordinary time, and still has as strong a following now as it did forty years ago.
May 2001