As a young lad, I was influenced by 1950s television programs about African safaris that led me to dream of that mysterious continent thousands of miles away from my home in Canada. In that time long past, I dreamed of the vast, open plains of Kenya where proud Masai warriors clad in red stood tall over their herds of cattle on a plain that seemed to go on forever. It was there this cold weather Canadian kid jumped in his imaginary Land Rover and drove across his special land of imagination; a universe away from the ordinariness of my fenced-in backyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
African safari adventures were a popular genre back then. One of my uncles shared my enthusiasm for such TV shows; especially a black-and-white program that I remember as “The Michaels of Africa.” It was about a couple travelling across Africa in a Land Rover capturing images of wildlife. My uncle was up on a ladder one day painting when my aunt excitedly rushed out to tell him the show was beginning. He mistakenly thought unexpected visitors from Africa had shown up on their doorstep. I regret to tell you (not really) that he reacted rather poorly to the news. He was caught with such surprise that paint, ladder and Uncle Cec were scattered to the winds of Ferguson’s Cove, Nova Scotia – a family story that we chuckled about for many years to come.
In my Walter Mitty-like musings, I pretended that I too was a roamer of the African plains with an eagle-eyed talent for spotting wildlife. As I peered through binoculars watching wildebeest and lions roaming in the mid-day heat of the Mara, I spotted villains chasing a khaki-clad damsel in distress through a sparse stand of acacia trees. Without hesitation, I jumped in my trusty Land Rover 4x4 and bounded off to rescue her. I knew I would easily get there because I was driving a Land Rover; a vehicle for heroes (even pretend ones like me) that in later years would aptly be named “the Defender.” And while I loved my father’s green 1947 Hudson convertible parked in front of our house on Wellington Street, I knew that unlike the Defender, it would not be up to such a task.
Canada Dan in “Land Rover land.”
More than half century later, I am living in Great Britain, in the very place where that vehicle of my youthful musings was born – right here in Solihull, England. In my capacity as a Canadian writing about all things British, I am compelled to ruminate about this very special vehicle produced in this 800-year old community near Birmingham. It is, as one writer claims, “arguably more British than either Big Ben or that soldier guy you see on gin bottles.” I am arriving here at a time when this icon of British automotive history is sadly ending its remarkable almost 68-year production run. The good news, however, is that Jaguar-Land Rover has plans to replace it with a redesigned model that hopefully will honor the legacy of a vehicle revered across the world.
The later years versions of “the Defender” are of course not as rudimentary as the Series 1 Land Rover launched in 1948. And starting in the 1990s, it was even more “gentrified” with features like air conditioning and automatic transmission options. And it has never been a low-slung road rocket that whizzes through traffic on the M-40; nor was it like the new luxurious Land Rover models. It has something even more special: a legacy earned in the fullness of time from those who drove it. The one in my youthful imagination was more like the first one that came off the assembly line at the Rover plant on Lode Lane; not far from where I am writing mcsweeneysdiversion in our Solihull home.
HOW YOU GONNA KEEP ‘EM DOWN ON THE FARM?
The Defender initially started out as a ride for farmers who needed a rugged set of wheels to get around fields and rutted roads while tending crops and animals. It could be driven anywhere, of course, but the Defender was less a vehicle to run over to Sainsburys or transport the family to Sunday church services. Over the years though, the Defender was improved with creature comforts becoming much more “up market” than perhaps anyone ever expected. It has, however, still retained its role as the quintessential 4x4 across the world. It is a vehicle that can be found everywhere in many roles: off-roading “just for the fun of it;” police, emergency and military duties – and for Canadian readers, the plowing of snow of which Canada has more than an ample supply.
For those not familiar with the Land Rover Defender, think about the many television and movies adventure programs watched over the years. If you have ever gotten into African safari adventures, you most likely have seen a Defender. If you have watched documentaries about the Queen, you just might have seen her driving a Defender at her Balmoral estate. If you are a fan of “Death in Paradise,” check out the police vehicle used in the series: it is a Defender. It shows up everywhere in popular culture: Midsomer Murders; A Touch of Frost; Cracker, the Inspector Lynley Mysteries; Inspector Morse; Last of the Summer Wine – and in the James Bond movie Skyfall.
We have “adventurer” friends in Canada. They have taken expeditions from the Arctic to the plains of Africa. One has just finished walking the legendary Camino de Santiago across France and Spain – and has a passion for fine cars. One owns land in Manitoba where he hunts with an equally outdoorsy son-in-law. I am sure he would love to jump in a classic Defender and freely roam his own personal hardscrabble terrain. If I were rich, I would wrap one up with red ribbon and ship it off to him. Mind you, the final unit went in auction for $800,000 Canadian, although a Defender can (for awhile) still be picked up for around $50,000 Canadian. Perhaps the best I can do for my Manitoba friend is swing a test drive at the “Land Rover Experience” track here in Solihull – and at least send him the pictures.
At the beginning, I wrote about my long-ago Walter Mitty musings. In that imaginary scene, I would fire warning shots above the villains’ heads. They of course would scurry off with tails between their legs, and I would be her hero. Now that I am older, I realize my pondering of long ago was perhaps more about the maiden t=han the Land Rover. Indeed, it wasn’t just the vehicle that excited me – it was more about “getting the girl” – as it is for most heroes, both real and imaginary. As we all know, “chicks like guys in cool cars” such as the iconic Land Rover Defender. Now that I am 68 just like the retiring Defender, I doubt that even a new redesigned model might help me.
Dan McSweeney, a Halifax native, first worked as a reporter at the old Halifax Herald, then got a taste of public relations work at Canadian National Railway in Moncton, before coming to Thompson in 1980 to work for Inco. He retired back home to Bridgewater on Nova Scotia’s south shore in June 2007 after 27½ years with Inco here. He blogs at mcsweeneysdiversion.wordpress.com.
