In about 1964-5, my father bought a Škoda from Markwells (pictured). The car was nothing like the prestige Skoda of today that graces the course of the Tour de France. The car was made by the People’s Republic of Czechoslovakia. One night, my father, ‘tired and emotional’, drove the car into a creek bed in Pinjarra Hills. He had the devil of a time getting out of the vehicle.
A big man, he told us later, he kicked as hard as he could but could not break the windscreen with his boot. He somehow reached out through the quarter window on the passenger side and opened the door from the outside, thus effecting his exit. The Skoda lived on.
Although named after a man, Škoda also means ‘shame’ or ‘pity’. Despite being very popular on British roads in the 1960s, or perhaps because of it, the car was the subject of much derision. This may have been due also to its manufacture occurring behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
Markwells in South Brisbane
Markwells were the only agents for the sturdy four cylinder rear engine vehicle. A sideline for their Perkins marine diesels they sold only a few in Brisbane.
