NSW Bush Fire Brigade Tanker.

Bush fire brigades in New South Wales were, and are, volunteer bodies, and in the 1960s their tankers were whatever the brigade could afford to put a tank on. A Land Rover pickup with a slip-on unit — a tank, pump and hose reel that lifts onto the tray as a single piece — was the light attack vehicle of the era: quick to the fire front, able to leave the road, and cheap enough for a small brigade to own.

This 1969 example is a long-wheelbase pickup in the brigade's livery, with a metal flat tray for the slip-on gear, white chevrons along the sides and a red beacon on the roof. A 1969 109 in Australia is a Series IIA, most likely assembled from kits at Pressed Metal Corporation in Sydney, with the 2.25-litre petrol four as standard; the source records the year and the operator but not the engine. It was photographed by sv1ambo at Shannons Eastern Creek Classic at Eastern Creek Raceway, Sydney, in August 2009.