The Search
Fast forward 11 years to August 2001 and I’d decided it was time to start searching for the EK. I was in two minds about looking for the EK…
I already have an FB sedan…correct response is “...one old Holden is not enough...”
What if I can’t find it?…correct response is “...well what if I can…you’ll never know if you don’t try…”
What if it’s been scrapped?…correct response is “...yes that’s worse case scenario and I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it…”
My first move was a phone call to Mr Keith Collins. He told me that he thought he had sold it to a family named Smith (of all the names!) and they owned a hotel in Main Street, Wallerawang.
So based on that information I looked up all the Smiths at Wallerawang listed on the White Pages on the internet. Over the next fortnight or so I rang each of the 8 families listed…nothing. I also looked up both the hotels in Wallerawang, the Commercial and the Royal…nothing.
In some of the Grandads paperwork I found the EK chassis number (EK36096S) and so I rang the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) Parramatta office with this bit of information and was told that the vehicle had not been written off. This gave me some glimmer of hope.
By the time I had rung and spoken to the last Smith in Wallerawang I hadn’t located the EK and finding it was looking more and more doubtful. I even began to ring wrecking yards in and around the Lithgow and Wallerawang area in the hope that someone would remember the car…nothing.
I then submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) form and fee of around $40 in September 2001 to the RTA. Using the chassis number as the identifier, I requested that the RTA contact, on my behalf, the last registered owner of the EK and advise that I was searching for the vehicle.
On Tuesday 2 October, I received a phone call from the RTA advising that contact had been made with the last registered owner…Mr Collins.
So I had come full circle and after 8 weeks of searching I was back where I had started. I never thought that the FOI would lead back to Mr Collins so I rang him to apologise for the inconvenience. In conversation he said that someone else was looking for the EK as he had received a letter and phone call from the RTA. After explaining to him that it was me still looking for the EK he replied apologetically that he had gone back to his receipt book only to discover the EK had in fact been sold to a family by the name of Brown and not Smith!
So armed with this new information I looked up all the Browns at Wallerawang on the White Pages on the internet. The first to come up was a J Brown at an address at Main Street, Wallerawang…remember both the hotels are in Main Street and Mr Collins had earlier said he thought that the buyer had owned a pub at Wallerawang.
So I dialled the number…a lady answered the phone…I introduced myself and explained I was looking for an EK station sedan…I couldn’t believe my ears when the response was “Oh yeah, the old Holden wagon, its sitting out the back.”
I nearly fell off my chair…I had found the EK! I still get goose bumps thinking about it today. 
So after a rather excited 20 minute conversion the story was relayed to me…The Brown family had bought the EK from Mr Collins in 1990 as a project and work had begun stripping the EK for restoration. Unfortunately due to health reasons Mr Brown was never able to finish the work and it was parked under a pine tree down behind the Commercial Hotel at Wallerawang. Only a short time before my phone call, the EK had been offered to a nephew of the Brown family. I said that I was very keen on buying the EK and so secured a promise that it would be held until I had a chance to inspect it.
On Saturday 6 October 2001 I drove to Wallerawang with my father, brother-in-law and 2 children in tow to check out the EK. Opening the side gate to the pub and walking down the path I remember seeing the EK for the first time… it lookied a sad and sorry sight sitting there in the backyard. No chrome, grill or external trim, all the doors were sagging and plenty of visible rust. The first thing I did was to pop the bonnet to check the chassis number from the records I had from Grandad…EK 36096 S …this was it! I had found it!
The photos below are pretty average in quality and I put that down to the fact that I could hardly keep the camera still as I was that keyed up at finding the EK.
As I’ve said the EK was in very average condition. If you were looking for an EK to restore this probably wouldn’t be it. Inspection revealed rust in the outer sills, inner rails, bottom of A pillars, floor pans, front fenders, rear quarters…pretty much everywhere. However the EK was complete as all the chrome, external trim, grill and other extra spares were all piled inside the EK. Opening the glovebox I found the original owners manual and service policy and this little beauty in Grandads copperplate handwriting…
After chatting to Mr Brown and based entirely on sentimental reasons I purchased the EK for $400. So after nearly 40 years since Grandad had bought the EK brand new, it was now back in Watters ownership. The same day I arranged for Lithgow Towing to transport the EK on a flat bed tow truck to my Aunty Beth’s house at Lithgow who let me store the car under the protection of a carport whilst I organised more permanent storage back in Sydney. Following photos are of my Mum, son Thomas and me...I was one happy chappy…
