Claude Deane - Western Australia's Motor Dealer Extraordinaire

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The name Claude Williams Deane did not ring a bell when we first looked at the cover of the book. But it turns out, Claude Deane is one of the great pioneers of the motor car in Australia. The life of this entrepreneur is explored in a new book by Australian motoring historian Graeme Cocks.

The dawn of the age of the motorcar in Western Australia

Claude Dean was at the dawn of the age of the motorcar in Western Australia and was quite the Renaissance man. He started out as a travelling salesman for a mining equipment company before his interest in the internal combustion chamber began. In this trade, he learned how to import things and find buyers.

We found the story surprisingly interesting. The story, for which years of research preceded, is well written with many anecdotes and fun facts. Did you know for instance that a female cyclist from France, named Anthelmina Sepolette, drove the first motor tricycle in Western Australia in 1898? Later on, Claude Dean bought a similar one to drive to the Goldfields.

“Heading out into the outback astride a motorised tricycle to spread the word of the arrival of the motoring age, driving the first car, a Curved Dash Oldsmobile, from town to town in the South West corner of the continent and introducing people who had never seen a car before to the advantage of motorised transport.”

Claude Dean claims he sold the first car, but did he? Or was it his rival Percy Armstrong? The fact is that within a couple of years he became Western Australia's biggest car importer.

But then he lost it all and started again...

Why has his story never been told before? It is an interesting book, especially for early car lovers and gives you an idea of Australia around 1900.

Order a copy of the book "Claude Deane. Western Australia's Motor Dealer Extraordinaire" by Graeme Cocks here.

This article was originally published on July 1, 2020

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