In 1962 ten Mr. Whippy ice cream vans were imported to Sydney from England. They were an instant success, and rumours of the vans soon reached Wombat Creek and Mr Di Mascio. With a talent for business and a love of Italian Gelati Mr Di Mascio went to Melbourne and bought an Oxford ice cream van. Back home in Wombat Creek Mr Di Mascio took the vehicle apart, cut out the middle window on one side and installed posters of various ice creams behind the other windows.* Realising a middle-age balding man probably wouldn’t attract a lot of customers he place himself in the driver’s seat and engaged his better looking daughter as the ice cream seller. Judging by the length of the queue the business concept seems to be right – or the ice creams simply too good!
* Of course Mr Di Mascio didn’t take the van apart. He is a fictional figure in fictional Wombat Creek. I did the altering myself!
