Yep, that really happened: Getting around in old-school style

Since starting to be mass produced at the start of the 20th century, the car has become an essential life tool.

Over the generations its availability has been an interesting study.

At the start, cars were only affordable for the elites, but as time marched on average families got the chance to buy a vehicle and create many memories along the way.

Of course today, almost everyone over the age of 18 has their own car.

But back not so long ago, in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, it was very rare to be a more than one car family.

Without stereotyping too much, it usually went that dad had the car and took it to work and mum was home and making do.

This normally meant that if an outing was afoot, the mother of the family would load the children into a very large and robust pram and on foot she would proceed.

This was an arduous task in itself, the pram would most of the time be overloaded with children and groceries, adding weight to an already cumbersome contraption. There was a bit of relief as some of the children got older and mums could move down to a lighter stroller.

And the one car family of course had direct consequences for the older children of the family.

The way to school was simple: if you lived out of town you caught the bus and if you lived in town you walked or rode your bike. It was pretty much the same for most things, football training, going to the beach, down the street or to a friend's place.

The only time you really got to have a ride in the car was a Sunday trip to see the relatives, or to help dad unload at the tip.

And so for those under the age to drive, the bike was king.

And what bikes they were.

Like everything, bikes went in fads as to what was the coolest to be seen riding.

There was a time when the old-fashioned big racer bike with the large frame was all the go.

The key though was to adjust the handlebars so they were facing straight out front rather than down. These bikes were popular in the 1960s, but they have always had their fans and remained a constant.

In the late 1960s, legendary Australian bike company Malvern Star produced the iconic Dragster.

Now this thing was next level cool, with its curved seat, its big handlebars and its backrest.

It was the closest to riding a motorbike chopper that a young girl or boy on the street could get.

The Dragsters did of course stay popular for many years and are now sought after history pieces for collectors.

The big moment of the 1970s was the arrival of the BMX bike.

BMX riding was a sport in the US that soon spawned its own industry of producing BMX bikes.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, riding a BMX down the street was what it was all about.

All of a sudden, backyards had dirt mound jumps in the middle of them and front lawns had slapped together old pieces of wood built into BMX jumps.

If you couldn't mono (front wheel in the air) down the street for at least 10 feet then you might as well not come outside.

From the 60s to the end of the 80s, the streets of Warrnambool and surrounding towns were filled with kids riding their bikes, normally with at least two dogs, usually more, running behind them.

If it wasn't bikes, it was billy carts and ball bearing wheeled dingeys.

These were made of wood, were steered by your feet or a rope and they went like the clappers.

They were driven down the nearest and steepest hill that could be found and often down the middle of the road.

And if that didn't satisfy the thrill-seekers enough, the mini-bike was also a popular option.

For the kids who loved their motorsport, this was an affordable entry level way in.

Now these things did fly and they popped up anywhere, mainly in the paddocks that still sat yet to be developed into more housing estates.

The start of the 1990s saw carefree conform into convenience, two car families, more traffic, and there's no turning back.