A Mr. Whippy driver has shared the real reason why the vans have disappeared from Sydney streets and why ice cream lovers no longer hear the iconic Greensleeves tune.
The employee, named Paul, appeared at the Kyle and Jackie O Show Thursday after co-host Kyle Sandilands lamented not seeing any Mr. Whippy trucks outside malls.
Paul revealed that the pink and white vans are not featured because they are usually rented for parties and events, such as weddings.
We are full. Everyone wants us for events, weddings and birthdays,’ he told the radio hosts.
‘We are no longer (in shopping centers). But there are future plans to be there again.”
A Mr. Whippy driver has shared the real reason why the vans have disappeared from Sydney streets and why ice cream lovers no longer hear the iconic Greensleeves tune.
Paul then offered a tour of the KIIS FM studios and treated Kyle and the team to free Mr. Whippy ice cream.
Ice cream trucks rarely drive through suburban areas these days, but Jackie ‘O’ Henderson explained that a van is parked outside her property in the eastern suburbs.
“In front of me at my house, there’s a permanent Mr. Whippy parked there all the time serving ice cream out of his pink van,” she said.
Ten of the original Mr Whippy vans were shipped from the UK in 1962, when the popular franchise was started in Sydney, and at least one of them is still operational in Queensland’s Hervey Bay, a popular “retirement town”.
An employee told The Kyle and Jackie O Show that the pink and white trucks don’t appear because they are usually hired for parties and events, such as weddings.
Since the 1960s, vans carrying candy and playing cute tunes have become a suburban staple and the subject of top childhood memories.
Only a handful of the original vans still operate in Australia, while most ice cream trucks try to imitate the style.
Others look completely different and opt for very modern vehicles, while keeping the brightly colored paint and ice cream cone motifs and lights.
In 2022, nostalgic Australians were transported back in time after images of one of the country’s original Mr. Whippy vans swept the internet.
The photograph, showing the pink and yellow Commer Carrier with lights on in the shape of an ice cream cone, was an instant hit with people of all ages.
One elderly woman said the image reminded her of the first time she heard the iconic Greensleeves tune tinkling down her street.
“I’ve booked a van to go to my senior care center and I can’t wait for them to listen to the music as he pulls into our car park,” she said delightedly.
One man said that as a child he would chase the ice cream van through the streets on his bicycle, hoping to find it in time for soft serve.
“When it stopped, the music would stop and I would have to wait until it moved to start my search again,” he said.
He wasn’t the only one who had difficulty getting a soft serve or had to work hard for it.
Ten of the original Mr. Whippy vans were shipped from the UK in 1962, when the popular franchise was started in Sydney, and at least one of them is still operational in Queensland’s Hervey Bay, a popular “retirement town”
“When we ran in to mom to get money, he was already up the street, so it was a race between us to get to him first,” one woman said.
‘We used to hear the van a kilometer away and we would run towards my aunts. We would have ice cream and then we would both run back to my house. When the van arrived it was time to have another ice cream,” said another woman.
But not all the memories were so sweet, and one woman revealed that she was run over shortly after being hit hard by one of the vans as a child.
“Mr. Whippy’s truck didn’t stop at the curb when I was younger, but instead parked about 1.5 meters away,” he explained.
‘When I crossed in front of the truck I couldn’t see the car behind him and he didn’t see me and we found ourselves in the middle of the road.
A Mr. Whippy franchise in Queensland is proud to have one of the original vans in its fleet, left, as well as other “older” modern vehicles, right.
Operators imitate the old uniforms and brightly colored vans of today.
“I was very lucky to have a bad bruise and after that I received several free thick milkshakes from Mr. Whippy,” he said.
Others said Mr. Whippy would find them every week, so they didn’t have to search the streets for the van full of fun.
‘Before there was one who came to our primary school every Friday. Which put a bit of pressure on the parents who came to pick up their children. “In retrospect, that was very cheeky of Mr. Whippy,” one woman laughed.
Robby Staff has one of the original vans in his collection and is proud to know that it is still running today.
‘We regularly visit senior care centers with our ice cream vans. “The van featured in this post is one of my vintage vans still running on the Fraser Coast, Queensland,” he wrote in the post.