It was a Baker's bread delivery van for all its life, and when the driver retired, his boss said "The van is old and to be retired - take it home as a present, and thankyou for your good work".
The Van sat on his property under pine trees for many years. The owner restored "Skoda cars" and never got round to restoring the van. I understand he died recently, and all his estate was sold. I saw the van about 8 years ago, and the body was getting very thin at that time after years of exposure to "Acid rain" from the pine trees.
Many thanks J.B. who is our man in Oz for this story.