It was a simple mistake which led to Kenny Little's brand new vehicle becoming water-logged at Kooloonbung Creek in 1972.
It's an incident that the Port Macquarie resident remembers well - 50 years on.
"When you pulled the handbrake up, it had to click in," he said.
"It mustn't have clicked in."
The incident was recorded by the Port Macquarie News in January, 1972.
Mr Little and his wife Judy had planned to travel in the vehicle to Tasmania for their honeymoon.
"I was devastated as we'd only been married for three weeks and the car was only six-weeks-old," he said.
It would be another 30 years until the couple bought a brand new car.
However, the unfortunate incident resulted in a positive turn of events for the Littles.
They managed to purchase a 1964 Ford Hillman Hunter which had already notched up 250,000 miles from a local business.
"He asked for $120 for it but I only had $90 and he took that," Mr Little said.
On their way home from Tasmania a semi-trailer kicked up a rock into the vehicle's windscreen, but it didn't break.
"About 70 kilometres up the road we went around a corner, hit a bump and the whole thing shattered," Mr Little said.
"We had to use a plastic emergency one all the way home."
The vehicle went on to live for another three months after the Littles returned to Port Macquarie from their honeymoon.
"It blew up while we were on our way to Kempsey," he said.
"We probably had it six months.
"It put in some good yards."
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