Streets and drains were the basic infrastructure problems for Kew in the 1880s. Decent streets and drains were fundamental to the quality of life of the residents. Without drainage, streets became muddy, boggy and sometimes impassable. Pools and puddles of stagnant water became smelly. The run off water, mixed with human and animal wastes, because there was no sewerage, became a health hazard. Streets and drains then became what were known as 'a nuisance'. Kew suffered from bouts of typhoid fever during the 1880s. Derrick Street was a private street on the margin of the business district of Kew and a well-used thoroughfare. We hear first about Derrick Street when the ratepayers applied to Council to have the street 'taken over' in January 1881. The Council agreed, after much debate, but ratepayers had to pay half the costs. The argument of the majority of the Council was that there was an established policy that ratepayers of private streets either had to hand over the street fully-formed or pay half the costs if Council did the work. It was felt that to make an exception for Derrick Street would create a precedent for ratepayers of other private streets. On the other hand the ratepayers, and a minority of Council, believed that there were extenuating circumstances in the case of Derrick Street. They believed that the costing by the Borough Surveyor was excessive. They felt the Council was partly responsible for the state of the street due to a channel on Bulleen Road, which deposited sand in the street. The Council had also put in some kerbing at the entrance to the street. Finally, the ratepayers believed that the street had become an important and convenient thoroughfare in Kew, and thus should be an exception to the policy on private streets. In the end a decision was delayed to allow the ratepayers to drain and form the street themselves. And there the matter stood till September 1882, when Miss Reilly complained about rubbish on a block of land in Derrick Street. So, in October 1882 the Council agreed to take over and form the street with the ratepayers paying half the costs. The ratepayers did not want to pay, so the argument continued in Council into 1883. There was a standoff for a further 18 months, until the problem could no longer be ignored. In October 1884 the Inspector of Nuisances and the Health Officer reported that Derrick Street was a health hazard as there was no drainage outlet for waste water. These reports changed the status of the problem of Derrick Street. It became an issue of public health, and thus the Council, acting as the Local Board of Health, had power to prepare plans and order the ratepayers to drain the street and pay all the costs, or let the Council do the work and charge ratepayers half the costs of the works. By April 1885, the time for ratepayers to complete the works themselves had expired, so the Council proceeded with the work and required ratepayers to pay for their share of the costs. All ratepayers had paid by the end of April except Mr Whiddycombe, who refused to pay. Mr Whiddycombe was warned to pay in October 1885. Legal action was taken against him in November. The Council lost the case on technical grounds. The Council, acting as the Local Board of Health, relaunched the legal action and won. The last we hear of Derrick Street is that seven day’s notice was given to Derrick Street ratepayers to pay for the drainage works in May 1887. We presume that Mr Whiddycombe paid. (Research: Andrew Frost)Rare and historic publication issued by the Board of Health in the Borough of Kew in 1885 to residents of Derrick street regarding the need for proper drainage for the purpose of improving public health.Printed formal notice sent by the Board of Health of the Borough of Kew to landowners in Derrick Street, Kew. The notice advised the owners that they were required to form and drain the street according to the levels and specifications approved by the Board. The letter was sent on January 23rd 1885, and signed by the Inspector of Nuisances.borough of kew -- greater melbourne (vic.), council notices -- public health, derrick street -- kew (vic.)

Report details the history of the power supply for the Victorian Railways, electric street railways or tramways. Looks at the costs, equipment purchased, operation, and construction. Compiled from original VR documents, with photos. Includes the Elwood depot fire of 1907, Covers the provision of power for Sandringham tramway. Has drawings of the main switchboard layouts, the crossing of the St Kilda - Brighton tramway by the MMTB tramways. Author unknown.Yields information about the provision of the power supply for VR Trams.Report 50 x A4 pages - photocopied from an original document. trams, railways, vr trams, sandringham, st kilda brighton electric tramway, power supply, elwood depot, elwood substation, substations

Magazine - 20 A4 pages printed in full colour on gloss white paper, centre stapled - "Insite Magazine - November 2015 - January 2016" containing an article "The Ballarat Tramway Museum Goes Solar Powered" written by Paul Mong and Warren Doubleday. Provides the background to the installation of the solar panels to the BTM Depot in Nov. 2014. Has photos of the solar panels and inverters as well as tram 28. Provides information on costs.trams, tramways, btm, solar panels, museums australia

Eight issues of "MMTB News" - The Magazine of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board. Two copies of each issue. All issues printed with an off-white gloss paper cover with the rest of the magazine white glass paper. 1722.1 - Vol. 2, No. 1 - 16 pages, January 1965, with a photo of the Board meeting in the Board room of the MMTB, notes or articles on traffic congestion, a short history of public street transport in Melbourne, TMSV tour of 7/2/1965 with PCC 980, and" Some Views on Public Transport". 1722.2 - Vol. 2, No. 2 - 16 pages, February 1965, with a photo of Dusseldorf 3 section tramcar on the front cover, notes on the costs of concessions, press visit to the Carlton Power control supervisory centre, "Melbourne - 1985", Mark VI buses, tool safety, "Staggered Working Hours", hydro-foil on Sydney Harbour, "Traffic Congestion". 1722.3 - Vol. 2, No. 3 - 12 pages, March - April 1965, with a photo of W7 1012 and bus 751 on the front cover, notes or articles on "New Trams for Melbourne", retirement of D.H. Eakin, "Traffic Congestion", "Tramway buses at the Gippsland Fires", The Australian Good Neighbour movement. 1722.4 - Vol. 2, No. 4 - 16 pages, May - June 1965, with a photo of L 101 at West Maribyrnong terminus during an Association of Railway Enthusiasts tour (photo Robert Wilson), notes or articles; "A Motorist Speaks Up for Trams", "Tramways Hospital a Major Benefit", parking in the central city, tramway ambulance, "Radio Control is Human Nerve Centre", staff shortages, retirement of Mr. Stan Bowen, the ARE Tram Tour, and Port Melbourne Tramways Social Angling Club. 1722.5 - Vol. 2, No. 5 - 16 pages, July 1965, with a photo of the Doncaster Bus depot on the front cover, articles or notes; Freeways, Public Transport, Decimal conversion, Doncaster Bus depot, Melbourne in twenty years, Engineering Department - Bus branch, visit of Mr Ken Hall and Frank Kirby overseas to study new trams. 1722.6 - Vol. 2, No. 6 - 20 pages, August September 1965 with a photo of W6 921 being lowered at Preston Depot, with notes or articles; an abridged version of an address by R. J. Risson to the Constitutional Club in Melbourne, lost items on trams, Bus Engineering, and social or sporting club news. 1722.7 - Vol. 2, No. 7 - 16 pages, October - November 1965 with a photo of PCC 980 on the front cover, notes or articles on; free travel for USA City shoppers, safety, Stores Department printing section, Ballarat's Tramways Diamond Jubilee - TMSV tour to Ballarat on 15/8/1965 including two photos, PCC 980, Christmas functions, retirement of Arthur Wisdom and Bill Wallis. (Reference photos Reg. Item - 1877). See btm2819i9 for image of the article re the TMSV Tour to Ballarat. 1722.8 - Vol. 2, No. 8 - 16 pages, December 1965 with a photo of cable car set No. 1 on the front cover with notes or articles; Children's art show, "Quest for New Tram", "The Development of Melbourne's Trams" and sporting or social club news. Has a Christmas message from Chairman, Mr. Risson with photograph.trams, tramways, mmtb, carlton control, buses, pcc 980, ballarat, new trams, are, tmsv

Report - 10 A4 photocopied pages titled "Friends of the W class Trams Policy Statement" undated, signed by Don Gibson. Looks at the fleet after the delivery of all the B class trams, numbers of cars required for service, issues, a requested approach, equipment and their request - continue to run W class trams, store Z1 and Z2 trams. Provides a statement of the trust's policy - classification, present threat, Met Proposal, comparison with Z class trams, tables of costs for each type of tram, options, power consumption, ride, life span, crew costing, public support, views on upgrading, conclusions. Notes that Mr. Peter. Spyker was Minister for Transport at the time and that B class still being delivered - completed 1994. Mr Spyker was Minister from 1990 to 1992 - document c1991.trams, tramways, w class, b class, z class, national trust, the met

Report - 42 pages, 3 sections, stapled on the left hand edge, titled "Report of the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into and report upon the Railway and Tramway systems on Melbourne and Suburbs" - dated 1911. Looks at the state of the Suburban rail system, finances, electrification's, costs, evidence of Mr. Merz, advantages of the electrification, power supply and standards, whether AC or DC, duplication, Glen Iris line, conclusions and recommendations. Tramway - summarises the current tramways operating, cable system and operational stats, the current tramway systems, other cities, relative merits, future tramways for Melbourne, operational speeds, use of cable conduits for electric traction, conversion, municipal control , control of the tramways by the railways, a general scheme, formation of a larger tramway trust and its management, purchase of the cable tramways and recommendations. Note: This document is available as a pdf on the Parliament of Victoria website. 2nd copy added 2-1-2019 from donation of Norm Cross.In ink in the top right hand corner "TB"trams, tramways, tramways, cable trams, finances, conversion, railways, royal commission, costs

Set of two typed reports detailing Preston Workshops. .1 - Report - marked draft, dated 24/11/1926 - 4 foolscap pages with marks, corrections, changes outlining the need for a workshop, refers to the Malvern depot, acquisition of the land, design, capacity, description of the various shops. Gives a description of the operation, construction of trams in the future, notes the cable repair shops at Nicholson St, cranes, employee numbers, costs, paint and body shop. Notes the mess room and that an ambulance room will be provided. .2 - Report - 3 quarto pages - undated - but based on the first sentence, c1929 - titled "Tramway Workshops Preston". Gives a description of the workshops, the main groupings, building sizes, cranes, floors, building and maintenance capacities, tracks, admin block, employment, sub-station and power supplies.In top right hand corner of each sheet of .1 "Reference RS 49/1" stamp and handwritten.trams, tramways, preston workshops, malvern depot, nicholson st, workshops, workplace conditions

Digital copy of a 9 page report by the MMTB, titled Project 3-75 - Replacement of Substation Equipment", proposing to replace the rotary converters installed between 1924 and 1930 with silicon rectifiers. Gives the locations, costs, schedule of replacement commencing 1975, in particular South Melbourne, Malvern and Young St Fitzroy. Gives a background to the system, a list of all the substations at the time, including date of installation, type, replacement of HV equipment, costs, reliability, maintenance costs, and benefit to cost ratio.Has the stamp of "Joint Ministry of transport and Tramways Library" and a "Plan & EPA Library barcode"trams, tramways, substation, transformer, power supply, electrical engineering, rotary converters

Report - hand made on very thin paper, almost rice paper, 3 pages + cover note of 2/11/1921 to Mr. Wilcox, General Manager from Mr. C. W. Young and W. A. Savage, Assist Traffic Manager titled "Proposed Flying City Shunt". Report suggests that improved shunting arrangements are needed at Collins and Spencer St due to increased traffic. Notes cars can be shunted in abnormal conditions in 40 seconds. Normal shunting was 60secs it appears. Report gives details of the costs and the shunting times taken to turn cable sets around. The cover note of 2/11/1921, re-submits the report to Mr Dix from a person (can read the signature) from the Fitzroy Power House. Last page was scanned separately as a jpg file. Dated 11/9/1917Has been stamped "Copy" in two places.trams, tramways, cable trams, track, collins st, shunting

Typed report by Mr Alex Cameron of the PMTT titled "Chairman giving a comparison between Original and Revised estimate of Noyes Bros in regard to proposed tramways" Orginal Estimate dated May 1906, revised June 1907. One of the principal savings was the purchase of power from the Electric Traction and Lighting Co instead of building their own Power Station. There were other changes to the estimates for track, alterations to sewers, water mains and drains, and rolling stock.Yields information about the cost of construction of the first stage of the PMTT in 1907.Document or report 5 foolscap sheets - carbon copytramways, tramcars, pmtt, costs, new tramways

Yields information about the views of various letter writers, views of the Courier, union views, rehabilitation costs Geelong, public meetings and meetings with SEC.Set of three Foolscap sheet of plain paper, with rounded corners, with newspaper cuttings, concerning the mooted closure of the Ballarat Tram system 20 Feb and 22 Feb 1962. All from The Courier, unless noted otherwise. 7940.1 1 - "Tram future rests with Government" - 22-2-62 - news report about the SEC being insistent on tabling the motion to close in Parliament, price of replacement trams. Attending Mr K L Murray, Mr Linaker, Mr A V Mawby of the SEC, Cr. A Pittard and Town Clerk Mr. H H Maddern. 2 - "Government "Bought itself out" - continuation from above, quoting Mr Mawby about the rehabilitation of the system in 1934 by the Government, discussions about fares, losses, time of travel from Sebastopol compared to buses. Also notes Cr Tuppen of Sebastopol. 3 - "A hot tram tip" - 22-2-62 - suggestion by Cr Cooper suggested the tram be retained around the lake for Historical reasons, Mr Murray of the SEC, sell/give to the Historical Society, Cr W E Roff replied about not wanting them and put them in a tip. 7940.2 1 - "SEC Not to sell this - 20-2-62 - photo of the power house in Ripon St, with the caption that the SEC did not propose to sell the property, but would be selling the tram depot site. 2 - "The talk was trams" - 22-2-62 - photo of Mr Mawby, Cr A D Mason, H Linaker and Mr K L Murray at the meeting with Council the previous day. 3 - "Save our Trams" - 21-2-62 - long letter - about the closing the trams and railway losses including building, new rail lines being built. 4 - "Tram fight" - letter by R Courtney Union Secretary, about the formation of a Committee to oppose closure. 7940.3 "Sound Shell Plan+ - 21-2-62 - Long editorial about the construction of a Sound Shell and council discussions and inability to make a decision.closure, letter to the editor, editorial, sec, rehabilitation, staff, buses, concession fares, museum, power station, ballarat a power station, botanical gardens