Bushfire behaviour is influenced by many things including temperature, relative humidity, forest type, fuel quantity and fuel dryness, topography and even slope. Wind has a dominant effect on the Rate of Spread (ROS), and also bushfire size, shape and direction. Fuel arrangement is as important as fuel quantity (tonnes/ha). Fibrous and ribbon bark, together with elevated and near-surface scrub fuels act as ladders which lead flames into the tree canopy. But the availability of fuel to burn depends largely on its moisture content. When it exceeds 20-25% not much will burn, whereas 12-15% is generally ideal for fuel reduction burning, but if the moisture content drops as low as 7-10% virtually everything will ignite, and fire behaviour becomes extreme. During the afternoon of the Ash Wednesday bushfires on 16 February 1983 fuel moisture contents were recorded at Stawell as low as 2.7%. Fine fuels like leaves and bark can rapidly absorb moisture after a shower of rain, or from the air when the Relative Humidity (RH) is high, and the temperature is low. Conversely, they can also dry out very quickly. So even though the overall fuel quantity in the forest doesn’t change, the fine fuel availability can increase rapidly from zero after rain to many tonnes per hectare as the fuel dries out. This can happen over a few hours on hot and windy days. Heavy fuels like logs on the ground take longer to dry out. Since the 1930s foresters, firefighters and researchers have been working to develop quick and reliable techniques for measuring fuel moisture content. One of the most accurate methods is slowly drying a sample of fuel in a conventional oven for 24-48 hours to remove all the moisture and measuring the weight difference, but this takes time and is not practical in the field when rapid measurements are needed. But oven drying is often used as a benchmark to compare other methods. Microwave ovens are faster but can cause uneven drying and even char the fuel. They are also not very practical for use in the field. Some mathematical models rely on weather records such as rainfall, wind speed, evaporation, cloud cover, shading, relative humidity, slope, aspect and season of the year to predict soil and fuel moisture. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index of soil dryness is the most common. But complex fuels with leaves, twigs, grass etc make the predictive models often inadequate for fine fuels. The most common technique in Victorian forests until recently was the trusty Speedy Moisture Meter. Originally developed in England during the 1920s for measuring moisture in wheat and other grains it was adapted for Australian forest fuels in the 1950s (I think). Fuel was first ground using a Spong mincer, often attached to the bullbar of a vehicle, and a small sample placed into the Speedy together with a measure of calcium carbide and then sealed. A chemical reaction created gas pressure which was read on the external dial. There were important techniques with cleaning, mincing and using the chemicals with the Speedy to give reliable readings, but it was quick, inexpensive, robust, portable and practical in the field. It was used routinely before igniting a fuel reduction burn or measuring fuel moisture differentials on slash burns. But in about 1996, Karen Chatto and Kevin Tolhurst from the Department’s Creswick Research Station developed the Wiltronics Fuel Moisture meter which measured electrical resistance. Wiltronics is an Australian owned company operating from Ballarat. The final result was a kit that was portable, accurate and could reliably measure fuel moisture contents between 3% and 200%. Although expensive, it is now widely used by fire agencies around the world which has virtually relegated the Speedy to the back cupboard.Prototype Fuel moisture meterT-H Fine Fuel Meterforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, forest measurement

96 p.; 26 cmnon-fictionShow all the different aspects of The Dandenong Ranges which includes the Flora and Fauna, different trees and townsdandenongs, nobelius gembrook nurseries

Harry Holmes and his battalion friends photographed aspects of their time on the Suez Canal, Egypt. Egypt was a major base for the AIF from December 1914. A number of campaigns were fought in this theatre. There were two campaigns involving the AIF. Note that not all the fighting was actually geographically in Egypt. (http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8888/about3.html) This photograph is significant because it was taken by a soldier (rather than an official war artist) and shows one of the day to day activities experienced by Australian Soldiers in Egypt during World War One.1) Four Australian soldiers during World War One in Egypt .2) Soldiers watch while two men 'fight' on a greasy pole during World War One .3) Australian soldiers stand at the grave of a German Officer at the Suez Canal, Egypt.2) Verso - "greasy Pole Fight" .3) verso: - Snap taken at grave of German officer killed in the first tussel (sic) with Turk at the Canalchatham family archive, chatham, holmes, world war, world war 1, world war i, world war one, egypt, cam williamson, greasy pole, ship, vessel, burial

The Theological Dictionaries belonged to David and Alice Ellis, a young couple married in Dublin in 1855. They left for Australia on the Schomberg clipper ship on October 6 that same year, joining the other passengers for the luxury sailing ship’s first voyage, bound for Melbourne, Australia. The Schomberg was grounded on a sand spit near Peterborough. All passengers and crew were safely rescued. They had been allowed to take something small with them when leaving the sinking vessel, and as such, Alice took a small cane basket and coin purse. The Dictionaries were also amongst the couple’s possessions, along with a metal trunk, a Bible and a pair of candlesticks. These items were all later retrieved from the ship’s deck by the crew of a steamer sent from Melbourne. At that time, David was 23 years old (born in Wales, in 1832) and Alice was 26 (born in Ireland, 1829). The couple lived in Tasmania for a short period before settling in the Western Districts of Victoria. David worked as a gardener and, when land in the area was available to purchase, David and Alice claimed a selection on Noorat Road near Terang. They settled there for the remainder of their lives, expanding the property that they named, ‘Allambah’, and had six children. David died in 1911, aged 79, and Alice passed away the following year, aged 83. Two of David and Alice’s children, David jnr. and Grace adopted a daughter Nell Margaret Crick (nee Ellis). The Dictionaries were passed onto Nell with the misunderstanding (due to being written in the Welsh language) that they were Bibles. Nell pasted a piece of paper onto the front of the first volume recording ‘Welsh Bible 90 yrs old. April 3rd 1844’. The April date relates to the inscription inside both volumes and the 90 yrs old relates to the year Nell possibly received them, 1934. She has also added to the inscription page inside the first volume again recording ’Welsh Bible 90 yrs old. Miss. G Ellis “Allambah” Terang’. This implies that Grace Ellis had been the ‘keeper’ of the dictionaries. Grace and David Ellis were devout Christians which they passed on to their adopted daughter Nell, and were prominent members of the Noorat and Terang Presbyterian Churches. As David and Alice Ellis came out on the Schomberg in 1855, and the inscription inside both volumes of the Dictionary carries the date April 3rd 1844 and the name Thomas Ellis, it could be presumed that this was a family gift of significance to the couple as they began their new life in a country far away.The theological dictionaries are part of a group of donated possessions of David and Alice Ellis that have great significance as personal belongings, providing an insight into what emigrants considered important possessions to bring as they began a new life on the other side of the world. They are part of Flagstaff Hill’s collection of artefacts from the Schomberg shipwreck, which is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR S612). All items had been saved from the sinking luxury clipper ship, the Schomberg, in 1855. The ship has historical significance as a rare example of a large, fast clipper ship on the England to Australia run, built to carry emigrants at the time of the Victorian gold rush. The ship’s design included the technical advances needed to break sailing records between Europe and Australia. The relationship of the objects in Flagstaff Hill’s Schomberg collection allows potential interpretation of the story of the Schomberg. The collection of objects is archaeologically significant as the remains of an international passenger ship, as it represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping history, in addition to its association with the shipwreck and the ship.A two volume set Theological Dictionary in Welsh. Both books are covered in brown leather with gold embossed patterns and words on the spine. The words 'GEIRIADUR DUWINYDDOL' (Theological dictionary) are on both spines towards the top and towards the bottom the number 1 or 2 dependent on the volume. The first volume, at around 900 pages, is slightly larger than the second volume, around 740 pages. The first volume has had a plain piece of paper glued to the front with the words 'Welsh Bible, 90 yrs old, April 3rd 1844'. Each volume has an inscription to Thomas Ellis inside the front cover, the date April 3rd 1844 and other words in Welsh. The first volume has added writing (in different handwriting) on the inscription page. The books are laid out in dictionary format with the first volume going from ABE to HYP. The second volume begins at IAC and ends at YST, followed by an Appendix and Index. The first volume was published in 1837 and the second volume in 1839.Volume 1 - Thomas Ellis ... 6 words in Welsh ... Aprill 3/44 (Handwriting 1) - Welsh Bible 90 yrs old, Miss G. Ellis, "Allambah" Terang. (Handwriting 2) Volume 2 - Thomas Ellis ... 6 words in Welsh (same as volume 1) ... Aprill 3/44flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, theological dictionaries, welsh theological dictionaries, welsh bible, schomberg, sailing ship, schomberg passengers, schomberg ship, 1855, 1855 shipwreck, peterborough shipwreck, david and alice ellis, david ellis jnr, grace ellis, nell ellis, nell crick, allambah terang, terang presbyterian church