After the 1939 bushfires, the Forests Commission Victoria invested heavily in a radically new communications network. After suffering some inevitable delays due to the war, radio VL3AA switched into full operation in October 1945 proudly beaming out 200 watts across the State. But by today’s standards, the technology was primitive and the reception poor unless the user was on a high point somewhere. The radio signal was "line-of-sight" and bounced between fire towers and relay transmitters across the mountains back to the District offices. The advent of solid-state electronics in the 1960s replaced the more delicate valve sets which enabled greater use of vehicle mounted radios. The Commission continued to research, develop and build new radios at its many workshops around Victoria. The network was supported by a large team of skilled radio technicians. The more secure and versatile State Mobile Radio (SMR) digital trunk system came into operation in about 1995. Upgraded Tait Radios were purchased in 2014 after recommendations of the 2009 Bushfires Royal Commission. But it was the convergence of separate technologies such as 5G mobile phones, high-capacity and light-weight lithium batteries, Wi-Fi, the ever-expanding internet, cloud data storage, digital cameras, GPS, personal organisers and hundreds of supporting Apps into powerful smartphones and tablets which revolutionised bushfire communications from the mid-2000s. Radio with handsetSTC - Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd 3AL - Neerim South MTR 25-131 Abushfire, radios, forests commission victoria (fcv)

In rural Australia phone calls were made through the switchboard usually situated at the local post office. This book lists the residents of Kergunyah and their phone numbers. If you want to talk to a neighbour for example, you ask for that person or give the operator their number. The switchboard operator 'puts the caller through'. However some people shared a number and were therefore on a party line eg. in this book 6 people share number 3. The operator would then ring the individual's code, like morse code, eg. 1 long 2 short. Also ref. KVHS 0897 Mt Beauty SwitchboardThis book is a list of residents living at Kergunyah who have a phone and lists their phone numbers. Kergunyah is in the Kiewa Valley. The book also notes some problems with the line eg. 'suspect sheath damage'. Stiff beige cardboard cover bound by black tape "Subscribers' M.D.F. / Record" printed on centre of cover. 7 pages but only written on pages 2 and 3 with residents' names and phone numbers in columns."Kergunyah" on front coverkergunyah, telephone, kiewa valley, switchboard

A black and white image of a woman on a handset of a switchboard. switchboard, telephone, operator, cats

Birregurra is a town in Victoria. Colour photograph of a weatherboard post office at Birragurra, Victoria. birregurra, birregurra post office, telephone, post office boxes

A manual telephone exchange, manufactured by British Ericson, History Originally in use at Cohuna. When Cohuna was converted to automatic dialing this exchange was relocated to Harcourt, to become the third and last in a bank of three exchanges. At this time Harcourt exchange was expanded to 260 lines. It was connected to the district central exchange at Castlemaine. Operated by mains power with battery back-up. Harcourt exchange was operated by Betty McLean, Miss Mitchell, Josie Hogarth, Mr. & Mrs. Heighway, Bill & Valerie Milford, Irene Bolitho and others. Decommissioned approx. 1970. Incoming calls prompted the fall of a shutter. The operator made the connection by plugging the line into the number requested. While responding to calls the operator needed her hands free to jot down the billing particulars or to write out each telegram. Nearby stood pigeonholes with various items of stationary. Many telegrams were received each day, particularly advising fruit growers on interstate markets. Most telegrams were phoned through by the operator. This exchange was restored in 2004 - 2005 by Trevor Grant.. Many people relate to this exchange. It is a survivor of the pre-electronic era when ‘telephonist’ was a common occupation. A vital element in the communications between households and between district orchardists and their suppliers and clients.A manual telephone exchange, manufactured by British Ericson complete with operator hands-free headset/earphones and speaker mouthpiece. Wooden case with one hundred shutters and sockets. Accommodates twelve lines with extension leads with associated switches. Operated by mains power with battery back-up. Decommissioned approx. 1970. Incoming calls prompted the fall of a shutter. The operator made the connection by plugging the line into the number requested. This exchange was restored in 2004 - 2005 by Trevor Grant.

Small 1934 Calendar & Diary with pencil / Cream cover with picture of female child feeding a pigeon contains Calendar, notes space and postal info. /telephone directory / printed in Australia.personal effects, pocket books, small 1934 calendar & diary with pencil

Copy of Rose Series postcard #251 showing 'Mountjoy' named as 'Hollywood'. Mount Dandenong and Ridge Roads are visible at the FiveWays intersection along with the TeaRoom/Post Office. c1940Black and white photograph of a bushed setting with a building centre front and another, larger building up hill on RHS. Two unmade roads are visible with fences and telephone/power poles.The ROSE SERIES P. 251 VIEW SHOWING "HOLLYWOOD". KALORAMA, VIC.rose series, fiveways, guest house, mt dandenong road, ridge road, post office, hollywood, tea rooms, mountjoy

Poster advertising Voluntary Euthanasia Society seeking support from people. Has the result of a Morgan Gallup Poll dated Feb. 1979. Has the address and telephone numbers on the poster.trams, tramways, advertisements, posters

Denis Gibbons (1937 – 2011) Trained with the Australian Army, before travelling to Vietnam in January 1966, Denis stayed with the 1st Australian Task Force in Nui Dat working as a photographer. For almost five years Gibbons toured with nine Australian infantry battalions, posting compelling war images from within many combat zones before being flown out in late November 1970 after sustaining injuries. The images held within the National Vietnam Veterans Museum make up the Gibbons Collection.A black and white photograph of one of the Red Cross Staff at the 1st Australian Field Hospital, Vung Tau, South Vietnam, Rosemary Griggs mans the telephone in the Red Cross Hut. photograph, red cross, 1st australian field hospital, vung tau, rosemary griggs, gibbons collection catalogue, red cross hut

This was the official stamp of the Orbost Information Centre before the telephone number was changed in 1993.A rectangular rubber stamp used by Orbost and District Tourism Association at the Orbost Slab Hut and Tourist Information Centre. Nicholson Street Orbost P.O.Box 130 Orbost 3888 Tel (051) 54 2424rubber-stamp orbost-information-centre

Postcard: Prince of Wales, sitting at desk, writing. On bottom, HRH the Prince of Wales, at the home. On back in pencil, from MHS. Beagles Post Cards.a Kellogg "Microphone" telephone is shown in the photoroyalty, british, prince of wales, prince of wales, royalty / kellogg "microphone" telephone

Fold-out 41x56 cm Glossy paper Telecom Brochure ' Bendigo - A Century of Progress / front page shows mine workings and old telephone - brochure gives the history of Telecommunications in Bendigo .book, bendigo, history of telecommunications in bendigo .

Information booklet with a list of trunk call charges from Bendigo Exchange to Victorian and NSW towns. Telephone services in 1937. Coloured paper and printing. 32pp. Includes advertisements for local businesses.telephone exchange, trunk call charges

Document, W.Webb & Co., Bendigo Telephone 127 Bendigo, Golden Eagle Roller Flour, Bran and Pollard Equivalents, Table of Ratios, New and Old Standard Bags Flour, Flour Equivalents.document

Small booklet titled: Bendigo a Century of progress. On the front an old style telephone and a mining site. On the back the logo of Telecom Australia and the words: building for the future. Inside a brief history of telecommunication.bendigo, industry, telecom

Currently operating from 55 Kerrs Road St. Andrews 3761Refrigerator magnet, Black print on white"Monty Appliance Repair Service", Paul Lucas & Neil Owen, appliance list and telephone numberselectrical appliances, refrigerator magnets

This photograph shows Lady Bay and Lake Pertobe in the late 1930s or early 1940s. This is before Lake Pertobe was developed in the 1970s as a recreation area and when ships were still anchoring at the Breakwater. This is a print of a photograph and its interest lies only in the fact that it is nicely framed and is suitable for hanging. It shows the foreshore over 70 years ago so is of historical interest. This is a print of a colour photograph of Lake Pertobe and Lady Bay in a gilt-edged wooden frame with a linen cloth insert. On back of frame – ‘Frame -Right, 98 Fairy Street, Warrnambool 3280’ (telephone number not decipherable)warrnambool, lady bay

This photograph was one of ten photographs donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village by Fred Trewartha. Frederick John Fox Trewartha (Fred) was a well-known Warrnambool businessman. He was born in Beeac near Geelong in 1920 and came to Warrnambool with his family as a very young child. He was apprenticed to his father John, as a saddler and later opened his own shop on Raglan Parade. He then moved into working with tarpaulins and canvases for the trucking industry. Fred was keenly interested in photography (and was a member of the Warrnambool Cine Club), yachting and boat building. He kept his yacht moored at Port Fairy for many years and participated in sailing events locally and interstate. He also built boats with his sons. He had the opportunity to meet many older sailors and it's thought this photo (and others in the set) may have been given to him by one of these men. Fred Trewartha died in 2016 in Warrnambool. The S.S. Casino was a passenger and freight steamer built in Dundee, Scotland, in 1882 for the Newcastle and Hunter River Steam Navigation Company of N.S.W. She weighed 425 tons gross with a length of 160.4 feet, beam of 24.1 feet and a depth of 10.2 feet. She had saloon accommodation for 35 people, a fore cabin for 25 more people, and she carried 300 tons of cargo. While on her delivery journey on May 30th 1882, the S.S. Casino called in at the Port of Warrnambool for coal, narrowly escaping going ashore in gale force winds due to the quick action of the pilot. At that time, still at anchor, she impressed the directors of the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company so much that they bought her immediately; she was ideal for trade along the West Coast of Victoria. (The Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company was first managed by Messers. Saltau and Osburne and after the passing of Mr. Osburne, by produce merchants Messers H. Sautau and Sons, who had a hay and corn store and shipping agency on the corner of Liebig and Koroit Streets in Warrnambool. ) The S.S. Casino became “the most famous steamer to operate in Victorian waters along the West Coast” by author Jack Loney. Captain Boyd was her first Master, followed by Captain Chapman, who stayed with her from 1890 until 1924. Captain W. Robertson followed for a short term, and then Captain Middleton then took command from 1925 - 1932. An article published on Monday 11th June 1932 in The Sun News Pictorial (Melbourne) giving a detailed history of S. S. Casino said "owned by Port Fairy interests, she was an integral part of the town's development ... for a long time, her arrival in Port Fairy was an event, the townspeople going down to the wharf to see her come in". It also said "Except when the weather was bad, the Casino hugged the coast on her trips and passengers obtained wonderful views of the sandstone terraces and caves. A little time ago every member of her regular crew except one, was a Scotsman." This particular photograph of the S.S. Casino shows it decorated with numerous flags in "holiday rigging". During the years between 1884 and 1915, the Casino would take locals and holiday makers on excursions around the Port Fairy Bay. Local towns such as Terang, Penshurst and Mortlake held their Picnic Days in Port Fairy and excursions on the Casino would be available for them and in 1906 Terang and District Schools held an excursion to Port Fairy (where the Casino was organised to provide a series of trips around the Bay.) In 1916 new regulations introduced by the Marine Board requiring the Casino to carry enough lifebelts for every passenger on board, prevented the steamer from making trips around the Bay on excursion days. The S.S. Casino had several mishaps during her life. One was on 3rd January 1898 when she collided with the S.S. Flinders in Apollo Bay with minor damage. Another was on 24th October 1924 when she grounded on a reef at Point Hawdon near Grey River and most of her cargo (of Christmas goods) had to be dumped into the sea. Then in February 1929 she was ‘holed’ when she struck a submerged object as she entered Lady Bay, Warrnambool. In the years following the turn of the century, the S.S. Casino remained the only regular trader with normal passenger accommodation along the West Coast. From 1882 she had made at least 2,500 voyages on the one run. On the morning of 10th July 1932, after attempting to berth at Apollo Bay jetty in heavy seas, Captain Middleton decided to take her out into the bay and wait until the seas abated. It was not realised that the anchor used to steady her as she manoeuvred to her berth had pierced her hull. She put about and headed for the beach but sank. Captain Middleton and nine others lost their lives; nine people were rescued including the two female passengers. Captain Middleton had been in charge of the S.S. Casino for seven years. He was the first ship’s Master to lose his life in a shipwreck in the West Coast trade. In June 1932, the directors of the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company had proposed to celebrate the completion of fifty years of trading by the steamer Casino in August, but tragically the Casino was wrecked only one month later (and "was only one month off completing its fifty years of valuable service between Melbourne and Portland.") Flagstaff Hill’s collection has a photograph of a portrait of Captain Chapman, a ship model of the S.S. Casino that shows both forms of power under which she sailed, steam and sail. The ship is painted green and flies three flags. The inscription across the case of the ship model, incorrectly dated, tells the sad story of the wreck of the ship and the loss of lives on July 10th 1932 at Apollo Bay. A print in the Collection shows S.S. Casino underway in the heavy sea off Point Lonsdale, another two photographs show her at the Port of Warrnambool, leaving from the Breakwater in Lady Bay and another identifies the S.S. Casino as a ship from the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company. (Belfast is the original name for the township of Port Fairy).This photograph is significant because of its association with the coastal trader S.S. Casino and its significance to trade along Victoria's West Coast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The wreck of the S.S. Casino is considered an important part of Victorian and Australian cultural heritage and as such has been declared and protected as an Historic Shipwreck under State and Commonwealth Law in the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976).A black and white photograph showing a small steamer with decorative flags on both masts, coming into up a river towards a pier where a small crowd is waiting. The pier on the left of the photograph has several buildings and a bell on it. Three small boats are tied up to the dock. Low lying land with several buildings scattered on it can be seen on the right hand side. On the back of the photograph are handwritten labels. One is printed in dark blue ink and one is written in cursive writing in biro. There is also the number 6944 stamped in the centre of the photograph.Back - Donors name, address and telephone number 6944 "CASINO IN HOLIDAY RIG" "at Port Fairy"flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, s. s. casino, steamer casino, casino, port fairy, captain chapman, belfast and koroit steam navigation company, saltau and osburne, captain middleton, apollo bay, apollo bay shipwreck, lady bay

Radio telephones were used to connect people living or working in isolation with other people.This radio phone was used by ambulance officers,working on the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme, to communicate with the doctor. The SECV had received an ambulance by April 1940. It had been modified for long and rough trips, departing from usual ambulance designs of the time. Ref. April 1940 SECV magazine. Mrs Beveridge (Skippy) lived and worked with her husband on the High Plains during winter. They had immediate contact with the outside world as they were connected by radio telephone with the Commission's (SECV) Bogong office. Hence, measurements taken of the snowfall and rainfall and observations from the experimental raceline are reported to head office of the Kiewa Hydro electric Scheme at Bogong. Ref. SEC magazine March - April 1948 page 25 and photo of the radio telephone in their home (different to this item) page 26. This radio phone is in a metal case with a separate steel lid attached with two large screws on either side. The front has a cream plastic face with open slits. It has a cover to protect the speaker behind it. There are 3 tuning knobs (volume, muting & channel) and a small red light. The phone cord is coiled and extends from the right hand side with a speaker attached. The speaker is for sending and receiving messages.'Radiophone / MTR 25 161 AG' 'STC' in a rectangle and 'Ser. No. 21480'.radio phone, transmission, 2 way radio, ambulance, communications, doctor, medical equipment

A paper bag. Plain white and blue diagonal stripes, in the middle a square with " Fred J. Corrigan, Chemist, 239 Mitchell street, Bendigo. Telephone: Bendigo 35126. The other side is plain white.business, retail, advertising, business advertising usually found at agricultural shows and other promotional activities.

Negative of tram 849 at Batman Avenue terminus. Tram has destination Prahran and Route No 70. note advert on front of tram for Magree Knitwear and the kiosk on the right hand side and a telephone box.Paper folder that contained the negative had "NR31A" written in red ink, "M10" written in pencil, "21A" written in blue ink, and date stamped as 11 Jun 1960.trams, tramways, sw5 class, batman ave, swanston st, tram 849

Single page advertisement for auction sale of 6 light industrial sites in Charter Street and Bond Street in Ringwood on Wednesday 22nd October (1969).Advertisement includes terms of sale and location map. Auctioneers in Conjunction - C.E. Carter & Son, 126 Whitehorse Road Ringwood, (Telephone) 870 6024, and Carolan & Co. Pty. Ltd., 243 Collins Street, Melbourne, (Telephone) 63 7373.

Eltham Gateway, Telstra Telephone Exchange, 800 Main Road, Eltham at intersection of Pitt StreetTomorrow's history documented todayeltham, jim connor collection, main road, eltham gateway, pitt street, telephone exchange

Copy of original P.M.G. blue print made in Feb. 1943, showing location of telephone cables.camp 1 plan, hospital, telephone lines, garrison, administration, photography, photograph, slides, film

Pre Motor Vehicle Street Scape. Gas Light and Telephone pole in front of Post Office.B/W. Main Street. Post.Office. up people - 1 man crossing road in front of card, woman is riding a bicycle up the steet. A group o fmen in front of Post Office another on the Street.Ajax Series POSTCARD Address Only

Yellow Pages is a listing of businesses and organisations and their telephone numbers and addresses within the north eastern region of Melbourne432 p black print on white and yellow paper, paperback, includes UBD Street maps and street indextelephone directories, north east melbourne

This Phillips FM 880 radio telephone was used by lightkeepers between 1973 and 2005 for communication with the meteorological bureau. This relatively large device is in a white enamel metal cabinet and has a number of dials and switches and instructions. It has six chrome handles. There are 'decommissioned' labels on the face."Phillips FM 880 ..."

Charcoal soft covered booklet with general notices, designs, andtrademarks. Patents include a portable washing machine, Kinematograph shutter, anti-splash valves, Railway collision preventing, telephone automatic coin slot patents, trademark

Black box with QWERTY key pad, small 1 line screen with attachment for connection a phone headpiece which includes instructions and carrycase. Used so that telephone conversations can by held by hearing impaired Front: "PRINTACALL" Back labels: Metal: "TELECOM AUSTRALIA / Permit No. C82/18/108//PP2" Sticker: "MODEL: PP2 / SERIAL NO: 06830079 / PRINTACALL PTY LTD (02) 2648104 / P.O. BOX A623 Sydney South. 2000. N.S.W. Australia" Metal sticker: "SERIAL # AP830060089 MODEL# POCKET PHONE II / C-PHONE INC. / ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI"