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Uniting Church Archives - Synod of Victoria
Photograph, Undated c.1913
Joseph Ringland Anderson was born in Killylea, Ulster, Ireland in March 1854. At the age of 18 he joined the Presbyterian Church at Killylea by profession of faith. He studied at Queen's College, Galway, and graduated M.A. He then studied Theology at the General Assembly's Theological Hall, Belfast. In 1881 he decided to emigrate to Australia, and completed his theological education at Ormond College, Melbourne. He was ordained in 1882 and inducted into the Presbyterian Church at Penshurst, Victoria. While at Penshurst he married Annie Love Elder. He was called to Lilydale in 1893, to Beechworth in 1902, to North Carlton in 1907 and 1913, was inducted into the Kew Presbyterian Church. Retired and demitted 1926. Died 12 August 1941B & W head and shoulders photograph of the Rev. Joseph Ringland Anderson, M.A. printed on buff cardRev. J.R. Anderson, M.A. 1913 - 1926joseph ringland anderson, ulster, ormond college, kew, presbyterian, minister -
Uniting Church Archives - Synod of Victoria
Photograph, Rev. Joseph Ebery and his wife Emily Jane (née Walker), Christmas 1927, 1927
Joseph Ebery was a Congregational minister, born 1858, died November 3, 1947. Ministry was as Wesleyan Home Missionary ?–1897; Congregational churches – Dover (Tas) 1897-1907; Tamar St Launceston 1907-1909; Devonport 1909-1914; Gatton (Qld) 1915-?; Redcliffe (Qld) 1921-1927; Beechworth (Vic) 1927-1930; Hughesdale 1930-1934. Was a Wesleyan lay preacher at Allandale and Woodbridge (Tas). Obituary - "… For ten years carried on an energetic evangelistic ministry, riding his horse over the roughtest roads in his scattered district, which was 25 miles long, and visiting even the southern-mosst home in the island (Tasmania)" As a Wesleyan Home Missionary he was not allowed to marry. The Congregationalists had no such restrictions so he joined the Congregational Church and married his Emily. [See Munster, Biographical Index of Congregational Ministers in Victoria 1838-1977.)Photocopy of studio portrait of Rev. Joseph Ebery and Mrs. Emily Jane (nee Walker) Ebery, Joseph aged 69 and Emily aged 68. Joseph, beard and moustache, is wearing a suit with a cellophane collar, no tie. Emily is earing a coat over a patterned shirt, and a choker necklace and glasses.As for the title.ebery, joseph, congregationalist, wesleyan home missionary, 1858-1947 -
Uniting Church Archives - Synod of Victoria
Photograph, Rev. C. G. Forward - Pastor 1937-1943, 1937-1943 - taken while at Black Rock Congregational Church
Born 3/4/1907 Launceston; died 10/10/1982 Adelaide. Attended Congregational College 1925-1930. Ordained Hughesdale 9/2/1931. Ministry: Hughesdale 1929-1931; Beechworth 1931-32; Gardiner 1932-37; Black Rock 1937-1942; Military Chaplain Aust & PNG 1942-45; Croydon/North Croydon 1945-51; College Park (SA) 1951-56; Luhrs Road Payneham/Hectorville (SA) 1956-60; Luhrs Road Payneham 1960-61; Colonel Light Gardens 1961-67; Port Elliott (SA) 1967-71. President Congregational Union of South Australia 1958-59. Married Madge (undated). Retired 1971. Further information - Portrait, SA Cong., February 1958, p. 4.Sepia photograph, mounted on light brown card of Charles Gilbert Forward wearing striped dark suit with clerical stock and collar, as well as glasses and a very light moustache.Rev. C. G. Forward - Pastor 1937-1943forward c. g., congregationalist, victoria, south australia congregational churches -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Branding Hammer issued to FCV overseer Jim Browning at Beechworth
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Metal branding ...Metal branding hammers were the most common way to control the sale and movement of hardwood timber produce like logs, railway sleepers, fence posts, and poles from Victorian State forests. Royalty was also paid on this basis. The hammer has a crown stamp on one end with a unique number in the middle (453) which identified its owner, and a crows foot or broad arrow on the other. The broad arrow was a symbol traditionally used in Britain and its colonies to mark government property. Forest regulations state that an authorised officer may use the crown mark to identify produce which has been sold and may be removed from the forest, whereas the broad arrow can be used to brand and mark trees which are not to be felled, or to indicate forest produce which has been seized. Hammers were traditionally only ever issued to forest officers and were an important, and closely guarded tool-of-trade. They were not transferred between staff and lending hammers was not permitted. But it was an onerous task for staff to hammer and tally hundreds of logs, or thousands of fence posts each week, so in about 1990 a system was introduced whereby hammers were allocated to logging contractors to grade logs and tally them instead. But there was still spot checking by authorised officers. A register was kept, and contractors paid a substantial deposit to make sure they didn't lose them, but they occasionally turn up by fossickers with metal detectors. While branding hammers are still used in some smaller locations, plastic tags and barcodes are now more common.Metal log branding hammer with a crown stamp on one end with a unique number (453) in the middle which identified its owner, and a crows foot or broad arrow on the other. The unusual bent metal handle was designed to protect user from banging their fingers on the log. It was also fitted with a rubber hand grip. Most FCV branding hammers were issued with wooden handles. The branding hammer 453 was initially issued to Wally Cowell at Beechworth. It was reissued to Jim Browning upon Wally’s retirement The hammer still had a wooden handle, but the it broke and became loose inside hammer head. Russel Pritchard from the Beechworth Depot replaced the handle with a new metal one and put a dog leg in it It mainly branded forest produce cut in Mt. Pilot and Reedy Creek areas. The main logging contractors were Gordon Habeck from Chiltern and Steven Goldsworthy from BeechworthCrown mark one end (453) and Crows foot other endforest harvesting -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Uniform - Safety Boot (Yellow back), Oliver Stevens in Ballarat, circa 1982
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country These boots were ...These boots were manufactured by Oliver Stevens in Ballarat to the Forests Commission's own specification. Safety boots were a bit "hit and miss" back in 1981. As well as the steel toe caps these boots had a screwed, glued and stitched Sherpa-pattern rubber nitrile sole. The sole was oil resistant and didn't melt on hot coals. The yellow heels signified safety boots. There were two styles with different leather and staff were all personally fitted and given their choice of style. The only thing that has fundamentally changed over 40 years is there is much more choice and comfort in boots today. These boots proved to be the catalyst for boot manufacturers realising there was a market outside of the armed forces not being served. Ankle injuries along with elastic sided boots were virtually eliminated by these boots. The iconic Tasmanian company, Blundstone, had a work boot called "Forester" at the time. It had won an Australian Design Award and had a bonded Sherpa sole. Unfortunately, the soles tended to separate from the boot under field test conditions. Eventually they perfected the process Oliver Stevens' main issue was not being able to recruit enough workers to meet the increased demand. Info: Trevor Brown.First safety boots issued to Victorian forest firefightersYellow Back safety boots with leather laces. FCV marked on the heel fire fighting -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Forest Metriverter, Side Rule
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Decimal currency ...Decimal currency was spectacularly introduced in an overnight overthrow on 14 February 1966, but it took another 8 years before metrication finally arrived in the forest and timber industry. Eventually, the measurement of logs and sawn timber changed from imperial, and excruciating, measures such as super feet of sawn timber, billets and cunits (100 cubic feet) of stacked pulpwood and hoppus log volumes to simpler cubic metres. Measuring firewood was a particular nightmare. For example, there were standard chords, stove cords, kitchen cords, running cords, face cords, thrown chords, fencing cords, country cords, long cords, raummeter or steres (1m x 1m x 1m). A standard cord of firewood had a volume of 128 cubic feet, measured as a pile 8 feet long, 4 feet high and 4 feet wide (3.624 m3). And how about this for confusing…. in Victoria, an imperial or long ton (by measure) of green firewood was a stack 5 feet long billets (2 axelengths at 2′ 6″ each), one axelength high (2′ 6″) and two axelengths long (5 feet) equalling 62.5 cubic feet. For added befuddlement, there were three different sorts of tons: Imperial tons or long tons, American short tons and metric tonnes (spelled with two n’s). Not forgetting that a cubic imperial ton of firewood (40 cubic feet) which equalled 1.133 cubic metre. The metrication process began in 1974 and was completed by 1976 but the transition was not without its challenges along the supply chain for foresters, overseers, logging contractors, sawmillers, hardware stores and builders alike. Timber lengths changed from feet to metres but were still sold in multiples of one foot or 0.3 m (1.8, 2.1, 2.4, 2.7 etc) whereas a menacing lump of 4-Bee-2 transformed into a rather less colourful 100mm by 50mm. Measurement and calculations of area also became so much easier in hectares rather than complicated acres, roods and perches. The Forest Metriverter slide-rule was issued by the Forestry and Timber Bureau to make metric conversions easier.Forest MetriverterRoss Pennyforest measurement -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Splitting Gun, Black Powder
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Black powder ...Black powder splitting guns were commonly used to split large logs into more manageable pieces before the advent of excavators and front-end loaders in bush logging operations. A typical splitting gun used in Victorian forests was a piece of high-grade steel about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and about 16 inches long, and slightly tapered at one end. They had a ¾ inch hole drilled about 9 inches deep into the centre of the shaft with a small pilot hole drilled from the outside to load the fuse. The tube was carefully loaded with an amount of black gunpowder using a funnel and spoon. Experience being the guide on how much powder to use, which depended on log size, species and difficulty of splitting the wood. The hole was stopped with a piece of wadded paper and the gun positioned at the end of a length of the log to be split. The splitting gun was then belted into the log with a large wooden maul or even the back of an axe to a depth of about 3 to 4 inches. There were often markings as a guide. This also had the effect of tamping the black powder inside the gun. Preferably the gun was backed up by another large log to absorb the shock and avoid it flying off in the bush somewhere. I have seen guns where a length of string and coloured flag could be attached to help find them. A length of fuse was then inserted in the small hole and lit. Kaboom !!!! Needless to say, the splitting gun was a dangerous implement.Commonly used to split pulpwood but now rareBlack Powder Splitting GunFive marking rings used to guide how far the gun was in the logforest harvesting -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Increment borer
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country An increment ...An increment borer is a specialised tool to extract a core sample of wood tissue from a living tree. The tool consists of a handle, an auger bit and a small, half circular metal tray (the core extractor) that fits inside the auger bit. The core sample can be used to count the rings, to reveal the age of the tree and its growth rate.Increment borer. The central core is stuck. AGN Mattison - Sweden #4333 -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Speedy Moisture Meter, Thomas Ashworth and Co, c 1950
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country The most common ...The most common technique to measure fuel moisture content in Victorian forests until recently was the 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. 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. 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.First reliable tool for measuring bushfire fuel moisture content in the fieldSpeedy Moisture Meter in wooden boxmanufactures marks and instructions on usebushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Sling Psychrometer
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Bushfire ...Bushfire behaviour is influenced by many factors including temperature, relative humidity (RH), forest type, fuel quantity and fuel dryness, topography and even slope. Wind has a dominant effect on the Rate of Spread (ROS), as well as fire size, shape and direction. Temperature and relative humidity have major impacts on fuel dryness and therefore upon the availability of fuel for combustion. The amount of fine fuel available can increase rapidly from nearly zero when fuel moisture content is more than 16% after rain or a heavy morning dew, to many tonnes per hectare as fuel dries out later in the day and the moisture content drops below 9%. This explosive escalation in the amount of available fuel can happen over a few hours on hot and windy days. A sling psychrometer is a simple device for determining air temperature and relative humidity. It contains two thermometers, one of which is covered with a wick saturated with ambient temperature liquid water. These two thermometers are called dry bulb and wet bulb. When the sling psychrometer is spun rapidly in the air, the evaporation of the water from the wick causes the wet bulb thermometer to read lower than the dry bulb thermometer. After the psychrometer has been spun long enough for the thermometers to reach equilibrium temperatures, the unit is stopped, and the two thermometers are quickly read. A psychrometric scale on the side of the instrument is then used to convert the dry bulb temperature TDB and the wet bulb temperature TWB into humidity information. The wet bulb temperature is approximately equal to the adiabatic saturation temperature. The thermometers fold back into the plastic handle when not in use. Used to measure temperature and relative humiditySling PsychrometerBACHARACH INSTRUMENTS - Pittsburg PAbushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Safety box for fusee matches and DAIDS
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country The Forests ...The Forests Commission developed the use of helicopters for aerial ignition from the mid 1960s. Bryant and May at Richmond worked with the Commission to develop a Delayed Action Incendiary Device. DAIDs as the were known, had an overall length of 180 mm, striker end length - 10 mm. Ignition end length - 80 mm, then a layer of high melting point wax (to prevent accidental ignition when rubbing together in transit). Both ends coated with a modified match head compound with safety fuse exposed length between coated match ends. There was a 17-second delay from when the small end was struck to an intense flaming of the large end, which lasted for 40 seconds. Other types on large matches known as fusees were also used. DAIDs and Fusees were dangerous so were transported in this wooden box lined with foam cushioning. Wooden safety box lined with foam cushion Fuseesbushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Helibox, Cardboard food delivery box, Early 1960s
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country The successful ...The successful dropping of supplies to remote fire crews involved a great deal of experimentation. The result was a large heavy-duty cardboard container being developed in 1964 by Athol Hodgson from the FCV Fire Research Branch which employed fold-out wings and was called the “helibox”. It was suitable for supplies weighing less than 9 kg and best dropped from about 300 feet and became a standard technique. It was adopted Australia wide, but the wider availability of helicopters made the helibox eventually redundant. Unique to Victoria but adopted across Australia.Large cardboard box with "wings" to cause it to rotate when dropped from the air. Wings held in place by means of string office "Ty-Tite" fasteners.bushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Rakehoe, McLeod Tool
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Bushfire ...Bushfire perimeter rather than bushfire area is the main control problem for firefighters on the ground. A conundrum rapidly compounded by spot fires. A small 5 ha fire can be nearly 1 km around the perimeter. That's a long way to build a control line by hand in rough bush. Dry firefighting techniques by hand were mostly confined to “knocking down” or “beating out” the flames, as well as "digging out". Digging or raking a “mineral earth” trail down to bare dirt proved most effective in forest fuels which, unlike grass, tend to retain heat and smoulder. Early tools were whatever happened to be close at hand. They were simple and primitive and included shovels, slashers, axes, hoes, beaters and rakes. A cut branch to beat the flames was often the only thing available. Farming and logging tools, developed over centuries of manual labour, and readily available at local hardware stores came into use, but little thought was given to size, weight, and balance. For years foresters experimented with combination tools. In about 1952 fire beaters and other implements were being replaced with Rakuts. However, its believed the now common Rakehoe is an Australian variation of the American McLeod Tool which was developed in 1905 by forest ranger Malcolm McLeod of the Sierra National Forest. The late Athol Hodgson advised that predecessors, Reg Torbet who had been the Chief Fire Officer for the Forests Commission from 1948-1956, along with his QLD counterpart Clive Price, went in late 1951 as Australian delegates on a 10 week fire study tour of Nth America organised by the United Nations. They came back with a couple of McLeod tools from Canada. Cam MacLeod (different spelling) had been the Head of Fire Research for the Canadian Forest Service at the time and had supplied them. The tools were ideal for deciduous forests in the eastern provinces and Clive arranged to have them manufactured in QLD. The Rakho, as it was then spelled, was first issued to FCV crews 65 years ago in 1955-56. The American Pulaski had been trialled, but never found favour with Australian firefighters.First used in 1955Rakehoebushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
McArthur Forest Fire Danger Meter - Mk 5, 1992
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country The Forest Fire ...The Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) was originally invented by the grandfather of Australian bushfire science, Alan Grant McArthur, during the 1950s and ‘60s. Alan published his landmark paper, “Controlled burning in eucalypt forests” in 1962. Leaflet No. 80, as it was known, proved a turning point for forest and fire managers across Australia. More importantly, Alan was very practical forester and wanted his work to be useful to people in the field, so after several iterations he came up with the now familiar circular slide rule called the Forest Fire Danger Meter (FFDM). The Mk 4 version first appeared in operational use in 1967. This is the Mark 5 from 1992Alan McAthur's scientific legacy with the FFDI meter is unquestionably huge and has served forest firefighters very well over the decades.Control burning meter Series of circular slide rules to calculate Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI)bushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
FCV Control burning meter, 1970
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country The Forest Fire ...The Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) was originally invented by the grandfather of Australian bushfire science, Alan Grant McArthur, during the 1950s and ‘60s. Alan published his landmark paper, “Controlled burning in eucalypt forests” in 1962. Leaflet No. 80, as it was known, proved a turning point for forest and fire managers across Australia. More importantly, Alan was very practical forester and wanted his work to be useful to people in the field, so after several iterations he came up with the now familiar circular slide rule called the Forest Fire Danger Meter (FFDM). The Mk 4 version first appeared in operational use in 1967. Two Forests Commission staff, Athol Hodgson and Rus Ritchie, built on McArthur’s pioneering work and by applying their own practical experience, developed a modified version in the late 1960s called the Control Burning Meter which was better suited to Victorian forest conditions.Introduced to the FCV in 1970Control burning meterbushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Instrument - Armstrong Rapid Log Calculator, Late 1970s
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Logs were sold ...Logs were sold to sawmillers from State forest from 1 July 1974 in cubic metres (true volume). Previously sawlogs had been sold on the basis of Hoppus volume. This simple device with two rotating wheels enabled staff in FCV offices to rapidly calculate log volumes from measurements taken in the bush of log girth and length and recorded on paper log dockets. From the early 1980s automated systems became available with the advent of cheap electronic office calculators and simple computers. An early manual device that was superseded by electronic calculatorsOffice Device Twin rollers used to quickly and simply calculate true log volumes using measurements of girth and length. An allowance could also be made for pipe defects. The top roller was for larger diameter logs.forest measurement -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Prismatic Compass with leather case and strap, Ex Army 1940s
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country A prismatic ...A prismatic compass is a common navigation and surveying instrument which was used extensively by the Forests Commission The compass most commonly used to run a traverse line. The compass calculates bearings of lines with respect to magnetic needle. A magnetic deviation correction was needed to convert the reading to a true bearing The compass could also determine angles between the traverse and waypoints (such as hilltop features). Commonly used for navigation. Largely replaced by modern GPS technology.Ex Army WW2 prismatic compass with leather case and strap. Rugged design and made of metal the internal compass plate floats on oil to help it stabilise The user lines up the direction of travel with the hair sightline in the fliptop cover and readings are taken through the viewfinder prism (hence the name).forest measurement, surveying -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Print - "Hospital and Spring Hill from Church Street, Creswick" by T.G. Moyle, 1881
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country The Victorian ...The Victorian School of Forestry (VSF) was established in October 1910 at Creswick. It was located at the former Creswick Hospital, built in 1863 during the gold rush. The creation of VSF was one of the many recommendations of a Royal Commission held between 1897 and 1901 into forest degradation. The first tertiary forestry school in Australia, VSF was administered by the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) until 1980, when VSF amalgamated with the University of Melbourne to become that institution's School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences. Over the period from 1910 to 1980, 522 students completed the Diploma of Forestry at VSF.Limited Edition Print number 92 of 200. Framed Print - Hospital and Spring Hill from Church Street, Creswick" by T.G. Moyle, 1881Published by Trustees of Creswick Historical Museum 1981. Gift from Lorraine Carr (wife of Neil Carr ) in 2003 written on label on back -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Display panel featuring different types of Victorian timbers, Forestry House - 601 Bourke Street
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Timber panels ...Timber panels salvaged from the foyer of Forestry House 601 Bourke Street in late1980s. The material for the plaques was assembled in carpenters shop in FCV districts throughout the State. Timber was kiln dried by M. Feiglin & Sons at Nunawading and erected by Peter Danby Pty. Ltd. Two highly decorative panels thought to be carved by Robert Prenzel in about 1908. Closely linked to FCV Forestry House in MelbourneTimber Display PanelTwo highly carved panels thought to carved by Robert Prenzel in about 1908 -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Drop Chute
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country From the early ...From the early 1960s, the Forests Commission had pre-season arrangements in place with local aeroclubs and pilots across regional Victoria. Air observers from FCV districts routinely flew during the summer months in small, fixed-wing aircraft on fire spotting missions and to map fire boundaries. The information was often needed quickly by crews on the ground or in the control centre and these small chutes were used to drop messages and maps from the reconnaissance aircraft on a low pass above a cleared area like a football field. About 3-foot long when fully extended, they had a small pouch secured with a press stud for the map or package. The chutes were made from tough canvas with a small, weighted sandbag at one end and a long yellow streamer tail on the other to help direct its fall and locating it on the ground. Drop chutes were still in common use in the 1990s, but the increased availability of helicopters combined with improved digital data transfer made drop chutes redundant. Simple, but now redundant technologyAerial drop chute"Return to Forests Comm Vic" stenciled on sidebushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Ventimeter, Wind anemometer in cardboard tube
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Bushfire ...Bushfire behaviour is influenced by many factors including temperature, relative humidity (RH), forest type, fuel quantity and fuel dryness, topography and even slope. But wind has a dominant effect on the Rate of Spread (ROS), as well as fire size, shape and direction. Wind speed can be measured using a variety of anemometers. This simple hand-held Venitimer was made by Elvometer in Sweeden, probably in the 1960s, and was designed for principally for mariners. Some models have a compass in the handle to measure wind direction. The small inlet hole on the side is faced towards the wind and air pressure lifts small plastic disk inside. The upper tube is tapered so that as wind speed increases more air escapes and stronger winds are needed to raise the disk. Wind speed in MPH is read from the side of the clear plastic tube. The waterproof container has instructions on use and conversion scales. Simple and robust device.Hand- held wind anemometer Instructions on use on containerbushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Award - Charles Watson Perpetual Trophy, North east division annual fire school - 1954 - 1962
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Fire schools were ...Fire schools were an important pre-summer program for all Forests Commission staff and crews They were designed as refresher courses for existing staff and training of new staff on how to use pumps and hoses FCV Forest Divisions were made up of separate forest inter-district and competitions were held. The award was displayed prominently in either the winning district or kept in the divisional office Charles Watson was appointed as the Divisional Forester at Wangaratta in 1949, before retiring in 1960.Silver cup on stand in wooden display case with glass frontNames of winners 1954 - F Halloran & B Curren - Upper Ovens 1955 - L J Mitchell & J D Hallen - Ovens ? 1957 - K R O'Kane & R E Warren - Upper Murray 1958 - A P Davis & D G Craig - Delatite 1959 - K N Gibson & R W Handmer - Mansfield 1960 - L Reid & I F McLaughlin - Benalla 1962 - P Breen & G Treloar - Bright -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Bushfire awareness sign, Camp Fires, 1962
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Bushfire ...Bushfire Prevention Week was initiated by the Forests Commission in 1930. Victoria’s State Governor, Lord Somers, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Luxton and the newly appointed Minister for Forests, William Beckett launched the innovative campaign with great flourish to 250 invited guests at Melbourne’s opulent Town Hall on Monday 13 January 1930. Special church sermons had been held previously on Sunday. The packed program of gala events included lavish luncheon talks at city clubs, scholarly lectures broadcast on the wireless, together with daily articles in the Melbourne and country press about the pressing need for fire prevention. The slogan for the ground-breaking campaign was… Prevent Bush Fires – It Pays… The Shell Petrol Company of Australia supplied 15000 windshield stickers, the British Australasian Tobacco Company donated a large supply of stamp stickers, while many other companies drew attention to the campaign in their newspaper advertisements. The Victorian Railways and many city firms displayed special fire posters, while Bryant and May posted messages on their limited-edition matchbox covers which are now highly prized by phillumenists (i.e. matchbox collectors). The Postmaster General's Department franked postage stamps and letters with special bushfire slogans. While plainclothes police were secretly deployed to the bush to arrest potential arsonists. Canvas and enamel fire prevention signs were erected on most roads leading to forest areas. Letters to the Editor later appeared in many city and country newspapers extolling the virtues of Bushfire Prevention Week and urging for its continuation as an annual event. Although a new idea for Australia, the Canadian Forest Service had been running a similar program for a few years. The Forests Commission in its 1929-30 Annual Report, under the title of "Propaganda", noted with some glee… "One of the most gratifying features of the ''Week" was its low cost to the Government, the major part of the publicity material being donated by private firms." And so for the next 50 years until the 1980s, Bushfire Prevention Week continued unabated with the Forests Commission producing a series of coloured “Magic Lantern” slides which were manufactured by Alex Gunn and Sons in Collins Street Melbourne for screening at Val Morgan cinemas. The slides famously introduced the menacing character, Willy Wildfire, warning motorists to be careful with matches. Now known as Fire Action Week, it remains a key event in the annual calendar for both DEECA and the CFA and is still going strong... These canvas fire awareness signs were used right throughout the period of the Forests Commission until the mid 1980sBushfire awareness signbushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Bushfire awareness sign, Help Prevent Bushfires, Pre 1966
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Bushfire ...Bushfire Prevention Week was initiated by the Forests Commission in 1930. Victoria’s State Governor, Lord Somers, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Luxton and the newly appointed Minister for Forests, William Beckett launched the innovative campaign with great flourish to 250 invited guests at Melbourne’s opulent Town Hall on Monday 13 January 1930. Special church sermons had been held previously on Sunday. The packed program of gala events included lavish luncheon talks at city clubs, scholarly lectures broadcast on the wireless, together with daily articles in the Melbourne and country press about the pressing need for fire prevention. The slogan for the ground-breaking campaign was… Prevent Bush Fires – It Pays… The Shell Petrol Company of Australia supplied 15000 windshield stickers, the British Australasian Tobacco Company donated a large supply of stamp stickers, while many other companies drew attention to the campaign in their newspaper advertisements. The Victorian Railways and many city firms displayed special fire posters, while Bryant and May posted messages on their limited-edition matchbox covers which are now highly prized by phillumenists (i.e. matchbox collectors). The Postmaster General's Department franked postage stamps and letters with special bushfire slogans. While plainclothes police were secretly deployed to the bush to arrest potential arsonists. Canvas and enamel fire prevention signs were erected on most roads leading to forest areas. Letters to the Editor later appeared in many city and country newspapers extolling the virtues of Bushfire Prevention Week and urging for its continuation as an annual event. Although a new idea for Australia, the Canadian Forest Service had been running a similar program for a few years. The Forests Commission in its 1929-30 Annual Report, under the title of "Propaganda", noted with some glee… "One of the most gratifying features of the ''Week" was its low cost to the Government, the major part of the publicity material being donated by private firms." And so for the next 50 years until the 1980s, Bushfire Prevention Week continued unabated with the Forests Commission producing a series of coloured “Magic Lantern” slides which were manufactured by Alex Gunn and Sons in Collins Street Melbourne for screening at Val Morgan cinemas. The slides famously introduced the menacing character, Willy Wildfire, warning motorists to be careful with matches. Now known as Fire Action Week, it remains a key event in the annual calendar for both DEECA and the CFA and is still going strong... These canvas fire awareness signs were used right throughout the period of the Forests Commission until the mid 1980sBushfire awareness signHelp Prevent Bushfiresbushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Bushfire awareness sign, Protect your forests from fire, 1953
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Bushfire ...Bushfire Prevention Week was initiated by the Forests Commission in 1930. Victoria’s State Governor, Lord Somers, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Luxton and the newly appointed Minister for Forests, William Beckett launched the innovative campaign with great flourish to 250 invited guests at Melbourne’s opulent Town Hall on Monday 13 January 1930. Special church sermons had been held previously on Sunday. The packed program of gala events included lavish luncheon talks at city clubs, scholarly lectures broadcast on the wireless, together with daily articles in the Melbourne and country press about the pressing need for fire prevention. The slogan for the ground-breaking campaign was… Prevent Bush Fires – It Pays… The Shell Petrol Company of Australia supplied 15000 windshield stickers, the British Australasian Tobacco Company donated a large supply of stamp stickers, while many other companies drew attention to the campaign in their newspaper advertisements. The Victorian Railways and many city firms displayed special fire posters, while Bryant and May posted messages on their limited-edition matchbox covers which are now highly prized by phillumenists (i.e. matchbox collectors). The Postmaster General's Department franked postage stamps and letters with special bushfire slogans. While plainclothes police were secretly deployed to the bush to arrest potential arsonists. Canvas and enamel fire prevention signs were erected on most roads leading to forest areas. Letters to the Editor later appeared in many city and country newspapers extolling the virtues of Bushfire Prevention Week and urging for its continuation as an annual event. Although a new idea for Australia, the Canadian Forest Service had been running a similar program for a few years. The Forests Commission in its 1929-30 Annual Report, under the title of "Propaganda", noted with some glee… "One of the most gratifying features of the ''Week" was its low cost to the Government, the major part of the publicity material being donated by private firms." And so for the next 50 years until the 1980s, Bushfire Prevention Week continued unabated with the Forests Commission producing a series of coloured “Magic Lantern” slides which were manufactured by Alex Gunn and Sons in Collins Street Melbourne for screening at Val Morgan cinemas. The slides famously introduced the menacing character, Willy Wildfire, warning motorists to be careful with matches. Now known as Fire Action Week, it remains a key event in the annual calendar for both DEECA and the CFA and is still going strong... These canvas fire awareness signs were used right throughout the period of the Forests Commission until the mid 1980sBushfire awareness signProtect your forests from firebushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
FCV Benalla Forest District office sign
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country This sign ...This sign is believed to have hung outside the Benalla Forest District Office. The sign features a pine tree (so probably made before the 1956 restructure). In 1956, the new Chairman of the Forests Commission, A V Galbraith, introduced a major restructure of the organisation to create 56 Forest Districts. The process included amalgamating the plantations and hardwood divisions, which had been separate and rival entities up to that time. Things remained largely unchanged for the next three decades until the early 1980s. The iconic Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) “two-tree” logo was designed in the early 1960s by graphic artist, Alan Rawady.Benalla Forest District Office Sign -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Red flashing light and sirens mounted on car rooftop rack
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Used on some FCV ...Used on some FCV passenger vehicles during the fire season. Could be activated from inside the vehicle as needed Fire tankers had lights and sirens permanently attachedNot common usage on passenger vehiclesRed flashing light and two sirens mounted on car roof rack. Includes FCV sign, radio aerial and public announcement (PA) system Could be operated from inside vehicleForests Commission Victoriabushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Rega Knapsack, c 1945
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Spraying units ...Spraying units were manufactured in Australia by REGA Products Ltd. from 1926. REGA established themselves as leaders in the production of agricultural and horticultural spraying machines, including smaller knapsacks. Their metal knapsacks were quickly adapted to a range of applications and were widely used by the Forests Commission and Country Fire Authority (CFA). They were metal and very robust but heavy and uncomfortable to wear REGA was later purchased by the Garrard family and still operate as part of Garrads Pty Ltd. This sprayer was used by the FCV at Creswick No longer in use.The REGA spray unit includes brass fittings, leather straps with a brass pump handle and adjustable nozzle attached. Adjustable leather straps have "quick release" clips and studs Camm lock lid with chain attached FCV Creswick REGA stampbushfire -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Commercial timbers of Victoria, Sample Box
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Some decades ago ...Some decades ago a card sorting set for the identification and description of Australian timbers was developed for timber species which were available commercially and were in common usage, by the Commonwealth of Australia (CSIRO, Division of Forest Products) To complement and inform this national timber set each State or Territory developed reference timber sets of representative species. The Commercial Timbers of Victoria set was Victoria’s most recent (circa 1984) expression of this Victorian timber samples were sourced from logs selected by Forest Commission of Victoria (FCV) District Foresters and milled locally. Kiln drying and machining was carried out at timber producers Row, Web and Anderson, in Port Melbourne. Labeling and boxing was done by FCV Timber Inspectors, with box and booklet design and graphics handled in-house More recent timber samples were badged as Conservation Forests & Lands, reflecting historical government restructuring in the early 1980s Info: Simon MurphyProvided the public, industry (timber and associated), and educational facilities with a reference collection of notable Victorian timbers. Initially in a reduced format from 1940-50s, with boxed sets produced from 1981 until 1984A boxed set of timber samples representing the 20 tree species that were considered to be the most notable in Victoria. The set also includes an information booklet. Each timber specimen has information on species, occurrence, uses and physical properties Produced for sale by the the FCV and later by the Department of Conservation Forests and Lands. (CFL). -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Thermo Hygro Graph
... Ford Street Beechworth, Victoria high-country Bushfire ...Bushfire behaviour is influenced by many factors including temperature, relative humidity (RH), forest type, fuel quantity and fuel dryness, topography and even slope. Wind has a dominant effect on the Rate of Spread (ROS), as well as fire size, shape and direction. Temperature and relative humidity have major impacts on fuel dryness and therefore upon the availability of fuel for combustion. A thermo-hygrograph measures and records both temperature and humidity. It produces a continuous record by drawing ink traces on a paper chart held in revolving cylinder. Humidity is measured by shortening or lengthening of specially treated human hair. Temperature is measured by means of a bi-metallic strip. This particular instrument is a seven day recorder. The instrument is driven by clockwork. Serial number 10186 which probably dates from about 1960. The chart indicates it was last used in March 1979.Used for bushfire research.Clockwork Thermo Hygro GraphCasella London 10186 Made in England Research Branch. Forests Commission Orbostbushfire