Retrieved from crashed (during W.W.2) Avro Anson aircraft at Propeller Bay near Lady Julia Percy Island in 13 metres of water. Found adjacent to the remains of the engine and propeller in June 1993 by Peter Ronald. It was possibly used to adjust control cables. The plane went down on the 15th February 1944 Flight Sgt. J.H. MacLellen, Flight Sgt D.l. Baulderstone, LAC N.T. Kruck, LAC B.C. Ladyman were killed. A memorial was erected at the 'Crags' on the 14th of February 2015 . " At 0800 Anson AW878 of 2AOS took off from Mount Gambier to carry out a radius of action navigation exercise to Lady Julia Percy Island (located off the Victorian coast, midway between Portland and Warrnambool) and back to Mount Gambier. By 1230 it was overdue, and that afternoon a search was instituted. No radio messages had been received from the Anson, although it had been seen during the exercise by another aircaraft. At 1430 part of the mainplane was sighted on Lady Julia Percy Island. Subsequently a fishing boat searched in the vicinity of the island and passed through small pieces of wreckage strewn over about 3 miles. A further search uncovered wreckage which identified the plane beyond doubt, including fuel tank bay cover with AW878 penciled on it, and a Mae West which had been signed out by one of the crew. The bodies of the four crew were never located." This information comes from a report at Mt Gambier Airport where the plane was stationed.Two small pieces of metal that bring the reality of war to our shoresArtefact from crashed aircraft at Lady Julia Percy islandlocal history, transport, aviation, aircraft, lady julia percy island, j.h. maclellen, d.l. baulderstone, n.t. kruck, b.c. ladyman

A Control Joy Stick presented to Pilot Officer Eric V. Read in 1937 after it was recovered from an aircraft he was flying had crashed in the Brisbane Ranges in December 1936. Eric Read was a 21 year old RAAF pilot who was on a flight over the Bacchus Marsh region to make meteorological observations. Read's plane came down in bad weather and crashed into a heavily wooded area of the Brisbane Ranges between Staughton Vale and Mount Wallace. An extensive air and ground search was conducted and after 32 hours Read was located, alive, but badly injured and unable to get out of the cockpit of the plane. He was first located from the air and then a rescue party was able to reach him through rough country and bring him to safety. Read recovered from his injuries and many years later gifted the control stick of the aircraft he had been flying as an item for the collection of the Bacchus Marsh and District Historical Society.This item is of local historical significance as an object related to a notable aircraft accident and subsequent rescue of the pilot. It is also significant for its rarity as a surviving piece of aviation equipment from this era.Control or Joy stick mounted on a wooden base.aircraft, aircraft accidents, eric v. read

Edna Barrie at the cairn, photo received from Graeme Minns in 1988. The cairn marks the site of Jimmy Melrose's plane crash in Melton South. The accident which happened on July 5th 1936. In 1934 Melrose made headlines with a series of spectacular flights. In July of that year, he set around Australia record and in that year established a new solo Australia England record when he flew to England to compete in the MacRoberston race with a De Havilland Puss Moth VH- YQO. The only Australian and the only solo pilot to complete the course within the time limit. He was seventh in finishing order and third in the handicap section making news again during the race with a dramatic landing in Darwin with empty fuel tanks. Late in 1935 Melrose imported the Phoenix for his “Adelaide to Anywhere” Charter Service. The previous year the Heston Aircraft Company had taken over the interests of the well known Comper Aircraft Company, and the first production of the new firm was the Phoenix, a single-engined all wooden five seater machine of sesquiplane configuration. The forward half of the fuselage was a streamlined rectangular section and the rear portion was a monocogue shell; the whole was of plywood fabric covered. The wing was built up of spruce box spars and lattice ribs, ply covered from the leading edge to the front spar and the fabric covered over the remainder. The tail surfaces were of similar construction. The most notable feature of the design was the lower stub wing which ran right across the fuselage embodying two box spars, plywood covered it housed the main undercarriage wheels when retracted and provided a substantial anchorage for the Nu form wing struts. The Dowty undercarriage retracted inwards, operated manually by hydraulic packs, Dual control fitted, with side by side seating for the pilots and three passenger seats behind. Power was a 200 h.p. De Havilland Gipsy VI 6 cylinder inverted in-line air-cooled engine. Six Phoenix were built; five of them registered in Great Britain and one of those was later sold abroad the remaining four were impressed into the R.A.F. in 1940. Specifications were: 40 feet 4 inches length 30 ft 2 ins height, 9ft 7ins, wing area 270 sq ft, Tare weight 2,600lbs loaded weight 3,300lbs; cruising speed 360 m.p.h. landing 50mph ceiling 14,000 ft range 700 miles. Melrose’s machine the first production aircraft was built early in 1936 and test flown of the 24th March. Painted green it carries the words “South Australian Centenary 1936” in silver of the fuselage and the name “Billing on the engine cowling in honor of Melrose’s uncle Noel Pemberton Billing, pioneer designer and founder of the Supermarine Aviation Company. The delivery flight was planned as a goodwill mission to publicise the forthcoming South Australian Centenary celebrations. Melrose left Dympne on the 9th April 1936, and flying via Marseilles, Naples, Athens, Baghdad, Basra, Karachi, Jodphur, Calcutta, Akyab, Penang, Singapore, Lombok, Darwin, Newcastle Waters and Alice Springs reached Adelaide on the 25th of April. Continuing the goodwill flight to other States, he visited Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Grafton, Brisbane, Coff’s Harbour, Sydney again, Launceston, Hobart and Mount Gambier before returning to Adelaide on the 13th May. During June Jimmy made some charter flights and early in July was engaged by Mr. A.J. Campbell a director of several mining companies from Melbourne to Darwin to commence at Essendon on the4th July. However on that day low cloud and steady rain caused the postponement. There was little improvement and Melrose was advised to delay the departure again. However he wished to reach Oodnadatta that night, and when he observed the break in the clouds decided to leave. He planned to climb above the cloud and fly to Adelaide at 3,000 feet. The aircraft was airborne about 8.10 a.m. and was last seen from Essendon climbing above the clouds. At 8.45 people at Melton (30 miles West of Melbourne) heard an approaching aircraft. The engine noise increased abnormally and eye witnesses saw the machine fall out of control from the cloud base about 800 feet and then disintegrate, fragments were scattered for 1½ miles and both occupants were killed. Hand written carbon copy by Edna Barrie.Typed by Wendy Barrie March 2014 Last Flight of Jimmy Melrose by John Burke Parade Magazine July 1972 Page 2 –4 This article gives the take off time of 7.50 am from Essendon Airport Eyewitness account at the time Maisie Arthur’s description. Newspaper article. Edna Barrie at the site of the 'Cairn'local identities, local significant events

Sikh hawkers were a regular sight throughout the Wodonga and Upper Murray district in the early 20th century. The regular visitors to the area included Pola Singh and Gambil (Gamble) Singh. Gamble Singh often camped on McKoy’s Moorefield property in West Wodonga and several other places around the district. Gamble was also a horse breeder and had several draught horses to pull his wagon. Like many of the hawkers he worked hard to send money back to support family in India. He apparently returned to India about 1950, but left some money in the Bank of NSW in Wodonga in case he returned. He allegedly died soon after and the money was eventually able to be claimed by his nephews in India. A small overlooked park in Wodonga is named the “Gamble Singh Park” in his memory. J. Flanagan who operated the Halfway Hotel commented on having as many as seven or eight bullock teams “yoked” overnight to the fence outside the hotel as well as 100 or more Indian hawkers – led by the fondly known Pola (Pollah) Singh. The hawkers returned to Wodonga annually to renew their hawkers’ license and camped on the flats, or also came to Wodonga to collect orders at the railway station to stock up their supplies. Pola Singh was often based at the Colac Colac reserve near Corryong and had on board his compatriot Isar Singh. He often acted as an intermediary between the individual hawkers and the authorities. Unfortunately, it was Pola’s habit to walk in front of his wagon at the start of each day. On the morning of 23 June 1923 his horses were restive and hard to control. They took flight and ran Pola down on the road near Cudgewa. He was rushed to the Corryong Hospital but died there a few days later, aged 65. Pola was cremated, with some of his ashes scattered in the Murray River and some returned to his homeland to be scattered in the Ganges River. His cremation was listed in the Obituary page of the Weekly Times, Melbourne on Saturday 14 July 1923. A small memorial to Pola Singh is located in the Corryong Cemetery.These images are significant because they help to document the history of the Sikh Hawkers who plied their services to Wodonga and throughout rural Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.A collection of black and white images featuring Sikh Hawkers Gamble Singh and Pola Singh take in the Wodonga area.indian hawkers, sikh hawkers, gamble singh, pola singh

Aerial photos were used to make maps of forest types, timber resources, to survey logging areas and regeneration, to mark boundaries of public land and new plantations, to identify new roads and tracks, as well as for fire suppression. Infrared film was sometimes used to monitor insect and disease attack. The images needed to sharp, with high contrast, and in a large format (most were printed in B&W on 9-inch by 9-inch glossy photographic paper) with at least a 60% overlap to enable stereoscopic viewing and with a 20-30% side lap to allow for aircraft drift. Preferably, the photo scale was close to the final map scale avoid to problems when enlarging and to reduce distortion. Something was needed to supplement the very expensive and infrequent large-area photography programs. From the mid-1960s Victorian foresters began experimenting with small format 70mm and 35mm cameras which proved simple, practical, cheap and flexible. It was found that any SLR camera could be used provided it had a good quality lens and fast shutter speed (preferably down to 1/1000 second). Motorised cameras with a large film capacity had obvious advantages and were essential when access to the camera was not possible during flight. It is also essential for the shutter to operate at low temperatures and those lubricated with silicones were recommended. Components of a typical FCV Divisional Office system included – A Hasselblad or Vinten 70 mm format aerial camera with a focal plane shutter which could be electrically operated. Interchangeable lenses to allow for different photo scales and flying heights. Several large film magazines, which were loaded in a darkroom, each with a capacity of 100 feet or approximately 500 frames. A remote control for the camera in single-shot mode or automatic firing at selected intervals of 2 to 50 seconds. It also needed a frame counter. A light aircraft was modified with an internal mounting for the camera to keep it level and steady. Often a hole was cut through the floor for the lens. The aircraft also needed an inbuilt 12 Volt DC battery to operate the motorised camera shutter. The front passenger seat was generally removed to improve access to the camera. An Aldis drift sight was also fitted. This might be likened to an inverted periscope and is used to determine drift, to facilitate accurate navigation along flight lines and to determine the exposure interval for stereoscopic overlap. This item is kept at Traralgon.Hasselblad 500 ELM camera with 70mm lens, film pack, motor drive and battery In 1964 Hasselblad started production of a motorized camera, the 500 EL The EL/M is a modified version of the EL, "M" means modified, "EL" electric. Perhaps the most famous use of the Hasselblad camera was during the Apollo program missions when man first landed on the Moon. Almost all of the still photographs taken during these missions used modified Hasselblad cameras. forests commission victoria (fcv), forest measurement, surveying, mapping