Colour photograph of the suspension bridge at Mississippi Creek picnic area in Colquhoun State Forest near Lakes Entrance, Victoriabridges, vegetation

Black and white line drawing of the route to the major Central Victorian Diggings, including Ballarat, Bendigo, Jim Crow (Daylesford), Kyneton, Carlshrue, Mount Macedon, Kilmore, Jackson's Creek, Keilor, Bacchus Marsh, Gregory, Black Forest, Geelong, Flemington, Melbourne, Mount Buninyong, Port Phillip. ballarat, bendigo, jim crow, daylesford, kyneton, carlshrue,, mount macedon, kilmore, jackson's creek, keilor, bacchus marsh, gregory, black forest, geelong, flemington, melbourne, mount buninyong, port phillip, diggings, thomas ham, goldfields

‘Adeney Avenue’ was the title given to this painting following its donation to the Kew Historical Society, yet the work’s origins predate the naming of Adeney Avenue in 1907 [originally gazetted as ‘Park Street’ (1865) and ‘Park Street South’ (1875).] Park Street ran between High Street and Parkhill Road beside what was later to become ‘Victoria Park’. This area was described in 1851 as “…a dense forest of gums and wattles which were to be largely cleared by 1888 after the naming of a recreation reserve”. The Reserve was still bisected by an unnamed creek in 1896, when the area was surveyed by the MMBW. The panoramic vista selected by the artist would appear to include ‘Eborensis’ (c.1895) on the corner of Parkhill Road and what was then Park Street, with views across cleared land towards the distant ranges. In the 19th century, north Kew was largely undeveloped farms stretching down to the Yarra. Oil on canvas by an unidentified artist of a panoramic view depicting what is now known as East Kew with mountains on the horizon. In the foreground is a two storey brick residence - Eborensis - located on the northeast corner of Parkhill Road and what is now Adeney Avenue. The view of the landscape and its rolling hills resulted from farming practices adopted following colonisation and settlement. Trees in the foreground and in the distance include remnant Eucalypts and introduced exotics.Label on rear of frame states "House on corner of Adeney Ave & Parkhill. [Regd. 254"]. Otherwise unsigned and undatedadeney avenue (kew), eborensis, park street (kew)

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. Used to communicate to remote fire towers Single wire often run through the bush from FCV district officesFire tower telephone with winderWattle Glen Diamond Creekbushfire, radios, forests commission victoria (fcv)

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. Used to communicate to remote fire towers Single wire often run through the bush from FCV district officesFire tower telephone with winderWattle Glen Diamond Creekbushfire, radios, forests commission victoria (fcv)

The Aerial Drip Torch (ADT) was an idea conceived in Canada in the 1970s by John Muraro It was developed in 1982 by the New Zealand Forest Service to become the Ashley Aphid Helitorch. Forestry Tasmania acquired one of the machines and modified it in February 1987. Also known as a dragon helitorch it consisted of a large 135-litre tank containing jellied petrol, a displacement pump, propane ignition system, burner nozzle and fire extinguisher system. It was first trialled in Victoria at Swifts Creek in 1991 and the Aerial Drip Torch (ADT) has now become standard practice.Two Aerial Drip Torches (ADTs) were built in the 1990s by the Fire Equipment Development Centre at North Altona, They were developed in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and Land Management in Western Australia. The first was trialled during the 1991/92 autumn burning season. The machine proved to be successful and a second machine was introduced in 1998 to assist with burning operations across the State. The ADTs were commonly used for regeneration burning (controlled burning of logging slash). The first ADT introduced in 1992 had a dry weight of 160kg and a capacity of 130 litres, providing about an hour of operation. Following initial use, systematic modifications were adapted including improved ignition of gel at the drop tube, installation of an air bleed valve at the pump to assist pump priming and improved mounting brackets for the CO2 bottles and propane canister attached to the machine. The second, and lightweight ADT, introduced in 1998 had a dry weight of 68kg and a capacity of 200 litres due to a smaller lightweight frame and plastic (Polyfin) tank. In operation the ADT is suspended below a helicopter via four strops attached to the vessel and a cable to the helicopter cargo hook. Gelled fuel is dispensed via a drop tube which is attached to the pump outlet of the machine, and ignited via a gas torch. Safety features built into the first ADT were: a brass melting plug designed to be activated at 200 C bursting disc designed to burst at170 Kpa should the vessel over pressurise. a pressure relief valve set to 35 Kpa ( vessel operated between 16 &34 Kpa) a low pressure sensor designed to shut down the machine should the vessel pressure drop below 15Kpa. the vessel is filled with CO2 above the gelled fuel to eliminate ignition with in the vessel. CO2 is used to expel any residue of ignited gel from the drop tube to prevent ignition when flying outside the boundaries of the burning area. See FIRE EQUIPMENT NOTE - 46 [ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CKtcH-3rUlrtbE9dkNP27PYT2-raVVhF/view ]forests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, bushfire aviation, planned burning

Saw Mills Halls Gap (Childe’s Glenbower Creek). Part of a collection of Photographs by Mr. O.G. Armstrong as commissioned by the Shire of Stawell for the Inter-colonial and Paris Exhibition in Melbourne in 1866. During the years of gold, the hardwood forests around Stawell were ravaged to provide timber for the mines. It was used undergrounds to shore up workings, and millions of feet of it were fed into furnaces and kilns in which the quartz was roasted. In the years after the gold boom, hardwood from the Grampians was milled for building timber. Wherever there are large tracts of natural bushland, fires are always a danger. A huge fire in January 1939 caused havoc in the Grampians, burning out towns and sawmills such as the one pictured. There have been no sawmills in the Grampian since that fire. stawell industry

Colour photograpf of the sign erected by the Conservation, Forests and Lands Dept. at the Stoney Creek Bridge Nowa Nowa Victoria . Plus two other photos of the bridgebridges, forestry, tourism, topography