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. VZ3 - CAbushfire, radios, forests commission victoria (fcv)

Letter written to Collins Bros Mills in Geelong from Gum Farinol Company in England. The letter details the instructions, use and benefits of gum farinol in woollen textiles. Letter consisting of two pages of cream paper with printed and typed black text. The second page has hand written text in pencil written on back. Both page show a letter head graphic image of a building with people and vehicles out the front. GUM FARINOL COMPANY / W. G. WEST. / Sole Manufacturers of Gum Farinol. / MILLS: WILSON STREET & PARK STREET / STOCKPORT, / ENGLAND. / Messrs. Collins Bros. Pty. Ltd. / Woollen Manufacturers, / Latrobe Terrace, / Geelong, Victoria, / Australia. / October 4th 1933letter, correspondence, company records, gum farinol company, textile industry, wool industry, wool mills, collins bros mill pty ltd, technology

Ninety three page, plus yellow covers, plastic cover on front and bound with a brown coloured comb binder report titled "East Preston Tramway Extension - Feasibility Study July 1976", by the MMTB. Looks at the costs, construction, operating cots, revenue, proposals considered and patronage for the extension of the East Preston tramway in various stages. Has a number of maps, figures, tables, plans, property acquisition, extension to Preston Institute of Technology, road layouts, bus routes and analysis of costs.Stamped on cover and inside page "Discarded from PTC Library 19 Oct 1989".trams, tramways, east preston, mill park, latrobe university, tramway proposals, mmtb