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.Plastic fire knapsack usually attached to the back of machinery Brass pump handle and adjustable nozzle attached.REGAforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, planned burning, fire pump

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.Metal fire knapsack usually attached to the back of machinery Brass pump handle and adjustable nozzle attached.REGAforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, planned burning, fire pump

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesHose reel holder winder for canvas hoses Canvas hose needs to be washed, dried, rolled and stored properly after it has been used otherwise it will rot. Unrolled hose is notorious for becoming tangled.FCVforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesHose reel holder with two 1&1/2 inch and one 2&1/2 inch canvas hosesforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesFigure 8 hose reel holder winder for canvas hoses Canvas hose needs to be washed, dried, rolled and stored properly after it has been used otherwise it will rot. Unrolled hose is notorious for becoming tangled.FCVforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesHose pressure testing kit. Canvas hose needs to be washed, dried, rolled and stored properly after it has been used otherwise it will rot. Unrolled hose is notorious for becoming tangled.FCVforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesTools used to clamp canvas hose for testing. Canvas hose needs to be washed, dried, rolled and stored properly after it has been used otherwise it will rot. Unrolled hose is notorious for becoming tangled.FCVforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesWicker basket used on the end of suction hose to stop debris entering the pump forests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesTools used undo brass coupling on canvas hose Canvas hose needs to be washed, dried, rolled and stored properly after it has been used otherwise it will rot. Unrolled hose is notorious for becoming tangled.FCVforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesHolders to carry canvas hose rolls Canvas hose needs to be washed, dried, rolled and stored properly after it has been used otherwise it will rot. Unrolled hose is notorious for becoming tangled.forests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesUsed to repair canvas hose A rubber patch is placed over the hole in the hose and clamped. It is then heated electrically to melt the rubber patch Canvas hose needs to be washed, dried, rolled and stored properly after it has been used otherwise it will rot. Unrolled hose is notorious for becoming tangled.forests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesUsed to attach couplers to canvas hose The tool is held in a large clamp and stretches the coupler onto the hose. A tension bar is used to control leverage Canvas hose needs to be washed, dried, rolled and stored properly after it has been used otherwise it will rot. Unrolled hose is notorious for becoming tangled.Warren Brownforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

After the 1939 bushfires the Forests Commission placed orders for 130,000 feet (nearly 40 km) of 1½ inch canvas hose in Britain to accompany over 200 new pumps of various types. The Altona workshop became a major centre for fabrication, repair and storage of hose. But lack of standardisation of hose couplings plagued Australian firefighters for decadesRega hose keyREGAforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

The Forests Commission and its successors continuously encouraged bushfire research and innovation. In 1946 a large parcel of industrial land was purchased at North Altona as a fire cache and workshop. The Altona workshop became a hotbed of new technological innovation… an exhilarating place where lots of things were invented and tested. In fact, a lot of Australia’s pioneering equipment development was led by staff from Altona, often in collaboration with other State forestry and fire authorities. The CSIRO also contributed significantly. The US Forest Service, the US Bureau of Land Management and US State agencies such as the California Department of Forestry and Fire (CalFire) as well as the Canadian Forest Service faced similar challenges and proved strong and willing partners in sharing knowledge, ideas, equipment and expertise over many decades. This collection of badges is testament to the relationships that were forged across the globe with the Altona workshop. Large display panel featuring many fire service badgesforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, bushfire aviation

Athol Hodgson began testing of retardants in 1963 at Ballarat by dropping water thickened with bentonite clay directly from a Ceres CA-28 aircraft. In 1965 dropping a new chemical retardant Phoschek was produced by Monsanto All this experimental work culminated with two Piper Pawnees from Benambra, flown by Ben Buckley and Bob Lansbury, making Australia’s first operational drop of fire-retardant on a small lightning-strike on 6 February 1967. The flight at Benambra came to symbolise the classic application of firebombing and a "proof-of-concept" that encouraged many more innovations with new and more powerful aircraft.Fibreglass funnels used to measure the viscosity of the fire retardant, Phoscheck The funnel was filled with liquid and timed to run through between 35 and 50 secondsforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, fire pump, fire tanker

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. Portable radio with leather carrycase and strapTARA Systems Australia Connected to FCV radios to allow field staff to call a fixed line telephone / office etc Used by for the Minister Joan Kirner vehicle.bushfire, radios, forests commission victoria (fcv)

Based on the earlier successful tests with the RAAF Dragonfly in 1948-49, together with the effective use of aircraft during the extensive Gippsland bushfires in March 1965, the Forests Commission took the plunge and contracted its own dedicated Bell 47G in the summer of 1965-66. This was an Australian first for any forest or bushfire agency. Rappelling trials at Snowy Plains and Tallangatta soon followed, which led to operations based at Heyfield with a two-man crew to quickly attack small fires in remote locations. The Heyfield rappel crew was another Australian first and remained in place for the following two fire seasons but lapsed after concerns from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) about the stability of the small and underpowered Bell 47G. Later in 1982, after nearly 18 years absence, the Commission recommenced rappelling operations using larger and more powerful National Safety Council (NSCA) Bell 212 and Bell 412 helicopters based in Sale, Gippsland. During the 1983 bushfires, a specially trained and equipped FCV crew rappelled by rope from a hovering NSCA helicopter to suppress a small fire in remote terrain in the Orbost Forest District. Rappel model with protective equipment, harness and rope drop bagforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, bushfire aviation, safety equipment

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. With cut away sections to show how contents were packed Wings held in place by means of string office "Ty-Tite" fasteners.forests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire aviation, bushfire, camping equipment

Conrad Wood (Woody) graduated from the Victorian School of Forestry in 1957, and after postings with the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) at Swifts Creek and Sirex surveys, he gravitated into the Forest Protection Division in Head Office in the early 1960s. He championed the setting up of proper contractual arrangements for aviation and was involved in implementing the first ongoing, organised contracts for firebombing in eastern Victoria in the 1960s. An early recipient of a prestigious Churchill Fellowship, Woody travelled extensively throughout 1969 in North America and Europe studying aviation in forestry and firefighting. Afterwards he was very active amongst the Churchill alumni. Woody had a passion for innovation and new technology and was instrumental in introducing new aircraft types and new approaches for forest firefighting and forest management. Amongst many other things, he played a major role in organising the trial of a RAAF C130 equipped with MAFFS for firebombing in south-eastern Australia in 1982-84, even piloting the lead plane. His inimitable style was crucial in successfully bringing together the cultures of the myriad organisations involved. Con advocated for the introduction of helicopters. He developed aerial fertilising and seeding techniques for forest management. He even managed to get involved in cloud seeding experiments for forest fire suppression and for improving water yield. Along with aviation, Conrad was passionate about literature, football, politics, food, drink, motorbikes, gardening and Glen Iris, to name a few. He was a committed campaigner on social justice issues and for many years read for vision-impaired people on public radio. He died in 2014. This painting of Woody by notable Australian artist Joyce McGrath OAM (also a Churchill Fellow) was done in the 1980s. Joyce asked Conrad to sit for this portrait which she planned to enter the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. The portrait hung in Churchill House in Canberra, but when a new building was erected, it was returned to the artist/owner. The painting is now owned by Clare Harwood and is on permanent loan to the Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA) and is displayed at DEECA's Altona Museum.Painting of Conrad Wood by Australian artist Joyce McGrath OAMbushfire, bushfire aviation

An information brochure regarding an event that was scheduled to take place in February 2009 at El Kanah in Marysville.An information brochure regarding an event that was scheduled to take place in February 2009 at El Kanah in Marysville.marysville, victoria, australia, el kanah, accommodation, information brochure, 2009 black saturday bushfires, christian community

A document regarding El Kanah in Marysville that outlines it's purposes. This paper was compiled for The Hon. Fran Bailey as a short outline of El Kanah's work when she opened the restored Tennis and Volley Ball Courts which was a work for the Dole program nominated for a John Howard Award.A document regarding El Kanah in Marysville that outlines it's purposes.This paper was compiled for The Hon. Fran Bailey as a short outline of El Kanah's work when she opened the restored/ Tennis and Volley Ball Courts which was a work for the Dole program nominated for a John Howard Award.marysville, victoria, australia, el kanah, accommodation, christian community, 2009 black saturday bushfires

A colour photograph of The Crossways Motel in Marysville taken in the 1980s. The Crossways was built in the early 1920s and is the oldest building in Marysville. The Crossways historic inn survived the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires thanks to the efforts of its c-owner Greg Cherry and, in the days after the fires, provided a much-needed refuge to the Marysville community and firefighters. A colour photograph of The Crossways Motel in Marysville taken in the 1980s.Crossways Motel/ one frosty morning in the 1980!/ approxmarysville, victoria, australia, the crossways cabaret, the crossways, crossways, crossways country inn, crossways historic inn, 2009 black saturday bushfires, accommodation, photograph

A colour photograph taken at The Crossways Motel in Marysville in the 1980s. The Crossways was built in the early 1920s and is the oldest building in Marysville. The Crossways historic inn survived the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires thanks to the efforts of its co-owner Greg Cherry and, in the days after the fires, provided a much-needed refuge to the Marysville community and firefighters. A colour photograph taken at The Crossways Motel in Marysville in the 1980s.Crossways Motelmarysville, victoria, australia, the crossways cabaret, the crossways, crossways, crossways country inn, crossways historic inn, 2009 black saturday bushfires, accommodation, photograph

A colour photograph taken at The Crossways in Marysville on 22nd December, 2001. The Crossways was built in the early 1920s and is the oldest building in Marysville. The Crossways historic inn survived the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires thanks to the efforts of its co-owner Greg Cherry and, in the days after the fires, provided a much-needed refuge to the Marysville community and firefighters. A colour photograph taken at The Crossways in Marysville on 22nd December, 2001.No.6./ OUR CABIN - CROSSWAYS/ 22 - 12 - 2001marysville, victoria, australia, the crossways cabaret, the crossways, crossways, crossways country inn, crossways historic inn, 2009 black saturday bushfires, accommodation, photograph

A colour photograph of the interior of The Crossways in Marysville during a wedding in March 1999. The Crossways was built in the early 1920s and is the oldest building in Marysville. The Crossways historic inn survived the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires thanks to the efforts of its co-owner Greg Cherry and, in the days after the fires, provided a much-needed refuge to the Marysville community and firefighters.A colour photograph of the interior of The Crossways in Marysville during a wedding in March 1999.wedding at Crossways/ March 1999/ Geoff & Sharyn Dimechmarysville, victoria, australia, the crossways cabaret, the crossways, crossways, crossways country inn, crossways historic inn, 2009 black saturday bushfires, accommodation, photograph

A black and white photograph of the Lingard Family of Marysville's "Crossways" restaurant. The Crossways was built in the early 1920s and is the oldest building in Marysville. The Crossways historic inn survived the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires thanks to the efforts of its co-owner Greg Cherry and, in the days after the fires, provided a much-needed refuge to the Marysville community and firefighters.A black and white photograph of the Lingard Family of Marysville's "Crossways" restaurant.Part 2 of/ Series Photographer: Colleen Myer/ 185 Maroondah Highway/ Healesville. MINE HOSTS The Lingard Family/ of Marysville's "Crossways"/ restaurant From left: Colin Lawrey (Chef, partner/ and "one of the family", Elizabeth, James/ Jean and David Lingard - with/ "Casey" the donkey, and the Lingards'/ niece Kathy.marysville, victoria, australia, the crossways cabaret, the crossways, crossways, crossways country inn, crossways historic inn, 2009 black saturday bushfires, accommodation, photograph, lingard family, colin lawrey

An information flyer regarding The Crossways accommodation in Marysville. The Crossways was built in the early 1920s and is the oldest building in Marysville. The Crossways historic inn survived the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires thanks to the efforts of its co-owner Greg Cherry and, in the days after the fires, provided a much-needed refuge to the Marysville community and firefighters.An information flyer regarding The Crossways accommodation in Marysville.marysville, victoria, australia, the crossways cabaret, the crossways, crossways, crossways country inn, crossways historic inn, 2009 black saturday bushfires, accommodation, information flyer

An information flyer regarding the Crossways Historic Country Inn in Marysville. The Crossways was built in the early 1920s and is the oldest building in Marysville. The Crossways historic inn survived the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires thanks to the efforts of its co-owner Greg Cherry and, in the days after the fires, provided a much-needed refuge to the Marysville community and firefighters.An information flyer regarding the Crossways Historic Country Inn in Marysville.marysville, victoria, australia, the crossways cabaret, the crossways, crossways, crossways country inn, crossways historic inn, 2009 black saturday bushfires, accommodation, information flyer, crossways historic country inn