Incendiaries used for planned burning operations All kind of pyrotechnics have been developed over the years from “strike anywhere” wax vestas, safety fusees, large DAIDs, burning tyres dragged behind vehicles, humble drip torches, incendiary shotguns and mortars, flame throwers of various designs, blow torches, jellied petrol blivets wired up to electrical circuits Display table that includes various type of incendiaries including windproof matches, Fusse matches, self propelled incendiary flares, incendiary capsules, vials and balls, Delayed Action Incendiary Devices (DAIDS), Gun Operated Flares (GOF)forests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, planned burning

Blivets were developed in the 1960s and 70s. The small package contained jellied petrol which had a small electric match or detonator wrapped around it. They were mainly used as high intensity slash burns and could be wired-up days or weeks before they were required. The blivets were arranged in concentric circuits to develop a large convection column. But the circuits were prone to damage by wildlife if left out too long. DAIDs were also taped to blivets as mini “Molotov Cocktails” and thrown into patches of dense or hard-to-access slash. Small plastic container filled with jellied petrol.forests commission victoria (fcv), planned burning

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

This Lafayette radio receiver (model HE-30) is a basic single conversion tube semi-professional short wave communications receiver. It covers 0.55 to 30 MHz in four bands. The multi-frequency bands was used on an experimental basis in FCV Divisional Offices to monitor district radio transmissions.Used on an experimental basis to monitor fire radio trafficLafayette Radio ReceiverHE-30 AM-CW-SSBforests commission victoria (fcv), radios

Used at fire basecampsKerosene pressure lanternsTilley 020forests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, camping equipment

Used to sharpen axes and other hand toolsLarge stone grinding wheel in wooden frame (pedal operated)forests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Used with long wooden handle to roll logsCant Hooksforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

The origins of the humble handheld driptorch have been lost in time. They are widely used for ignition in controlled burning operations in forest and grasslands. The “Pacific Forester“ with its short central wand and somewhat leaky ball-valve was made by the American Wajax company in the 1940s. The Pacific Forester is slightly different in design from the more robust and common “Panama” driptorch first manufactured in 1933 and used extensively by Queensland cane farmers. The Panama is closely related to the current “Firebug” used in Victoria which is manufactured by Rodney Industries in Brisbane and has an offset wand design which gives it good balance. The fuel is a mixture of petrol and diesel and every FCV District had their own closely-guarded secret formula ... 2:1, 3:1, 1:1, 4:1 or 3:2 ratio. There was also the choice of 91, 95 or 98 octane petrol mixed with summer or winter diesel. Occasionally some of the old Avgas or Jet-A1 lying around the depot was added with a splash of engine oil to make the mixture stick to the fuel to be ignited. The fuel mixed also varied between autumn or spring, heathland, mixed forest, or high-intensity slash burnsKerosene drip torch Long straight wand with control valveBell Backburnerforests commission victoria (fcv), planned burning, bushfire

Used to measure the rate of rise of helium balloons The telescope is mounted on two movable axes. One axis (vertical) rotates to change elevation, the other (horizontal) azimuth. There are vernier scales and in some cases micrometres that give precise readouts of the relative position of the telescope to each axis. The instrument is set up so that it is level and it is pointed towards true north with both scales reading 0 degrees exactly. A balloon is released in front of the theodolite. It is sighted at timed intervals (usually one minute apart) and the position of the theodolite's telescope (azimuth and elevation) is recorded. It can chart the direction and velocity of winds at various altitudes The rate of ascent of a balloon is mostly dependant on the balloon's drag and its "free lift" (the vertical pull of the balloon). There is some degree of control over these these factors, and as a result, it possible to know approximately how high our balloon will be at any given time after its release. Given a known height and an angular direction (read off the theodolite) to the balloon, a fix is made of the horizontal movement component of the balloon's travel as it moves through different altitudes. The horizontal movement is due to the winds blowing the balloon around at the altitudes that the balloon is traveling throughTheodolite used to measure the rate of rising helium balloons The rate of rise is used in atmospheric calculations such as upper winds and determining inversion layersforests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire, weather

Among the many pressing priorities for Alf Lawrence, the Forests Commission's new Chief Fire Officer, in rebuilding the firefighting capacity after the catastrophic 1939 bushfires was to invest heavily in modern vehicles and equipment. Powered pumps like the trailer-mounted Coventry Climax (Godiva) gave firefighters a much greater capacity than ever before to put the “wet stuff on the red stuff”. Its four-cylinder, four-stroke, water-cooled, petrol motor produced 38Hp and was connected with either 1½ inch or 2½ inch canvas hose for direct attack, or as a filler pump it could deliver 300 gallons per minute at 120 psi. Some of the first acquisitions included this war surplus veteran shipped over from the London after the blitz bombings of WW2. Fire pump mounted on trailer Two lengths of suction hose, nozzles and some tools. Modified from original design at Altona to include recoil battery starterCoventry Climax fire pump, forests commission victoria (fcv), bushfire

Used in FCV foundryforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Used in FCV foundryforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

forests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Used to clear scrub and undergrowth Large Fern Hook or Brush hookGardenmasterforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

The Forests Commission took safety very seriously, long before it became standard practice in the bush. The Chairman of the Commission, Alan Threader, personally chaired the safety committee. Sandy Dobbin was appointed as the first "safety officer" in the early 1970s. There were many innovations including safety boots and safety hardhats.Various hardhats. Later version had reflective safety tapeforests commission victoria (fcv), protective clothing, bushfire

The Forests Commission took safety very seriously, long before it became standard practice in the bush. The Chairman of the Commission, Alan Threader, personally chaired the safety committee. Sandy Dobbin was appointed as the first "safety officer" in the early 1970s. There were many innovations including safety boots and safety hardhats.Various types of safety smoke gogglesforests commission victoria (fcv), protective clothing, bushfire

Carried in all vehiclesWoollen safety blanket carried in all departmental vehicles in case of being trapped in a bushfire Vinyl carry bagEmergency fire blanketforests commission victoria (fcv), safety equipment

At the time of the 1982-83 bushfire season FCV firefighters wore either navy blue issue overalls or their own clothing, generally a checked flannel shirt and jeans. Uncomfortable safety boots and hardhats were issued. The CFA had switched from white overalls to their distinctive yellow kit by 1983. In about 1980, in a far-sighted corporate move for the time, Alan Threader, who was the Chairman of the FCV, established a departmental safety committee, which he personally chaired. The Committee, among other things, wanted to upgrade fire safety clothing. Alan also initiated a radical colour idea after a work trip to the UK in about 1981 and brought home a small sample swatch. Alan believed that the now distinctive bright yellow-green was a good colour contrast to the Victorian bush which is a blue-green hue. Trevor Brown from Stores Branch scored the task to make the change and letters were sent to the UK seeking information about the pigment. The FCV worked with the Commonwealth Dyers Association and Cushen Clothing to replicate the shade on cotton drill, which presented darker when it was treated with the flame-retardant chemical, Proban. The first of the new Kermit Suits were rolled-out in late 1984, and the stylish colour was initially registered and patented to the Department. But it's also fair to say that the new gaudy shade of apparel wasn’t universally popular with staff. The lime green overalls were an Australian first, and forest agencies in other states followed a few years later. In the early 1990s, armed with a pair of dressmaker’s scissors, the baggy one-piece Kermit boilersuits were tailored by Peter Billing from Fire Protection Branch and Trevor Brown in conjunction with the family-owned business, Top Level Workwear, which saw numerous enhancements and prototypes. The two-piece Kermit suits were available in the late 1990s after many years of argy-bargy and complaints from field firefighters. Protective overalls Two types - early FCV (c 1983) and later CNR (1992) forests commission victoria (fcv), protective clothing, safety equipment

Mostly used in nurseries when fumigating with bromide to sterilise the soilGas mask and canister (c 1960)Nu Plac productsforests commission victoria (fcv), safety equipment

Used on bulldozers at night Removable to prevent damage or transfer to another machineBulldozer lighting kitforests commission victoria (fcv), safety equipment, bushfire

Used to warn machine operator of excessive machine tiltTilt warningforests commission victoria (fcv), safety equipment

Telephone link set used to connect to existing telephone linescommunications, forests commission victoria (fcv)

Tool used to thread pipesforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Used to clear scrub and undergrowth. Straight blade was useful when clearing road embankmentsHeavy Brush cutter Colour on handle indicates FCV district ownershipforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Used to clear scrub and undergrowth.Heavy Brush cutterforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Used to clear scrub and undergrowth.Fern Hookforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Used to plant seedlings in pine and hardwood plantationsMetal planting spadeforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Metal Hand Shearsforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools

Continuous cutting chain was patented in 1905 by Samuel Bens of San Francisco, while the first portable chainsaw was developed and patented in 1918 by Canadian millwright James Shand. But the main advancements of modern petrol chainsaws occurred in Europe in the 1920s and 30s where Andreas Stihl is often hailed as the "father of the chainsaw" After the second world war lighter materials, metal alloys and improved engine designs revolutionised the logging and timber industry. This Wright Reciprocating Saw was made in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, between 1960 and 1962. Its a Rare GS-5020A model. It has a 7.06 cu. in. (115.7 cc), two-stroke motor, which weighed 25 lbs. (11.3 kg) complete. The blade doesn't stop reciprocating when the saw is running because it's attached directly to the crankshaft. There is no clutch system.Reciprocating Saw.forests commission victoria (fcv), forest harvesting, hand tools

The Forests Commission took safety very seriously, long before it became standard practice in the bush. The Chairman of the Commission, Alan Threader, personally chaired the safety committee. Sandy Dobbin was appointed as the first "safety officer" in the early 1970s. There were many innovations including safety boots and safety hardhats.Hardhats designed for use by bulldozer operators. Has inbuilt small battery operated fan to push a screen of air in front of drivers face to keep dust away. Made redundant with the advent of closed, air-conditioned cabins. Made in UK c 1981RACAL Benalla T120forests commission victoria (fcv), protective clothing, bushfire