Tom Mitchell’s Skis After his retirement in 1976 as the local Member for Benambra, people asked Tom Mitchell about his greatest achievements in politics. Tom replied speaking about his support for the establishment and development of the Ski resort at Falls Creek. Tom’s passion for Falls Creek grew, not only from his own 1930s ski career, but also from his work as a prisoner of war in the Changi Ski Club. His 5 February 1943 diary entry reads: ‘In the evening had a very successful ski meeting of 19 and decided to go ahead with a scheme to approach the Government re-selling Diggers blocks of land in the snow country.’ After the 2020 Bushfires, my brother asked if I would find appropriate homes for some of my father’s old skis that had survived the fires. As Tom’s historic ski collection is in Corryong’s Man from Snowy River Museum, it seems appropriate that a remaining pair should go to The Falls Creek Ski Museum. I chose wooden edged skis as they reminded me of my first skis. As a five-year-old in 1958 at Dead Horse Gap, I soon discovered that wooden edges were no good in icy conditions. By the end of my first day on skis, I had fallen so many times that my homemade ski clothing was wet and cold. I was unhappy when Dad said that wooden edges would teach me to use my ‘edges’. At the end of our first day, Mum and Dad loaded us all into the back of the Land Rover together with our ski gear and drove us home. They had had a marvellous day, but I didn’t think much of the adventure. From the outset I knew my parents had steel-edged skis! Dad told me I’d have to ‘earn edges’. Trouble brewed when I said I hated skiing. I discovered I had to learn to like it! Eventually I graduated to steel-edged skis. By then Thredbo had built its first chairlift and it also had a rope tow. Meanwhile Tom had taught us to learn to ski the hard way and with steel edges, ski lifts and better ski clothing, I began to enjoy the sport. If there was any chance of finding the provenance of the skis, it probably burnt in the 2020 conflagration. All I can offer you is my story of my father teaching me to ski the hard way. The skis are a kind of memorial to the Tom Mitchell ski school and its enduring memories. Honor Auchinleck (Daughter of Tom and Elyne Mitchell)These skis are significant because they belonged to Tom Mitchell, a pioneer of skiing and ski resorts in Australia.A pair of vintage hickory wood skis, featuring a 7-foot length and rustic metal bindings. Hickory wood was preferred for its strength and flexibility. They feature early metal cable or "bear trap" style bindings, crucial for securing leather boots before the advent of modern plastic bindings. The skis feature a high, square-shaped tip referred tp as a sukkerbit (sugar cube).Beside Bindings- H9S HICKORY 7Fttom mitchell, ski equipment, australian skiing pioneers

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

Cabbage Tree was a small locality to the east of Orbost in East Gippsland, approximately half-way between Orbost and Cann River. During the early 1900s, hotels such as this one were very important because they provided accommodation, food and drink, and often a post-office, at fairly regular distances along travelling routes. The historic Cabbage Tree Hotel was a vital watering place in East Gippsland, Victoria, catering to travellers along the Princes Highway from the early 1900s until it was destroyed by a devastating bushfire on Tuesday, 14 December 1943.This photograph is significant because it is an early photograph of the Cabbage Tree Hotel, East Gippsland, Victoria.A b/w photograph/postcard of two horse-drawn carriages/wagons and a group of men, women and children - all posed in front of a timber building. Behind the building are tall trees. A sign-board attached to the front of the building has the words 'Cabbage Tree Hotel'.Below the photo: CABBAGE TREE, HOTELcabbage tree hotel, hotels