Colour photographs of the site of the 2019 Hepburn Bushfire on Mannings Road / Mannings Hill, Elevaited Plans. The red line in the foreground of the photos is the remains of fire retardant from aircraft.hepburn bushfire, mannings road bushfire, mannings hill bushfire, bushfire, fire retardant, elevaitd plains

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

The word ashtray came into use around the 1920 and is a receptacle for ash from cigarettes and cigars and are typically made of fire retardant material such as glass, heat resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or stone. The most common ashtray design is a shallow cylinder with a flat base, designed to rest on a table. Other ashtrays, particularly in public places, are either wall or floor mounted. While simple, utilitarian forms of ashtrays existed long before the 19th century, it was during the start of the 20th century that the design, aesthetics and their popularity took off. As more women began to smoke. in the early 1900s, the ashtray went closer to being an art form as many women avoided the use of the traditional ashtray as it failed to reflect their feminine values, regarded as an item rather basic in design the general societal through of the time was that smoking was an activity exclusive to men. What emerged were detailed, often very fancy ashtrays acceptable to women depicting either pastoral scenes or vibrantly coloured landscapes. As time went on, and the onset of women smoking both cigars and cigarettes became less of a departure from the average person, ashtrays saw a decline in design and aesthetics beginning more of a shift towards practicality. The subject item is a primitive form of ashtray used in public spaces any time from the 1920-1960s and is not associated with an historic person or event. However the item could have come from the Warrnambool Town Hall given the inscription on the base of the item.Ash tray-large rectangular floor model with cement sheet lining. Made from a wooden box covered with textured metal on the outsideThe metal has a relief design embossed at the top back "smokers" and "Town Hall" printed on bottom.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, ash tray, town hall, cigarette tray, smoker's ash tray

The word ashtray came into use around the 1920 and is a receptacle for ash from cigarettes and cigars and are typically made of fire retardant material such as glass, heat resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or stone. The most common ashtray design is a shallow cylinder with a flat base, designed to rest on a table. Other ashtrays, particularly in public places, are either wall or floor mounted. While simple, utilitarian forms of ashtrays existed long before the 19th century, it was during the start of the 20th century that the design, aesthetics and their popularity took off. As more women began to smoke. in the early 1900s, the ashtray went closer to being an art form as many women avoided the use of the traditional ashtray as it failed to reflect their feminine values, regarded as an item rather basic in design the general societal through of the time was that smoking was an activity exclusive to men. What emerged were detailed, often very fancy ashtrays acceptable to women depicting either pastoral scenes or vibrantly coloured landscapes. As time went on, and the onset of women smoking both cigars and cigarettes became less of a departure from the average person, ashtrays saw a decline in design and aesthetics beginning more of a shift towards practicality. The subject item is a primitive form of ashtray used in public spaces any time from the 1900 -1960s and is not associated with an historic person or event. However the item could have come from the Warrnambool Town Hall given the inscription on the base of the item.Ash tray-large rectangular floor model made from a wooden box covered with textured metal on the outsideThe metal has a relief design embossed at the top back "smokers" and "Town Hall" printed on bottom.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, ash tray

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