13 colour photographs taken April 1991 when there was a gas leak and all staff and students had to be evacuated to the oval nearby. 11 b/w similar photographs. Many photographs taken, remainder in spares box.gas leak, staff, students, evacuation

Black and white photograph of a Gas and Fuel employee using a device called a 'sniffer' which is used to detect gas leaks. His work vehicle is on the road to the left of the photograph. The Gas and Fuel Corporation was situated in Rooks Road - 1994gas supply, gas and fuel corporation of victoria

Drawings by Robert Whitworth as an apprentice plumber at Bankstown Tech College 1963Date: 1963 Gas plumbing drawings - 6 sheets 1. Hight pressure Gas meter 2. Liquid type Thermometer 3. Safety pilot cut off 4. Domestic size Gas meter 5. Bubble Gas leak detector 6. Fixing of gas meterplumbing, bankstown tech college

Francis Powell (1861-) and Francis Hanmer (1858-1925) founded Powell and Hanmer Ltd in the Summer of 1885 for the manufacturer of bike and carriage lamps. Their first advertisements began to appear in November of 1885. In 1890 they lodged a Patent for “velocipede” lamps to be used by lightweight wheeled vehicles propelled by a rider, such as a bike, tricycle and railroad handcar. In April of 1913, they were selling headlamps for cars and in 1914 built their second factory manufacturing dynamo lighting sets in Rocky Lane Birmingham, also for the production of dynamos for motor cars. Then in 1929 Powell and Hanmer Ltd, was acquired by the Lucas company which was at that time the main competitor for the manufacture of non-electrical equipment for cycles and motorcycles. When a director of Powell and Hanmer joined the board of Austin motor cars, Lucas feared that Austins might encourage Powell and Hanmer to start to produce electrical equipment for supply to the company and as a result this association might affect Lucas's business with other large vehicle manufacturers. As a result, Lucas made an offer to Powell & Hanmer and purchased the business for £500,000. Carbide lighting was used in rural and urban areas of Australia which were not served by electrification. Its use began shortly after 1900 in many countries and continued past the 1950s. Calcium carbide pellets were placed in a container outside the home, with water piped to the container and allowed to drip on the pellets releasing acetylene. This gas was piped to lighting fixtures inside the house, where it was burned, creating a very bright flame. Carbide lighting was inexpensive but was prone to gas leaks and explosions. Early models of the automobile, motorbike and bicycles used carbide lamps as headlamps. Acetylene gas, derived from carbide, enabled early automobiles to drive safely at night. Thick concave mirrors combined with magnifying lenses projected the acetylene flame light. These type of lights were used until reliable batteries and dynamos became available, and manufacturers switched to electric lights. Acetylene lamps were also used on riverboats for night navigation. The National Museum of Australia has a lamp made in about 1910 that was used onboard the PS Enterprise, an 1878 Australian paddle steamer, currently owned by the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. It is still operational, and one of the oldest working paddle steamers in the world, listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vehicles.Acetylene Carbide lamp, marine pattern burner housing and reflector missing Carbide Lamp, metal. Has plate for attaching to wall, & gimbal to allow lamp to remain vertical. Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, carbide lamp, motor vehicle, bike lamp, lighting, vehicle lighting, powell, hanmer, acetylene gas lamp, early lighting, marine lighting

Francis Powell (1861-) and Francis Hanmer (1858-1925) founded Powell and Hanmer Ltd in the Summer of 1885 for the manufacturer of bike and carriage lamps. Their first advertisements began to appear in November of 1885. In 1890 they lodged a Patent for “velocipede” lamps to be used by lightweight wheeled vehicles propelled by a rider, such as a bike, tricycle and railroad handcar. In April of 1913, they were selling headlamps for cars and in 1914 built their second factory manufacturing dynamo lighting sets in Rocky Lane Birmingham, also for the production of dynamos for motor cars. Then in 1929 Powell and Hanmer Ltd, was acquired by the Lucas company which was at that time the main competitor for the manufacture of non-electrical equipment for cycles and motorcycles. When a director of Powell and Hanmer joined the board of Austin motor cars, Lucas feared that Austins might encourage Powell and Hanmer to start to produce electrical equipment for supply to the company and as a result this association might affect Lucas's business with other large vehicle manufacturers. As a result, Lucas made an offer to Powell & Hanmer and purchased the business for £500,000. Carbide lighting was used in rural and urban areas of Australia which were not served by electrification. Its use began shortly after 1900 in many countries and continued past the 1950s. Calcium carbide pellets were placed in a container outside the home, with water piped to the container and allowed to drip on the pellets releasing acetylene. This gas was piped to lighting fixtures inside the house, where it was burned, creating a very bright flame. Carbide lighting was inexpensive but was prone to gas leaks and explosions. Early models of the automobile, motorbike and bicycles used carbide lamps as headlamps. Acetylene gas, derived from carbide, enabled early automobiles to drive safely at night. Thick concave mirrors combined with magnifying lenses projected the acetylene flame light. These type of lights were used until reliable batteries and dynamos became available, and manufacturers switched to electric lights. Acetylene lamps were also used on riverboats for night navigation. The National Museum of Australia has a lamp made in about 1910 that was used onboard the PS Enterprise, an 1878 Australian paddle steamer, currently owned by the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. It is still operational, and one of the oldest working paddle steamers in the world, listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vehicles.Acetylene Carbide lamp, Model “Panther” distinct patterned side red and green lenses. These lamps were also known as acetylene gas lamps. They work off a chemical reaction between calcium carbide and water.Model 75flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, carbide lamp, motor vehicle, bike lamp, lighting, vehicle lighting, powell, hanmer, acetylene gas lamp, early lighting

View looking east across the Glen Park Bridge and the railway crossing towards Main Road circa 1920. The bridge was originally built as a replacement for an older private bridge built by a man named Foley around 1880. In 1911 Heidelberg and Eltham agreed to share the costs to build a new bridge (the Diamond Creek was the border between the two). Construction began in June 1915 and it was officially opened by Cr. Taylor on Cup Day, November 1915. This photo, dated around 1920, is of the Glen Park Bridge crossing over the Diamond Creek about 50 metres north of the present-day Wattletree tree Road Bridge. Glen Park Road intersected Main Rain Road along an alignment following present day Coleman Cresent. In this this picture we see the narrow wooden bridge over a high flowing Diamond Creek at Glen Park, now Eltham North. In the background is a railway crossing sign. There is a self-contained carbide streetlamp situated in front of the bridge. In the early 1900s, carbide (acetylene gas) streetlamps emerged as a lighting technology for regional towns across Victoria, Australia, before municipal electricity grids were widely established. During the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras, major hubs like Melbourne relied on centralized coal-gas infrastructure. However, small regional Victorian shires lacked the funds or population density to build large gasworks. When the commercial production of calcium carbide became viable around 1900, it offered a quantum leap in brightness over traditional kerosene streetlamps. Acetylene gas burned with an intense, crisp white flame—significantly brighter than oil or candles. Many rural towns used self-contained lampposts. A lamplighter had to climb each post daily to manually place calcium carbide pellets in a lower chamber and fill an upper chamber with water. The water dripped onto the carbide, producing acetylene gas to feed the burner. Lamplighters carefully measured the fuel amounts so the chemical reaction would naturally exhaust itself and "turn off" around midnight. While carbide streetlights provided unparalleled visibility for early motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, they were incredibly labour-intensive and inherently volatile. The gas was highly explosive, prone to leaks, and left behind a pungent, sulphur-like odour. By the end of World War I, local Victorian councils rapidly phased out acetylene infrastructure in favour of safer, independent electric powerhouse generators. In the context of Eltham's local history, the Eltham Shire and surrounding Yarra Valley region actively relied on carbide streetlamps and kerosene lighting during the early 20th century before the expansion of the Melbourne electric grid. Eltham was an outer-rural, heavily timbered farming and orchard district at the turn of the century, it faced unique civic infrastructure challenges. In rural Eltham, early streetlamps were exceptionally sparse. The community relied heavily on "innkeeper laws" which dictated local hotels—such as the historic Eltham Hotel—were legally required to keep external oil, kerosene, or acetylene lamps burning through the night to illuminate the main roads for travellers and coaches. The volatile carbide and kerosene lamps on Eltham's main thoroughfares were progressively phased out during the 1920s. The district steadily transitioned to electricity, which allowed for developments like the installation of modern electrical wiring at the local fire station on Arthur Street by 1928. The Glen Park Bridge was a low structure and subject to flooding readily. In 1959 Eltham Council erected a new crossing over the Diamond Creek and realigned the road to the present-day Wattletree Road Bridge. Construction was not fully complete when on Sunday, 20 September 1959, heavy flooding occurred in the stream and at 3:53 pm the old bridge was washed away forever. - Research by Peter Pidgeon, EDHS, June 2026Photograph copy eltham north, wattletree road, coleman crescent, bridges, diamond creek (creek), bridge, carbide streetlamp, floodwater, glen park bridge, street lamp, glen park road, glen park estate