Ron Bridger was an avid collector of items related to transport, predominately Trams. These items include newspaper cuttings, pamphlets, reports, timetables, fares prices plus special items relating to events. Items from Melbourne and regional Victoria, interstate - Adelaide and Sydney, plus overseas, make up this collection. The Annual Meeting of the Ballarat Tramways Preservation Society was held On Saturday, 10 August, 1974. The President of the Society, Mr Calnin, outlined the plans to have the trams back on the tracks by Christmas 1974. Thirty members had applied for training to crew the trams. Members were told the trams were in excellent condition.Photograph and article from Courier. Planning for trams to run againThe Courier, Ballarat. Mon. August 12. 1974 Page 5ballarat tramways preservation society, annual meeting, president mr calnin, christmas 1974, training crew, ron bridger collection, as box 48a

Initial letter sent to applicant outlining all the conditions of his recruitment and service in RAAF, includes ...and conditions of service. Appendix J - Outlines conditions governing enlistment, promotion, re-muster, transfer & discharge and signed off by individual and Recruiting Officer. Refer 1760.4 (Box 41) for V.H. Evans No. 418655 RAAF.1. Letter - 4 pages (one broadsheet folded over). Yellow in colour. Has a number of fold marks and tears in paper. Mark form P/P. 78/60. 2. Appendix - as above.Form P/P. 78/60 - Letter pre formed with date and name typed in. Also note from Recruitment Officer typed in, outlining duties. Appendix - Signed by Victor H. Evans & Recruitment Officer and dated 16/4/42.flight crew training, raaf, ww2

Black aand white photograph of 13 Light Horse Machine Gun crew training c. 1938military, militia, machine gun, light horse, victoria

Twenty four page photocopied pages contained within blue covers, side stapled titled ""Basic Streetcar Operation - Instructions for K control, straight air and Safety Car". Published by the Branford Electric Railway (Pennsylvania USA) for training their crews, mid 1970's.trams, tramways, instructions, training, braking, controllers, birney

Forty page booklet individual pages pinned within grey covers titled "The Branford Electric Railway Timetable No. 9", dated 1/3/1977, authorised by D. K. Bowers Superintendent of Transportation. Gives Emergency Information, contact numbers, definitions, rules, timetables, special instructions and a map of the rail line. .Published by the Branford Electric Railway (Pennsylvania USA) for information and training their crews, mid 1970'strams, tramways, instructions, training, street cars, rules

Twenty page photocopied pages contained within pink covers, side stapled titled "The Environment of the Traction Era". Published by the Branford Electric Railway (Pennsylvania USA) for information and training their crews, mid 1970's. Subtitled - A brief study of the Electric Traction Industry in its American Setting, written by Raymond F Crapo, for the Branford Electric Railway Association, 1976. Contains study on the factors contributing to Traction's Success, its contribution, conclusion and bibliography.trams, tramways, instructions, training, street cars, usa, electric traction

Newspaper clipping from Progress Press 28/11/1984 titled "Super trams soon", advising the Member for Bennettswood, Doug Newton that the B class will soon be running the Burwood line. Engineering and crew training in December before becoming operational. Has a photo of B1 2001 in the article.trams, tramways, b class, burwood, new trams, lrv, tram 2001

The letter was answer to H. Victor Evans No.418655, successful applicant to join RAAF flight crews. Stated training at capacity currently and expected to be called up in Sept 1942. Refer Cat 1760.4 (Box 41).Single sheet of yellowed paper with tattered edges. Address on one side and letter on the other which then folded to make the envelope.Letter to say application was successful. But put on waiting list as training at capacity. Says Form 44A and has stamp saying married on 26/6/1911. Signed by the Wing Commander. Address of applicant typed on front.raaf training, flight crews

This particular aircraft was modified with a search radar in the lower fuselage to help locate and track targets and was then redesignated as a B-24R model. The RAAF took A72-176 on charge in late 1944 and this saw it issued to 7 OTU (Operational Training Unit) based at Tocumwal, south west NSW. The training saw bomber crews learn how to fly the bomber, operate as a team and work with fighters. Towards the end of the war there were up to 50 aircraft located at Tocumwal along with 5000 personnel. A72-176 was noted as flown on training missions by various aircrew.This aircraft is one of the only remaining B-24 bombers in the southern hemisphere and 1 of only 8 remaining B-24 airframes still existing in the world, out of the nearly 19,000 which were originally built. The restoration honours the contribution of one of the RAAF’s main bombers of the WWII era. This restored Liberator aircraft was assembled from parts salvaged from B-24M models, manufactured during the 1940s in the USA. Made from aluminium, the plane is 68 feet long, with a wingspan of 110 feet, and is metallic silver with a distinctive blue and white target design on each side. The aircraft is powered by four wing-mounted engines, and is fitted with 10 heavy machine guns.Registration number on side of fuselage at rear of plane: 'A72-176' Inscription on side of fuselage at front of plane: 'ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE / US ARMY B24-10 CO / AIR FORCES SERIAL NUMBER 44-41956' aircraft, liberator, bomber, wwii

Book - 84 pages black and white on gloss paper + colour card covers, centre stapled, titled "Melbourne's Tramways", written by David Keenan, published by Transit Press's in 1985. Gives an overview of the Melbourne, tramway development, the system itself including operation, fares, tickets, crew training, tramcars and their maintenance, track, power supply, tram routes, depots and allocation at the time. Has maps of the system, Preston workshops, depots, tramway track types, electrical system and services details of routes, running times and service frequencies along with many photographs. Includes photos of emergencies, track work and other aspects of the system in 1984. 'Has a sticker in the top right hand corner "TDO $12.00"trams, tramways, melbourne, tramways, history, trackwork, depots, fares, tickets, training, tram routes, tramcars, maintenance, power supply, maps, operations

Set of four black and white prints of W2 221 derailed at South Melbourne tram depot, late 1960's? This tram was used a training vehicle for recovery crews to re-rail trams. Again possibly an early use of this vehicle as such - has "Kenric Best for Boys wear" sign on one end, and a "Collision not to be moved" Auxiliary board on the other end. In the background are AEC Meal Bus, Works vehicle No. 6, mobile crane used in track relaying and South Melbourne depot buildings.trams, tramways, training, emergency, accidents, recovery, mmtb, south melbourne depot, derailments, tram 221, tram 6, aec, track cleaner, works cars

Madagascar was a large British merchant ship built for the trade to India and China in 1837 that disappeared on a voyage from Melbourne to London in 1853. The disappearance of Madagascar was one of the great maritime mysteries of the 19th century and has probably been the subject of more speculation than any other 19th-century maritime puzzle, except for the Mary Celeste. Madagascar, the second Blackwall Frigate, was built for George and Henry Green at the Blackwall Yard, London, a shipyard that they co-owned with the Wigram family. A one-eighth share in the vessel was held throughout her 16-year career by her first master Captain William Harrison Walker Walker. Madagascar carried freight, passengers, and troops between England and India until the end of 1852. In addition to her normal crew, she also carried many boys being trained as officers for the merchant marine. Known as midshipmen from naval practice, their parents or guardians paid for their training, and they only received a nominal wage of usually a shilling a month. Due to the Victorian Gold Rush, Madagascar, under the command of Captain Fortescue William Harris, was sent to Melbourne with emigrants. She left Plymouth on 11 March 1853 and, after an uneventful passage of 87 days, reached Melbourne on 10 June. Fourteen of her 60 crew jumped ship for the diggings, and it is believed only about three replacements were signed on. She then loaded a cargo that included wool, rice, and about two tonnes of gold valued at £240,000, and took on board about 110 passengers for London. On Wednesday 10 August, just as she was preparing to sail, police went on board and arrested a bushranger John Francis, who was later found to have been one of those responsible for robbing on 20th July the Melbourne Private Escort between the McIvor goldfield at Heathcote, Victoria and Kyneton. On the following day, the police arrested two others, one on board the ship and the other as he was preparing to board. As a result of these arrests, Madagascar did not leave Melbourne until Friday 12 August 1853. After she left Port Phillip Heads Madagascar was never seen again. When the ship became overdue many theories were floated, including spontaneous combustion of the wool cargo, hitting an iceberg and, most controversially, being seized by criminal elements of the passengers and/or crew and scuttled, with the gold being stolen and the remaining passengers and crew murdered. There have been many rumors as to what happened to Madagascar over the years but what really happened is still a mystery. The lithograph was made around 1950 from an original painting of Madagascar a Vessel with a notorious past and is interesting and a significant item for the ships part in early Victorian history. The picture is it’s self not valuable or can be associated with a significant person in history. The interest lies in the events that are linked to the ship in the mid 19th century.Lithograph of the ship Madagascar, in a wooden frameThe Madagascar East Indiaman 1000 tonsflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, lithograph, the madagascar, east indiaman

This photograph is of the square-rigged schooner "Alma Doepel". Details added to the back of the photograph incorrectly describe the vessel as "Amy Doepel / ketch / Amy Doepel". The rigging on the vessel dates the photograph to sometime between 1931-1933. The location is yet to be determined. Frederick Doepel was a shipping agent in Bellinger Valley, NSW. He employed an experienced shipwright to build Alma Doepel, which was made from local timber. He named the ship “Alma Doepel” after his baby daughter Alma. The ship was registered in Sydney and launched 19th October 1903, and her first sea voyage was in December. She traded in timber Port Macquarie/Bellinger River and New Zealand. “Alma Doepel” was purchased by Henry Jones & Co., Hobart jam makers, in partnership with Harry Heather, her new captain, in 1916. The ship was then registered in Hobart. She carried jam and timber to the mainland, particularly Melbourne, and brought back cargo for Tasmania. She even carried the piles for the building of Portland Harbour. When Harry Heather passed away in 1937 he was succeeded by Eric Droscoll. Before the square-rigged "Alma Doepel" left for Tasmania on March 8th 1937 she was fitted with a new set of sails, becoming a fore-and-aft rigged schooner. She had been the last 'top sail' schooner in Bass Strait trade! "Alma Doepel" continued her coastal trading until 1942, when she was requisitioned by the Army. In January 1943 she was left in Melbourne by her crew and the Army took her over, taking her to Sydney in February, 1943. She was relaunched by the Army in 1944 minus two of her masts and her small 1936 engine, and was fitted with three large bus engines. In March 1945 she headed for the war zone, delivering cargo up and down the coast of New Guinea, at one time carrying over 400 troops. In 1946 she returned to Hobart where the Army re-converted her back for Bass Strait trading and returned her. In January 1947 Eric Driscoll took “Alma Doepel” to the eastern Tasmanian coastal port of St. Helens, trading cargo of local mountain ash timber to Melbourne on the mainland until 1959. She was then stripped down to her hull with only a single mast and two engines, and fitted with wooden bins on rails in her hold. From 1961 to 1975 she carried limestone to a factory to make carbide. Michael Wood and David Boykett, two of the governors of "Sail and Adventure", then bought her for the price of her two Gardiner engines and in 1976 they brought her to Melbourne. An Alma Doepel Supporters Club was formed to support the ship’s major restoration to a topsail schooner. In 1987 she was overhauled in Adelaide, with the support of Elders IXL and she returned to Sydney to lead the Parade of Sail on Bicentenary Day, 25th January 1988. She returned to Melbourne in February and began sail training voyages in Port Phillip Bay, operating from an office on Station Pier. The Alma Doepel Voyagers Club was started. Trainees joined the crew in sailing the ship over nine or ten days of instruction in sailing and seamanship. These trips plus chartered trips and fund raisers continued until early 1999, when she was no longer in a condition to operate; she needed a lot of attention. She lay idle in Victoria Dock for quite some time. In April 2001 “Alma Doepel” was taken to Port Macquarie’s Lady Nelson Wharf where she became a museum ship maintained by volunteers. In 2008 she had time in dry-dock and after sea-trials headed off to Victoria Harbour, Docklands, in Melbourne, where she is currently being restored with the help of The Supporters.This phot graph is significant for its connection with the Bass Strait trade, being the last top-sail schooner to brade across the strait. The photograph is also significant in its representation of the the sailing ships that traded around Australia in the 1930s.Photograph of "Alma Doepel " a wooden, 3 masted, square rigged sailing schooner built in Sydney, launched in 10/10/1903. Photograph is sepia coloured, mounted on card, inscription on the back. Information also provided with photograph. Photograph (marked incorrectly on back) "Amy Doepel / ketch / Amy Doepel". Sticker with "91" in pencil. Information provided (dated incorrectly) "1943, Sydney, New South Wales"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwreck coast, maritime museum, maritime village, photograph, alma doepel, frederick doepel, henry jones and co, harry heather, eric droscoll, alma doepel supporters club, elders ixl, parade of sail, bicentenary day, alma doepel voyagers club, last top sail schooner in bass strait trade, square-rigged, fore-and-aft rigged

In 1935, the CB Pedersen arrived on the 13th of April after 198 days at sea. The ship left on the 18th June (date written on the photograph) after two months in Melbourne. Captain Dalhstrom had been its skipper for 13 years. In the Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 27 April 1937, page 12: "The C. B. Pedersen was built in 1891. It has visited Australia several times, the most recent occasion having been in 1935, when It was anchored in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, for several weeks, awaiting a suitable cargo. At length the master, (Captain Hjalmar Dahlström) announced that, as no cargo could be obtained he would be prepared to carry passengers in a voyage to Gothenburg, via Torres Strait. Eight persons, including three women and a small boy were accepted as passengers, and signed on as members of the crew at salaries of 1/ a month". Artist Violet Teague was one of the passengers. She painted during the voyage and exhibited her work in 1938. Built in 1891 the C.B Pedersen, a four-masted steel barque (2142 tons) was used as a training Barque. The ship foundered in April 1937, the crew was saved.The C.B. Pedersen was one of the last windjammers sailing in the 1930s with the Herzogin Cecilie and the Grace Harwar. Black and white photographLower right corner front in black ink: H. Dahlström / June 13th 1935 / On board the CBP / in Hobson's Bayc.b. pedersen, captain hjalmar dahlström, violet teague, windjammer, sweden

In the Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 27 April 1937, page 12: "The C. B. Pedersen was built in 1891. It has visited Australia several times, the most recent occasion having been in 1935, when It was anchored in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, for several weeks, awaiting a suitable cargo. At length the master, (Captain Hjalmar Dahlström) announced that, as no cargo could be obtained he would be prepared to carry passengers in a voyage to Gothenburg, via Torres Strait. Eight persons, including three women and a small boy were accepted as passengers, and signed on as members of the crew at salaries of 1/ a month". Artist Violet Teague was one of the passengers. She painted during the voyage and exhibited her work in 1938. Built in 1891 the C.B Pedersen, a four-masted steel barque (2142 tons) was used as a training Barque. The ship foundered in April 1937, the crew was saved. Several photographs of the C.B. Pedersen taken by the same studio are held at the State Library of Victoria.see links aboveBlack and white photograph depicting two sailors in attire on the deck of a ship.verso in Black ink; Photographic studio stampcrew, c.b pedersen, captain hjalmar dahlström, violet teague, windjammer

This bundel of twenty pages of meteorological observations covers the period between March 1947 and April 1948 but there are some gaps. The bundle includes handwritten records on pre-printed forms from the Commonwealth Government and brief records on plain paper. There are calculations for monthly totals of information such as rainfall, and there are some comparisons between the years. One of the forms has handwriting in three directions, which is quite unusual. Readings were recorded daily for barometer, temperature and wind. There was also a section for comments on Exceptional Phenomena such as storms and fog. . It was one of the many duties of the Lighthouse Keeper or his Assistant to keep these records and make the mathematical calculations required by the Government. Information gathered from Lighthouse Keepers' letters tells of the large amount of time taken for this detailed work and the lack of payment made for such a responsibility. The quite detailed record for May, June and July 1947 were signed by C Carrington, Harbour Master for Warrnambool. Captain Carrington was responsible to the Harborus Board. He was responsibilite for the fortnightly training of the Warrnambool Lifeboat Crew on the practice of lifesaving and using the Rocket Rescue equipment. These Meteorological Observations are an important accurate record of the local weather since the late 1899s. They are part of Flagstaff Hill's Meteorological Observations collection of over seventy record books dating from the late 19th century. The collected information gives a picture of the weather patterns for the months and seasons, which then allows for warnings of events out of the normal or extreme, such as forecasting floods or droughts.Meteorological Observations for Warrnambool March 1947 to May 1948. A bundle of unbound sheets of paper joined at the top left corner with a metal fastener. The pages are ordered from most recent on top to the oldest on bottom. The older records are on pre-printed forms and include many handwritten details. The more recent records are handwritten on plain paper. There is a line for each day of the month and lines for calculations at the bottom of the page. The handwritten Information includes readings for Barometer, Temperature, Wind and Rain. Printed: "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA METEROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS / Division No. 5, Vic. "flagstaff hill, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, maritime museum, maritime village, meteorological observations, weather records, meteorology, barometer readings, temperature records, barometer records, wind records, rain records, commonwealth of australia, division 5, weather measurement, weather forecast, weather history, carrington, harbour master

Illustrations of Light Horsemen from 2nd Cavalry Division at their training camp at Broadmeadows: two profiles and one of a machine gun crewTwo newspaper images with captionsaustralian army, broadmeadows training camp, light horsemen