Historical information

These pencils were supplied to the Orbost railway Station office to be used for clerical work. They were used by Victor Smithers who was the Assistant Station Master at Orbost from 1957 - late 1960's. He was also a reliever until the 1970's after which he returned to Ormond Station on the Frankston line where he worked until his death in 1979.
The Bairnsdale-Orbost railway was opened in 1916 to serve the agricultural and timber industry. Because of the decline in traffic and heavy operating costs, the line was finally closed in August, 1987.
Orbost Railway Station was opened on Monday 10 April 1916 as the terminus of the Orbost railway line, and closed in 1987. The station was located on the west side of the Snowy River despite the town of Orbost being on the east side of the river, in order to save on the costs of a bridge over the river, which at the time had highly variable levels.

Significance

This item is associated with the history of the Orbost-Bairnsdale railway line and therefore reflects the role that the rail line played in the social and economic history of Orbost.

Physical description

Two coloured pencils. 2580.1 is a hexagonal blue pencil and has "Wolff's Emperor MADE IN AUSTRALIA".
2580.2 is a round red pencil with "Wolff's Fintorex MADE IN AUSTRALIA coloured copying".
Both have "VICTORIAN RAILWAYS" marked in gold lettering on the sides.