Melbourne: Seldom seen oldies (pt 3)

Here's another seldom seen:

Bronteboy said:

Quite okay - The Collector 'owns' these topics and we all know and appreciate it. I am a mere dilettante at his knee, and this forum is so lucky to have such a character.

Click to expand...

You're making me blush. :|
Only doing what I can, nothing more, nothing less.
As long as threads like this one are appreciated, expect more from me as well.

Well done by the way Bronteboy! kay:

Wonderful pictures again.

I know I'm nit picking but the lagoon is north west of the city; you can see Flagstaff Gardens in the picture. I think that they used to call it West Melbourne swamp. I assume that that is where most of Batman's hill and some of the spoil from the Coode canal ended up.

I wish there was more information about the Coode canal scheme - it was a very large project - in earth work terms probably even bigger than East Link.

^^Coode Canal seen in the center of the map below, named after Sir John Coode (engineer for the harbour trust), opened on 11 August 1886.
This 1956 map also shows the outline of Yarra's old course which was filled in.
Before it was filled, it helped form an island from the construction of Coode Canal.
That is how Coode Island got its name.



Steam driven machinery digs the Coode Canal – the new course of the Yarra.

I have a set of early maps of the lower Yarra in Melbourne btween the city and bay...the first is in 1837..then you will see the dramatic change in the next 20 years to 1857.....then I will jump to map 5 then 7.....hope they are not too big?

I have just resized diagrams........ the last.....1990

auslankan said:

I bet not many people realised there was an "areodrome" at Fishermans Bend up untill the 1950s as shown on the map.

Click to expand...

auslankan, the aerodrome you refer to was Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) later the Government Aircraft Factory (GAF) conceived by the BHP industrialist Essengton Lewis and people like Holden's Laurence Hartnett in 1935, and opened in 1937. Thousands of military aircraft were built there through World War 11 to the jet age, including Canberra bombers, Vampire fighters, the CAC Sabre (pictured) up to the assembly of Mirages and the Macchi trainers, and later.

It's still there. It became Hawker DeHavilland (Victoria) in 1986, and there's an RAAF aeronautical research laboratory connected somewhere out there at Fishermen's bend, which has a long aviation history.


.

Just pushing on with CAC at Fishermen's Bend a little, because it is an interesting part of Melbourne's industrial history: there were 1683 aircraft produced by CAC, but many others during World War 11 and later also at the GAF. At some point the two become interchangeable, and a brief look at their history is confusing.

There were four airstrips at Fishermen's Bend and frankly I'm not sure if there are any there now. The CAC airstrip ended at what is now the main gate area of the aeronautical laboratories.

PS There's a Sabre outside the aircraft museum at Moorabbin airport, which is quite excellent for aircraft buffs. A Mirage inside also - looks huge compared to earlier generation fighter aircraft.

Built on licence from North American, the CAC Avon Sabre had a more powerful engine and was a 60% re-design of the NA F-86 of Korea fame. This was the assembly line:



war-time pic:




Mustang production, 1946

Not sure if I should have started another thread ??? this is the typical Melbourne portrait of the early 1950's

Bourke St. looking east early 50's

I think even the water in the river is different now.....early 50's !

Here are a few from a decade earlier..mostly around south Melbourne toward the docklands or in Docklands......so pretty in the 40's. This one is the gas works right where Collins St is being extended today