Tuesday, February 13, 2018

 

Canberra's Fantastic Fire Museum

On Saturday the Oldies took me to Canberra's old Fire Station. It is now a museum containing lots of historical relics of the early days of fire-fighting in the city. The original 1927 control room is still there, as well as later communications gear. The building is just one of what was a whole complex of buildings that housed the fire crews as well as their equipment. The other buildings are now mostly office buildings. For this small bear the best thing is the collection of fire engines, ranging from old suburban hand-drawn ones to the huge airport fire cannon pump truck. The gadget at the foot of the stairs is one of the hand-drawn hose carts that were sited in different suburbs. The wheel on the left of the picture is part of a ladder on a 1930s truck. Back in the early days of the service, Canberra firemen wore uniforms like the one in the top row of pictures; I really want one of those brass helmets. The suit in the bottom row is what they wore when they had to go into burning buildings to rescue people, pets and small bears. The old fire truck, a 1929 Albion, is one of the first in Canberra. It was what our guide called "a mongrel to crank-start", but was in service into the 1950s.The other truck is one of the last red ones in service; Canberra fire engines are now yellow. Do you know why the old fire stations in old cities are on the hills? It is so it is easier for the hand-drawn (or horse-drawn) carts and slow old trucks to get to the fire quicker; our guide told me that and he knows.
More pictures from here soon.

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