Up Close & Inside
Cobb & Co Coach, at 
">Melbourne Museum.
The associated info panel says"
This coach is believed to have been built in Geelong in about 1880 for the Western Stage Company, which ran coaches throughout western Victoria under the 'Cobb & Co' banner. Pulled by four or five horses, the coach carried up to 17 passengers. Mail and luggage were stowed in the compartment below the driver's seat, and on the rear luggage rack or roof.
I didn't get a photo of the whole ship so I'll have to use one from Wikipedia Commons
Paddle Steamer Alexander Arbuthnot, Echuca Paddlesteamers. Photos from July 2019
The Alexander Arbuthnot is the last paddle steamer built as a working boat on the Murray River, Australia. The ship was built by the Arbuthnot Sawmill at Koondrook, in 1916, as a barge, and named after the sawmill's founder. She was fitted with an engine and superstructure in 1923. The engine was built by Ruston & Hornsby of England and was once used in an earlier boat called The Glimpse.
Wikipedia.
Her normal schedule was to tow two outrigger barges upstream from the mill, with two men to each barge. She would drop them off at a landing where the barges would be loaded with logs and then floated, unaided by the steamer, downstream back to the mill. Meanwhile, PS Alexander Arbuthnot would return to the mill, collect another barge and ply downstream to Campbell’s Island where she would await the loading of the barge and tow it back. Each barge was capable of transporting about 300 tons for red gum logs.
Echuca Paddlesteamers
Railway station at Echuca including interior, public toilet, platform & some surrounding structures.
The railway reached Echuca in 1864, and transformed the town into a major river port, with the opening of the Echuca Wharf and substantial urban growth in the 1870s. In 1876, the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company opened their 71 km (44 mi) long private railway northwards to Deniliquin. The brick station building at Echuca was provided on opening of the line, along with a double gable roofed brick goods shed, and three road locomotive depot. The station building was expanded in 1877, a large water tower being erected in the same year (demolished in 1977), and the iron footbridge was added in 1880. The concrete rail bridge over the Murray River to the north of the station opened in 1989, replacing a road and rail bridge which opened in 1878.
Wikipedia.
Port of Echuca Discovery Centre
From information panels:
Guard's Van
In Australia, guard's vans were often also used for carrying parcels and light freight and usually had large compartments and loading doors for such items. Some of the larger vans also included a compartment for passengers travelling on goods services or drovers travelling with their livestock. The small compartment at the front of this van would have been used to carry passenger's pets or a drover's dog.
Guards Van (Brake Van) (ZL 448)
...
This of is an example of the most numerous type of brake van used by Victorian Railways over a very long period. It was built at Newport Workshops and entered traffic in 1914. In 1961 it was altered to. incorporate long travel draft gear.
Back to Steam train, Echuca, Victoria
A2 steam locomotive, Port of Echuca Discovery Centre
The A2 class was an express passenger locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1907 to 1963. A highly successful design entirely the work of Victorian Railways' own design office, its long service life was repeatedly extended as economic depression and war delayed the introduction of more modern and powerful replacement locomotives.
Wikipedia.
Back to Steam train, Echuca, Victoria
From the information panel just before going aboard, the Gem was built in 1876 as a barge, but a year later "was fitted with’4 40 horsepower steam engine, wood fired boilers and upper works enabling her to be employed carrying freight and passengers on the River Murray as a steamer.
In 1882, she was "cut in half using simple hand tools and the two pieces dragged apart by bullocks. A new 12 metre section was inserted in the space and an extra deck was added to allow more room for both passengers and cargo."
"In service, her lower deck was used for cargo storage; engine room, dining room and galley. Passenger accommodation was located on the middle deck, while the top deck was used for the wheelhouse and to accommodate the crew. The Gem also had a Smoking Room at the rear of the upper deck for gentlemen and a Music Room for the ladies at the front of the middle deck."
Part of the horse-drawn vehicle collection at Swan Hill's Pioneer Settlement.
The horse-drawn Omnibus was a French invention which came to Australia via England in the mid nineteenth century, it was the equivalent of the modern suburban bus. Similar to the Family Wagonette in that it has parallel side seats, panelled sides and a rear entrance. Unlike the Wagonette though, it also has a fixed top, and windows.
The Omnibus displayed here is a basic model suited to a provincial Mallee town. It lacks the glass widows and the rooftop seating that were found on omnibuses in major cities. The history of this vehicle before arriving at the Settlement is, unfortunately, unknown.
Part of the horse-drawn vehicle collection at Swan Hill's Pioneer Settlement.
This Hearse was manufactured in Scotland, probably towards the end of the nineteenth century, and was imported for use in the suburbs of Melbourne. Once horse-drawn hearses started to fall out of favour with the more modern citizens of the City, it was transferred from Ravens Undertakers in Kew to their branch in Nagambie and then later again to Castlemaine.
Earlier hearses were much plainer, simply black, glass sided boxes, which looked very depressing. Towards the end of the nineteenth century though, there was a move towards a more flamboyant, if still understated, look and the cost of a funeral would be affected by the type and amount of decoration required on the Hearse and horses.
Restored tram, belonging to Hobart City Council.
First paragraph:
TRAM NO. 39
Built in 1917 as a two-man tram.
No. 39 was originally operated by both a driver and a conductor. In 1926 it was converted to a one-man tram on which the driver was also required to collect the fares. After about 1946, when No. 39 was taken out of service, it served for a number of years as the meal room at the Moonah tram depot. It 1949 a former tramways inspector purchased No. 39 for £10 and kept it in his backyard in New Town for almost 40 years.
Lower deck on P.S. Gem, at the Swan River Pioneer Settlement.
From information panel on post:
ENGINE ROOM
Following her conversion from barge to paddle steamer in 1877, this space would have been filled with the large, wood fired boiler which provided the steam for the engine. That was linked directly to the paddles through shafts either side. As can be seen in the photograph, the wood used as fuel took up a great deal of space here too. In 1891/92 that original engines was supplemented with a second set of pistons, increasing both power and efficiency.
Upper deck on P.S. Gem, at the Swan River Pioneer Settlement.
THE WHEELHOUSE
The nature of river travel on the ever changing Murray River required that the Captain have good visibility in order to guide his vessel through the pitfalls of snags, changing river levels and sand bars. From his perch high up in the wheelhouse the captain could pilot his boat secure in the knowledge that he had the best possible view--even if the foredeck was piled high with cargo. The broad decks fore and aft of the wheelhouse and accommodation on this level were also favourite spots for passengers. Overhead frames could be fitted with canvas shades on hot sunny days.
MURRAY RIVER CHART
The original Murray River charts were individually sketched by each captain based on his knowledge and experience in navigating the river. He would use India ink on cotton or linen materials and would map out features and topography for the appropriate length of the river. The map would then be rolled up like a scroll and unrolled as the boat progressed along different parts of the river. Survey bench marks, islands, snags and buildings would be added to the map by the Captain in order to assist in navigation. This section of a map shows part of the River Murray between Swan Hill and Boundary Bend; approximately 85 river miles (140 kilometres) downriver.
iddle deck on P.S. Gem, at the Swan River Pioneer Settlement.
From panel:
ART GALLERY
As part of the process of converting the PS Gem to an Art Gallery, all of the dividing bulkheads between the cabins along this row were removed. This gave a single large space which could be used for exhibitions. However, like the dividers in an egg box, the bulkheads also served a structural purpose and their removal meant that this deck of the vessel was largely open causing the vessel to change shape.
BATHROOMS
As "Queen of the Murray", the Gem was expected to provide a level of luxury beyond that of the "ordinary' boat. One of the elements of luxury which passengers could experience on the Gem was in the row of bathrooms and toilet facilities on either side of the main passenger deck.
Although the water wasn't plumbed, crew members would bring buckets of hot water up from the boiler room and passengers | could luxuriate in a hot bath.
It was, however, still the Murray River water and, given that the toilets simply emptied straight out into the river, as did every other paddle steamer using it, there was no guarantee of the water’s cleanliness.
At Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre
From eHive entry:
Steam engine (portable), c.1900
"A single cylinder, wood fired portable steam engine. It would have been moved to the job by bullocks or horses."
Port of Echuca Discovery Centre
From information panel:
Produce Wagon
This very significant van is one of 71 box vans built at Newport Workshops in 1893 with a solid timber door and a barred door to provide ventilation when carrying fruit or vegetables. These vans were the last design of H class box van on Victorian Railways, and only remained in their intended use for a relatively short time.
This water cart has two points of interest on the back. On the left is an information panel and on the right is an opening that lets you look inside.
The panel says:
This water cart was used at the Tasmania Mine to spray the mine year to rest the dust. The driver could operate the release valves with a foot lever.
The draught horse pulling the cart must have been a powerful animal as the tank held amost a tonne (1000kg) of water!
Inside
At the National Museum of Australia (database record, has more photos).
The accompanying panel says:
Concord model thorough-brace coach 1860-80
This coach may have been manufactured by Cobb and Co. at its Charleville coachworks in Queensland or by a smaller company in the Gunnedah area of New South wales. It was used on Robert Nowland's Gunnedah to Coonabarabran mail run, probably the 1870s. At first this 100-kilometre route followed a rough bush track, if the coach got bogged or the road was too steep for the four-in-hand horse term, passengers had to get out and walk. In 18880, just after the railway reached Gunnedah, the government built a good road between the two towns. Nowland was granted persimmons to use the road in 1882 and it proved a lucrative route. If the weather was fine, the new route took 12 hours, with tree stops along the way to change horses.
Trunk about 1900
When the coach was acquired by the Museum in 1980 this wooden trunk came with it. The tray on the rear of the coach, known as the 'boot', was used for luggage, as was the roof. Goods were sometimes stowed under the seats and could bang passengers' legs on rough stretches of road.
Inside.
