Prime Minister’s Suite, Old Parliament House, Canberra

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Main Post: Old Parliament House
The Prime Minister’s suite of rooms is situated in the northeast corner of Old Parliament House, an area that was occupied by the Prime Minister and his staff throughout the life span of the building.
. . .
The suite as it exists today was occupied by three Prime Ministers: Gough Whitlam (occupied it between 1972 to 1975), Malcolm Fraser (occupied it between 1975 to 1983) and Bob Hawke (occupied it between 1983 – 1988), and included offices (for the Prime Minister and his staff), an anteroom for press conferences (also used as a waiting room) and bathrooms.
. . .
Positions that worked in this suite included the principal private secretary, private secretaries, stenographers, senior advisors, advisors, ministerial officers, telephonists and secretarial staff. By the end of the 1980s more than 30 people, with others coming and going at busy times, filled every available corner of this maze of offices.
Museum of Australia Democracy

Photos are presented are in the order they were taken.

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Senate Opposition Party Room, Old Parliament House, Canberra

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Main post: Old Parliament House, Canberra

The Senate Opposition Party Room was known as the Senate Club Room from the opening of Provisional Parliament House in 1927 to 1937. It was a place for Senators from all political parties to congregate in a relaxed atmosphere to converse, write letters, read, or to enjoy film nights. Use of the Senate Club Room was later restricted to opposition Senators, who had lost the use of their former party room after the 1929 election, since which time it has been known as the Senate Opposition Party Room.

The room featured comfortable club style lounges and easy chairs, tables, mail boxes, large glass-fronted bookcases and (a later addition) sound proof telephone boxes for Senators without their own office space.
Museum of Australia Democracy

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Cellar, Woolmers

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At Woolmers Estate, near Longford. The steps down to the cellar are at the end there, on the other side of the railing.


At the top is an information panel that says:

CELLARS
Part of the original construction of the weatherboard homestead. The Cellar rooms are paved in sandstone flags and have a ceiling height of 2700mm (9 feet). Drainage pits in the floors of each room appear to maintain a steady level. Pin in room 4 remains constantly empty. Vaulted storage bins added in 1840s. Possibly to house the cider barrels.

Original entrance to the cellar was through a trap door from inside the house. Present entrance down timber topped brick steps install in the 1840s.


Look up


Through first doorway.


Through second doorway.


Now heading back


Back through here


And there's another room to the side

And out!

Tram

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Larger version.

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, P.S. Gem

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Larger image

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.

To Middle Deck.

To Middle Deck

 

Upper Deck, P.S. Gem

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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.

Down to Middle Deck

Down to Middle Deck.

Middle Deck, P.S. Gem

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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.

To upper deck

Into Music Saloon

Into cabin

To Upper deck

To Lower deck

Produce Wagon, Echuca, Victoria

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Larger version

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.

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Water Cart, Horse-drawn

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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