Museum Matters           Edition3   September 2007                                               

Just like Old Father Thames, work at the museum site keeps rolling along.  Our “centrefold” for this edition features Allan (left) and Don (right) from the Old Machinery Club who, along with Michael, have joined our merry crew and have been busy getting some of the old engines back into operating condition.  They are pictured here standing next to an old mobile engine built by Victoria Oil and Gas a long, long time ago.  Initially they thought their good looks and charm, and Don’s legs, would be sufficient to get the “old girl” chugging away but soon learned that this wasn’t going to happen and that blood, sweat, toil and muttered oaths were required for success.

In addition to this old engine , Don and Allan have bought back to life a “Tangye” mobile engine built by the General Electric Engineering Company of Perth (WA), which was used on the Duce’s property at the turn of the 20^th century to pump water from the Preston River, and Michael spent an enjoyable Sunday getting one of the smaller stationary engines working again.  

On Sunday, a group of our volunteers went sleeper collecting in the back blocks of Collie so that we would have the necessaries to resleeper track inside the museum site and to construct some new lengths of track.  Many thanks to Nick Filipich for organising and leading this expedition and to his willing band of helpers Des Satie, Keith Robinson and Trevor Wright.  Special thanks to Tim Polglase who provided and drove the truck which enabled some one hundred or so sleepers to be brought back to the museum.  

With the birthday party for the “Australind” fast approaching (more details later in this edition), Len Pead and Colin Ashworth have been busy ensuring that we have plenty of chairs in tip top condition for our visitors to use – thanks guys.  

Terry Coleman and Ross Booth have nearly completed the external restoration of heritage carriage ACM 391 and she is going to look a picture when they have finished with her – great work, gents.  

Many thanks to Rainer Beelitz who has been checking the condition of our electric hand tools – he has found a couple to be in dangerous and irreparable condition.  

Thanks to the generosity of the Lions Club of Boyanup, we have been able to use its large shed on the museum site as a covered workshop for woodworking and painting.  This has been most welcome considering the run of wet weather we have had over the past couple of months.  

We have been very fortunate to have had the control panel for the South West mainline from Pinjarra to Bunbury donated to the museum, with the offer by WestNet Rail staff to set it up in operational condition when we are ready.  For this donation, we are very grateful to Kevin Kinsella and WestNet Rail.  

Currently, we have 3 applications for funding “on the go”.  We have applied for Regional Development Scheme funding to repair and make more user friendly the roundhouse, Regional Volunteering Small Grants Program funding to purchase materials for further restorations and to provide written materials on what is required to correctly restore a heritage item and the Shire of Capel’s Minor Community Grants Scheme funding to fully fit out the Lions’ shed as a workshop.  Fingers crossed!  

On Sunday, November 25^th, we will be celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the commencement of the “Australind” train service between Perth and Bunbury and the 20^th anniversary of the introduction of the current rail cars to this service.  The area at the front of the museum site will be the location of the festivities, which will run from 9.00am to 3.00pm.  There will be a number of rail related displays and exhibits as well as displays by community groups such as the Old Machinery Club, the South West Model Engineers and Harvey History On-line.  In addition, the Boyanup Volunteer Fire Brigade will have their headquarters and equipment open for display just over the road from the museum site.

Some of the former “Australind” carriages will used to provide light refreshments and to let you sit back in comfort and remember, or experience for the first time, the luxury and romance of rail travel from days gone by.

As this will be a Boyanup Farmers Market day, it means that there will be plenty to keep all of the family happy for the day in Boyanup.  

As always, we will be pleased to welcome you and your friends if you/they wish to get involved in the restoration and/or operation of heritage equipment – give Ian a call on 9796 1681 to organise a time to come and see what we are up to and what you might like to get involved in.  

The next meeting of the Boyanup Foundation is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16^th, commencing at 7.30pm in the Jack and Mary Kitchen Community Centre, Thomas Street , Boyanup.  We hope that you can attend and have your say.

Norm Chapple

for the Boyanup Foundation