EPEX Engineering Products
Founded in 1927, Engineering Products Pty Ltd of Burnley produced a specialised range of products from petrol pumps, road tankers and fuel tanks to aircraft refuellers under the ‘EPEX’ brand name. Research involves documenting a collection of business records and photographs relating to the company’s operations and examining case studies of engineering innovation including the EPEX coin-operated petrol pumps developed for after-hours fuel sales at service stations in the 1950s.
Project contact: Matthew Churchward
Horse-drawn Vehicles in Victoria
This project involves a study of horse-drawn vehicle manufacturers and public passenger and mail coach services in Victoria during the period 1850-1915, including the many businesses that operated under the ubiquitous “Cobb & Co” banner.
Project contact: Matthew Churchward
International Harvester Collection
The International Harvester Company of Australia Pty Ltd was formed in 1912 as a subsidiary of the International Harvester Company of America created by the merger of five leading American agricultural machinery manufacturers in 1902.
The company imported and marketed a large range of farm equipment, motor trucks and later earth-moving and construction equipment throughout Australia and New Zealand. Local manufacturing and assembly works were later established at South Melbourne, Spotswood (in 1922), Geelong (in 1939), Dandenong (in 1952) and Port Melbourne (in 1958), In 1992, Museum Victoria acquired a large collection of photographic images, product catalogues, videos, motion picture films, company journals, advertisements and newspaper cutting files relating to the operations of the International Harvester Company in Australia.
Current research is focused on cataloguing glass-plate and film negatives from the period 1930s-1950s and developing summary information on specific product lines and models that were sold and manufactured in Australia.
Project contacts: Matthew Churchward and David Crotty
Pioneer Aviator, John Duigan
This research involves a detailed examination of the life and work of John Robertson Duigan, who in 1910 became the first person to achieve controlled powered flight in an Australian designed and built aircraft. The work looks at Duigan’s training and influences, development of his various aircraft designs and his later career, including service as a military pilot during the First World War.
It is intended that a book will be published by Museum Victoria in mid-2010, to coincide with the centenary of Duigan’s first flight.
Project contact: David Crotty
Vickers Ruwolt Collection
Founded by Charles Ruwolt at Wangaratta in 1901, this business relocated to Richmond in 1912 becoming one of Melbourne’s leading engineering works, producing a wide range of mining machinery, dredges, road-making plant, industrial equipment and structural steelwork.
Current research is focused on cataloguing a collection of 1,000 glass-plate negatives depicting the company’s products and better documenting the firm’s product range in the post World War II years.
Project contact: David Crotty