FIRE BRIGADES

Early fire fighting services were provided by the military, then later by volunteer groups, some sponsored by insurance companies or municipalicities. See the ‘Sporting Clubs and Volunteer Organisations” page for more on some of these early brigades.

http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/uniform-buttons-2/sporting-clubs-and-volunteer-organisations/

 

 

 

The button by Mockton was thought to be from the Castlemaine Fire Brigade. The article below shows it was for the Country Fire Brigade.

 

Country Fire Authority Victoria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The CFA was created on 2 April 1945 following significant bushfires during the period 1939–1944 which killed 114 people, destroyed nearly 1400 homes and damaged large areas of the state. Significant numbers of livestock also perished. Subsequent investigations by a royal commission in 1944 showed a lack of cohesive firefighting ability outside the central metropolitan area. The CFA took over existing brigades, many of which had been established in the 19th or early 20th century.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Fire_Authority

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

City Of Melbourne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The buttons were used for Town Hall staff such as attendants, chauffeurs, hall-keepers, etc.

To see The City of Melbourne Collection of buttons, see http://citycollection.melbourne.vic.gov.au/uniform-buttons-city-of-melbourne/

 

City Of Prahran.

The city of Prahran was declared in 1879. At first they did not adopt uniforms, seeing them to be a waste of money. From 1888 the caretaker at the town hall was supplied with one:

From 1900 outside officers and employees were to wear uniforms. There was ongoing problems with Inspector Rider, who would not always wear his whilst on duty! Complaints were made! In 1908 it was reported that the nature and colour of uniforms for street sweepers had not been decided upon.

I wish I could claim the button belongs to Mr Lacy, Mr Bell or to stubborn Inspector Rider, but the button is of the type made post-1950 with two holes in the back plate. Could it be one of these volunteers?

 

Customs

The above was a South Australian Customs Department button  dating 1878-1897.

 

Post 1954.

It’s interesting to realise that Australian Custom officers had no uniforms prior to December 1954.  The buttons above are from custom uniforms.  They show the Australian Coat of Arms are made of made of a hard black plastic.

See also  http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/16th-november-2021/

 

Fremantle Harbour Trust

Harbour masters were first appointed at Fremantle in 1829.  Five commissioners met for the first formal meeting of the new Fremantle Harbour Trust on 5th January 1903. They were responsible for control of the harbour including building and maintaining all sheds, piers, roads, the lighthouse, buoys and signals, etc, built there. They could lease land for industries and businesses. They would employ people to load and unload wharves, and also pilots and signalmen. They would manage wrecks,  collect shipping dues and make regulations relating to the harbour. This was replaced by the Fremantle Port Authority in 1964.

 

Fremantle Port Authority

The trust was replaced in November 1964 by the Fremantle Port Authority, who “manage shipping channels, navigation aids, cargo wharves, the Fremantle Passenger Terminal, road and rail transport infrastructure, moles and seawalls and other port infrastructure.”, as per the WA government website.

https://fremantlestuff.info/buildings/harbourtrust.html

https://www.fremantleports.com.au/

 

Government House Hobart

The current Government House is the 3rd (4th if you include the tent the first Governor had to live in for two years), built from 1855-1857.

 

Maritime Services Board  of New South Wales

The  Maritime Services Board  of New South Wales was established in 1936, replacing the previous Sydney Harbour Trust and also the Department of Navigation, and would continue until 1995. It administered the ports of Sydney and Newcastle as well as issuing watercraft licenses. The button shows a simplified  shield of N.S.W. with a King’s crown and an anchor.

 

Metropolitan Transit Authority, Victoria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MET was a Victorian Government authority operating passenger trains, trams and buses from 1983, when it took over from Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board, VicRail metropolitan trains division, and the Loop Authority. In 1989 it was merged with the State Transit Authority ( STA; operating country and freight trains) to form the Public Transport Corporation (PTC). The PTC was progressively privatised from 1993.

 

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service

In 1967 the Fauna Protection Panel and the Reserves Branch of the Lands Department were amalgamated into this new service, under the Department of Lands, Industry and Environment. They study and conserve wildlife and land, map protected areas, and up-keep fire trails. The photo below is from the NSW State Archives of the first meeting of its staff. The buttons can be seen on the jackets.

 

Parkside Mental Hospital

In 1909 the Parkside Lunatic Asylum was renamed  as Parkside Mental Hospital.

Although the button is labelled Mental Hospital S.A., it must related to this institution. It was renamed Glenside Hospital in 1967.

 

South Australian Marine Board: 1860-1925

What a wonderful button this was when new. The image is from the Board’s seal, gazetted in 1882:

The words ‘Marine Board Sth Australia’ are within a garter encircling the image, and is surmounted by Queen Victoria’s Crown, dating it from 1882-1901, although the board operated from 1860-1925.

According to the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, in 1860 the board took over the responsibilities of the Trinity House of Port Adelaide and the Port Adelaide Harbour Trust.  The Marine Board was responsible for shipping safety, buoys, lighthouses, pilots, dredging and explosives amongst other functions. They were responsible for Port Darwin, as the Northern Territory was then part of South Australia.

 

Qantas

See also the Private uniform page, as it started and returned to private ownership.

Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service was a private company started in 1920. In 1934 it merged with Britain’s Imperial Airways to form Qantas Empire Airways Limited (QEA) and began flying internationally. The fleet was taken over by the government during WW2 for war use.

In 1947 QEA was nationalised by the government, with the British shares bought by the Australian government and Qantas Limited wound up , the Queensland routes being transferred to TAA. It remained named QEA until 1967, when it was renamed Qantas Airlines. Qantas was re-privatised between 1993-1997.

 

State Government Insurance Office

The State Government Insurance Office was set up in Western Australia in 1926, after the success of the Queensland  version from 1916. The main thrust was to support  gold miners who might develop lung disease in the course of their profession. There was opposition to this from the Opposition (no pun intended), claiming it would cost too much and should be left to private insurance companies. The Labour Government at the time claimed that private firms were refusing to offer quotations for the scheme, forcing the government to do so. Despite the actual existence of the Insurance Office, the scheme did not pass into state legislation until 1938!

Over the years the insurance office extended to cover compulsory 3rd party motor vehicle , school children’s and general insurance. Privatised in 1994, the firm offers car,motorcycle, home,business, boat, caravan and travel insurance.

 

Tasmania, Department of Government

 

Trans Australian Airways

The post WW2 Labour government formed a government owned interstate airline. They were to run it as a not-for-profit company, with the profitable eastern seaboard routes subsidising flights in remote areas that the private airlines weren’t interested in supporting. It was meant to be a monopoly, but this was successfully challenged in a High Court appeal by existing airways.  The first official flight of Trans Australian Airways was on 9th September, 1946.  ANA was obliged to improve its service and punctuality in the face of the new competition, but it ended up failing and being bought out by Ansett.  

For more information see  http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/uncategorized/4th-march-2021-taa/

1946-64 design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1964-83 design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1984-6 design

 

1986-1992 “Australian Airlines” design

1993-4 design

1993-4 pilot’s blazer. Worn during the merger of Australian Airlines and Qantas.

 

South Australian Government (generic)

The button on the right is by Stokes & Sons.

 

State Electricity Commission of Victoria

The SEC was the government owned electricity supplier in Victoria, established in 1918. By 1972 it was soley responsible for generation, transmission and supply. In the 1990s it was split up and privatised.

 

State Transport Authority (South Australia)

The STA was the authority overseeing public transport in South Australia from 1974. In 1994 it was split into TransAdelaide and the Passenger Transport Board.

 

Sydney City Council Law Enforcement Officer

Council Officers police the City Council’s by-laws and regulations. The following article outlines the kind of actions taken in Melbourne in 1916, and were probably similar in most cities. Just remember, don’t cause a nuisance when feeding your horse!

 

Sydney Harbour Trust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a New South Wales government authority from November 1901 until 1936. The need for such a trust had been debated since 1892. It had many responsibilities including regulated movement of vessels, handling of cargo, preservation and improvement of the port,removal of wrecks, dredging, licensing piers, maintenance of swimming baths,  wharfage, fire fighting, and safety. Its scope included all foreshores, lighthouses and tugs within the harbour.

After 1936 these duties were taken over by the Maritime Services Board (see above).

 

Trans Australian Airlines

TAA was set up by the national government in 1946 to compete with the privately owned (and dominant) company, Australian National Airways. It was a popular and successful airline, although hamstrung by the limiting “two Airlines Policy”  imposed by the succeeding conservative governments. In 1986 it was rebranded Australian Airlines then acquired by Qantas in 1994.

 

Victoria State Emergency Services

The  Victoria SES has its roots in the volunteer Civil Defence Organisation set up in 1950, to mobilise rapidly in the event of war.  It was renamed in 1975 as the State Emergency Services, and has been involved in most major emergencies since 1950. It is an independent statuary body answerable to the State Minister for Emergency Services. “We are the control agency for flood, storm, tsunami, earthquake and landslide throughout Victoria, and provide the largest road rescue network in Australia, with specialist teams in 102 of our 149 units across the state. “

See https://www.ses.vic.gov.au/who-we-are

 

West Australian Hospital For Insane

Patients were treated the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum from 1865, and also the Whitby Mental Hospital from 1897. These were described as not fit for purpose, so a new hospital was built in Claremont from 1903/4. The old buildings, from 1975 called Swanboure Hospital, were closed in 1986.

 

POLICE/CORRECTIONS & ENFORCEMENT

Australian Capital Territory Police

The Commonwealth Police (ACT) was renamed the Australian Capital Territory Police Force in 1957.  See ‘Commonwealth Police’ below.

 

Commonwealth Peace Officer

The Commonwealth Peace Officer Guard (POG), established in 1925 to provide physical security at government locations across the nation, came under administration of the  Commonwealth Investigation Service (CIS).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commonwealth Police Force

From 1927 until 1957 police of the Federal Capital Territory were known as Commonwealth Police (ACT)  and the Kings Crown buttons likely belonged to this group ( There had been an earlier unit under this name.)

The first Commonwealth Police:

In 1917 the pro-Conscription Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, who had been ‘egged’ whilst speaking in Queensland, became so fed up and distrusting of the state of Queensland (led by anti-conscription Premier T. J. Ryan) that he created a plain-clothed Commonwealth Police Force to ensure that Commonwealth law was adhered to in that “rogue” state and to report on “subversive” activities (i.e. those of groups that disagreed with his views!) This force was disbanded post WW1.

 

Her Majesty’s Goal NSW

See NSW Goal Warders

 

Her Majesty’s Gaol Tasmania

HM Goal Department replaced the Sheriffs Department in 1936 and was in turn replaced by the Goals Department in 1944. It was responsible for the Campbell Street Goal in Hobart as well local goals and watch houses.

 

Native Police

A button in the MAAS museum has an unique, if troubling, Australian story. 

According to the description given in Trove, it dates to 1842-1856:  ‘The name ‘New Holland’, which was not widely used to describe Eastern Australia after 1840, suggests that the button dates from the early years of the native police. If so, the button would come from either the native police force that operated in Port Phillip until 1852, or more likely the force that operated in the northern frontier of N.S.W. from 1848.

See: https://collection.maas.museum/object/85030

The British used armed indigenous forces  throughout their colonies. Native patrol troops, usually under a white officer, were used as cheap, brutal and effective forces. Such troops were set up in all mainland colonies of Australia in the 19th century. Troops were recruited far from where they were to be deployed to ensure lack of tribal sympathies and to provide a disincentive against desertion. The use of native troops was also a clever ploy to reduce revenge attacks against white settlers.

The first government funded troops were in the Port Phillip District from 1837.  It was hoped that this employment would have a civilising effect for the aboriginals.  Unfortunately these troops were used to commit violence and  to aid in the dispossession of the aboriginal people. Colonisation of the mainland would have taken much longer without these troops. Eventually, the use of these troops were called into question, but not before decades of murderous behaviour.

See also:

https://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/native-police

http://aboriginalhistoryofyarra.com.au/8-native-police/

https://archaeologyonthefrontier.com/2020/09/03/buttons/

 

Naval Dockyard Police

The Naval Police formed in 1913, called at that time the Naval Dockyard Police, although they were civilians, and had no real police powers, but did guarding duties. During WW1 they took on counter espionage. They did not cease to be a civilian organisation and become auxiliary of the Navy until 1923, when they also were given statuary powers.  They remained an auxiliary until 1972 when they become part of the navy proper. They were then renamed Naval Police.

 

New South Wales  Department of Correctional Services

The term “Department of Correctional Services” dates from 1970-2009. As Amor became Amor-Sanders in 1978, perhaps these buttons date prior to then.

 

New South Wales Goal Warders

The Queen Victoria crown, plus the “H.M.G.” for Her Majesty’s Gaols, indicate this button dates pre-1902.

 

New South Wales Police Pipe Band

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Started in 1946 by Commissioner William John Mackay, in his honour it has adopted the Mackay tartan and used the crest on the buttons. Unfortunately, the band was made  redundant in July 1989.

 

New South Wales Police

The origin of policing in New South Wales was the use of marines who came with the first fleet in 1788, followed by the short lived appointment of a civilian constable, Mr. John Smith. This was followed  the next year by the appointment of trusted convicts to the role of Night Watch which in turn became the Sydney Foot Police. Early policing was to protect Sydney from thieving and petty crimes after dark. In 1862 all the colonial police forces, such as the Gold Escort and the Mounted Police, were amalgamated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NSW Prisons Department

 

Northern Territory Correctional Services

This is for Northern Territory Correctional Services, a title used since at least 1978.

The MAAS museum has a hat badge with the Australian Coat of Arms with the title “N.T.PRISONS” underneath, from the 1940s. https://collection.maas.museum/object/304341

Recent photos show prison staff wearing a khaki shirt with a silver button on each pocket.

Northern Territory Police

The current Northern Territory Police force started in 1911. Before that the Territory was served by South Australian Mounted Police from 1870 and the Native Police Corps from 1884. Wikipedia notes they have 70 stations and shopfronts, 3 boats, 1 helicopter, 23 horses and 72 camels!

 

Protective Service Officer, Victoria Police

PSOs have provided security services in Victoria since 1987 to guard  places such as the law courts in Melbourne; the Victoria Police Centre, St Kilda Road Police Complex, Parliament House, Treasury, the Shrine of Remembrance, and 121 Exhibition Street (Department of Justice). In 2011 legislation was amended to allow for PSOs to patrol train stations and trains after 6pm each day. recruits undertake training at the Police Academy.

 

Queensland Police Force

Queensland got its own force in 1864, the year of the state’s separation from New South Wales. It was not until 1931 that 2 women were appointed to the force.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queensland Prison Department

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has the Queensland Coat of Arms, but with the wrong supporters; i.e. the animals are the kangaroo and emu as on the Australian Coat of Arms, not the red deer and brolga. The department was known as the Queensland Prison Department from 1891 until 1988. This button was worn in the 1970-80s. It is now known as Queensland Corrective Services.

 

South Australian Penal Establishment

South Australia’s first permanent prison was built 5 years after it was settled in 1841 in Adelaide. In 1853 another prison was built in Northfield (“The Stockade”) next to a quarry for the prisoner’s to be used for labour. By 1870 there were 7 gaols in the colony.

 

South Australian Police

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This force was formally established in 1838, making it the oldest in Australia, and third oldest worldwide. Being a ‘convict free’ colony, its force did not start with former convicts or soldiers. It pioneered the used of fingerprinting in Australia, and had the first women police in the Commonwealth in 1915.

According to John White (retired SAPOL and member of the South Australian Police Historical Society), “Unlike other police forces in Australia that had specific ‘police’ designed uniform buttons, South Australia Police only used a generic ‘SA’ button which was also adopted by other South Australian government agencies, such as the then SA Gaols and Prisons Department (later renamed SA Correctional Services). Other than the buttons used on the 1854 Garibaldi jacket, SAPOL uniform tunic buttons have remained the same design (except for the change from a King’s to Queen’s Crown in 1974) since their introduction in the 1840’s and up until the present time. Only two sizes of buttons have been used, they are, large and small. Generally, the small buttons were used on the Mounted Police and Junior Constable/Cadet tunics and the large on the Foot Police and general duty uniforms. The use of the Monarch’s crown in South Australia is an interesting one.  In 1951 then Police Commissioner Ivor Green designed a new police cap badge to replace the then existing Brunswick style South Australia Police cap badge.  The new badge featured the State’s piping shrike bird emblem and a King’s Crown.  The badge featured the  King’s Crown in anticipation of the Royal visit to Adelaide by  King George the 6^th in 1953.  The new badge was issued in 1951 to all police officers.  Unfortunately the King died in 1952 and was replaced by Her Majesty QEII.  The problem for SAPOL was that a considerable amount of money had been spent on the new badge with the King’s Crown and SAPOL was not in a financial position to issue a replacement badge with the correct Queen’s Crown.  It did not seem to worry SAPOL or the State Government that we were using the wrong crown and in the ensuring years the Piping Shrike badge with the King’s Crown continued to be manufactured and remained in use along with the King’s Crown uniform police buttons.  It was not until Commissioner Harold Salisbury from the UK was appointed Commissioner of Police in 1974 that it was pointed out to him that we were using the wrong crown.  It was then decided from that time onwards that any new batch of cap badges and buttons manufactured were to feature the Queen’s Crown.  As a result from 1974 all new recruits were issued with the Queen’s Crown cap badge and buttons, however, the King’s Crown badges already on issue to members were not withdrawn and remained in use along with the Queen’s crown version until both badges were withdrawn in 1998 and replaced by the current cap badge.”

 

Tasmania Police

Tasmania had a chequered history with regards to policing. Convict watchmen were replaced by military patrols, then by martial law and increasing numbers of constables, but crimes and bush-ranging remained out of control. In 1828 Lt-Governor Arthur established 9 police districts with centralised control in Hobart. However, as most police were convicts, there were abuses of power and so around 1858 the people demanded a decentralised system with non-convict police.

Twenty Municipal councils controlled their own police, with non-municipal areas divided into 8 policing districts. As councils wished to reduce costs, this lead to poor police wages and/or reduced police numbers. It also meant that there was uneven policing as councillors expected favourable treatment! The councils relinquished control, and in 1898 a Police Regulation Act created a state wide force under a commissioner and answerable to Parliament.

http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/uncategorized/9th-november-2020/

 

Hobart City Police.

 

Launceston Municipal Police

 

Port Arthur Police

 

 

 

 

 

Victorian Penal Department

The Penal and Gaols Branch of the Chief Secretary’s Department was formed in 1870, and took over the running of Melbourne Gaol and all other Victorian gaols from the Sheriffs department. It lasted until 1960.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victorian Police Force

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Victoria Police was formally established in 1853, although there had been constables from 1840. It was the first colony to merge all its police into one force, and the only one to this day to do so under a Chief Commissioner of Police.

The first woman to be part of the Force was Madge Connor in 1917 as a ‘police agent’. Women became full police officers in 1924, although it took until 2001 for a woman to be appointed Chief Commissioner.

The only strike by any Australian Police  Force occurred in 1923, with resulting riots and looting in the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victoria Water Police

From 1838 Water Police dealt with crime, looked for runaways and dealt with customs.

Today the Water police manage law enforcement on the water, also search and rescue.

 

West Australian Penal/Gaol/Prison/Correctional Services

The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, was established in 1829 at the location that would soon be known as Perth.  The colony formally became West Australia in 1832.  Although some NSW convicts were sent to King George Sound in 1826 to help establish the new colony, convicts were mostly sent to the colony from 1850-1868.

 

Fremantle

Convicts were temporarily housed in a rented warehouse from 1850 until they built the Convict Establishment Prison ( built 1850-59). The old Fremantle Prison, also known as the “Round House”, was built in 1830-31, an eight cell prison with a gaoler’s residence. It was used for local and indigenous prisoners until 1886. In that year the Convict Establishment prison, (since renamed Fremantle prison) was returned to the control of the colony, and the Round House was then used as a police lock-up.

During the wars, Fremantle prison was partially used as a military prison and internment centre.  The prison being long overcrowded, seven new prisons were opened in the State from 1960-1971, including a new women’s prison.

Fremantle Prison was closed in 1991, replaced by the new Casuarina Prison. The old buildings are now heritage listed.

 

Perth

A merchant ship that ran aground in the mouth of the Swan River in 1829 was used as a prison hulk.  In 1830 A six cell lock-up in Perth was built. It was demolished in 1855 after the ‘old’ Perth Gaol was built to replace it. 

The Goals Department was a sub-department of the Colonial Secretary’s Department from 1890. It was renamed the Prison Department in 1947, the Department of Corrections from 1972-82, the Prisons Department from 1982-87, the Department of Corrective Services (1987-93), the Offender Management of the Ministry of Justice (1993-2001) and the Department of Justice (2001-2006). Since 2006 it is the Department of Corrective Services.  And every name change brings the expense of new stationary, buttons, etc, etc.

Below are various warder/prison staff uniform buttons.

According to the State records Office of WA, a “Gaols Department” appears to be a sub-department of the Colonial Secretary’s Office by 1890.  However, it dated as early as 1883.

In 1947 the Gaol Department was renamed the Prisons Department.  The above button presumably dates from around 1890- 1901 due to the use of the “Queen Victoria  crown”.

The button below  is described as dating from 1930-40s, which does not fit in with the St Edward’s crown. During that era a Tudor (King’s) Crown would have been used. As it is backmarked ‘Sheridan” it would date from post 1952, and Elizabeth’s era.

 

 

See also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convict_era_of_Western_Australia

 

West Australian K-9 Force

https://www.police.wa.gov.au/About-Us/Our-Agency/Specialist-Units/Mounted-and-Canine-Sections/Canine-Section

 

West Australian Police Force

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The West Australian Police Force formally came into existence in 1853, although there were part time constables, etc. from the origin of the colony in 1829. It is responsible for the largest single police jurisdiction of 2.5 million square kilometres.

 

WA Road Traffic Authority

This department existed from 1975-1982, in charge of traffic regulation, licensing and road accident investigation.

 

WA Traffic Inspector

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perth Traffic Inspectors were first appointed in 1896. The inspector was to control traffic flow and safety, and to attend to speeding and parking offenses. They  also investigated accidents. There were still inspectors in 1971.

 

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENTS

General Post Office, Melbourne

The General Post Office of Meblourne is located at the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke Streets. The inital construction  was from 1860-1867, although several stages of extensions occurred through until 1919. The building is now a retail site.

The General Post Office in Sydney (up to 1996) stands in Martin Place, and was built from 1866-91. It is interesting that the staff that worked there had their own buttons, rather than just using Post Masters General Department buttons.

 

Post Office Victoria

These Post Office Victoria buttons date up to the year of Queen Victoria’s death in 1901.

 

Post & Telegraph/Post Office Tasmania

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ‘Post & Telegraph Department’ was reported in Tasmanian newspapers from 1892. However, telegraph was established in Van Diem’s Land as early as 1821, with “Post & Telegraph” offices built around Australia in the 1860s.

Following Federation the colonial post and telegraph services came under the control of the Post Master General’s Department. It was not until 1975 that postal services were separated from telegraphic communications when the PGM was split into Australia Post and Telecom.

 

Post Master-General’s Department

 

 

 

 

 

 

This department took over control of the separate state postal and telegraph services on 1st march 1901 for the provision of postal and telegraphic communication throughout Australia, and continued until 1975, when it was replaced by the Postal and Telecommunications Department, which had two separate entities, Telecom Australia (later Telstra) and Australia Post.

 

RAILWAYS

See under ‘Private companies’ for South Maitland Railways.

 

Commonwealth Railways

Commonwealth Railways was responsible for train services in the Northern territory, South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales from 1917 to 1971 when it was absorbed into Australian National Railways.  It included such famous trains such as the Trans-Australian,  The Ghan and the Indian Pacific.

 

New South Wales Railways

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The  New South Wales Government Railways was succeeded by the Department of Railways in 1932 through to 1972, which was followed by the Public Transport Commission.

The first public Sydney line was built in 1855. The network was electrified from 1926. As in other states, the freight business has been privatised.

The NSW Railways ran ‘The Season Ticket Shop’. The staff may have used the following buttons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CityRail

CityRail was the branding of passenger services in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong from 1989-2003. In was superseded by Sydney Trains and NSW Trainlink. The logo on the button was used until 2010.

 

Queensland Railways

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rail transport was a priority for the young colony of Queensland. The first (narrow gauge for cost and speed of construction) line was built in 1865.

The network reached its peak in 1932, with branch lines closing from 1948 onwards. The suburban network did not start to be electrified until November 1979, replacing the diesel-electric fleet. It was rebranded QR in 1999. As in other states, the freight business has been privatised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queenslandrail was rebranded as QR in September 1999. It operates local, long distance, interstate and freight services.

 

South Australian Railways

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR)

The button on the left would date from Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, and the other soon after, as this type of back plate with 2 vent holes was adopted in 1953 with the introduction of equipment to produce anodised aluminium buttons, although this doesn’t appear to be an aluminium example. It is likely that this design was used for other government departments.

Rail services in Tasmania were initiated by private firms. The two main operators were the LWR and the TML.

In 1872 the Launceston and Western Railway (LWR) , which had officially commenced running trains between Launceston and Deloraine in 1871, was struggling to repay the credit that had been required for construction of the line. The Tasmanian Government had to step in and take over from 31st October 1873. This was the beginning of the Tasmanian Government Railways, although the title was not used until around 1883, and was formally established in 1888.

From 1872 to 1876  the Tasmanian Main Line (TML) Company started creating a line from Hobart to Launceston. Using the consistently flawed logic of rail services throughout the colonies, a different gauge line was used to that of the LWR!  In 1890 the Tasmanian Government bought the TML after years of strife between the government and the company. All the exiting railways were relaid to match the narrow (3ft 6 inch) gauge of the TML.

In 1975 the Federal Government made offers to all the struggling state run railways, with South Australia and Tasmania accepting the takeover by the new Australian National Railways, ending the TGR.

 

Examiner (Launceston), 1st October 1940 page 4.

 

 

Victoria Railways

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some people make the mistake of thinking these buttons with VR (Which admittedly looks like Queen Victoria’s cypher) is a pre-federation military uniform button. As you can see three of these buttons have a King’s Crown, not a Queen Victoria crown. Therefore, the VR stands for Victorian Railways. (Rules the regarding use of a  Sovereign’s cypher and crown preclude  any mix and matching. In Victoria’s times various departments including the railways could use this design.)

A department of Railways was established in 1856. The Spencer Street headquarters were opened in 1893.

The railways grew from 409km in 1864 to a peak of 7652km in 1939, after which there was a slow decline. The system was electrified from 1919 to 1930. Diesel was introduced in 1951. The last steam loco ran in 1972. A standard gauge with New South Wales did not get built until 1961.

In 1974 it was renamed VicRail and in 1983 it was split into metropolitan (Public Transport Corp/The Met) and country divisions (VLine). Freight services have been privatised,. V/Line passenger services have returned to Government ownership after a period of privatisation.

 

Western Australian Government Railways

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1890 the Department of Works and Railways was split in two, with the formation of the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR). In 1914 the name was changed to West Australian Government Railways and Tramways.  After several more name changes, it again became WAGR from 1949 until 1975 when the trading name became Westrail, although the official name was still WAGR. Perhaps the Sheridan button dates from 1949-1952, as the 2 holes in the back plate seem to date from c.1950?

 

TRAMWAYS

Ballarat Tramways

Ballarat had horse drawn trams from 1887. In 1904 the first electric trams were put in service, and by 1913 had replaced the horse-drawn examples. The State Electricity Commission of Victoria, which was already running Bendigo’s trams, took control in 1934. As in Bendigo, the service ceased in 1970.

 

Bendigo Tramways

The State Electricity took control of Bendigo’s electric tramways from  1921. It closed in 1970, having not been financially viable for some years.

 

Brisbane Tramways

In 1878 a Royal Commission into the linking of the Southern and Western railways in Queensland was told that railway in Brisbane would cost 14,000 pounds per miles whereas road tramways would cost 3400 to 8000 pounds per mile. The next year a ‘Brisbane Railway and Tramway Company  and also a “Brisbane Steam Tramway Company” were being proposed. However, due to legal concerns about the safety and amenity of steam engines and/or raised rails upon roads, the issue was delayed. Some felt the government, not private concerns, should build such a service. It took until 1882 before legislation was passed allowing the construction of a tramways, and then until December 1883 before the ‘Brisbane Tramway Company’ was registered. Even then, it remained a contentious issue and it was not until May 1884 that construction commenced. Official services commenced on the 10th August 1885 by horse drawn tram owned by the ‘Brisbane Metropolitan Tramway and Investment Co.’ Unfortunately, only 6 weeks later the first fatality occurred when an employee was run over.

The first item of uniform provided to tramways men was a cap. It took some years for matching tunics and trousers to be supplied. The first mention of tramways uniforms in the newspapers was in 1899.

Electric trams ran from June 1897 although horse-drawn trans were in use until 1899. With competition from buses and private cars the service became uneconomical by 1948 and was wound down; the last services running on 13th April 1969.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Brisbane