Skip to main content

Fit for purpose


There was this cute little pay van, quite different from the nearby carriage used for carting sheep.  There were lots of others too like the mail carriage, coal carriage, prison carriage, shipping container carriages, even one for transporting coffins.



I've added Ophir at 100 Towns pop over to visit the first paying goldfield in Australia. 

Comments

  1. MartinaMarch 5, 2012 at 7:22 AM

    Since you already said "cute" ... (was my first thought, really). I have never seen such a "pay van" and I am not quite sure what it is. But it is cute.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joan ElizabethMarch 5, 2012 at 9:05 PM

      The pay van ran along the railway lines to the various stations and issued the railway employees with their pay packets. In those days they actually received dollar bills in their pay, rather than an electronic transfer to a bank.

      Delete
    2. MartinaMarch 6, 2012 at 9:10 AM

      Joan Elizabeth, oh, thanks very much for that! I would have never imagined this. The only thing I learned from google was that "Pay Van" might be a Asian name and surname, ;-).

      Delete
    3. JulieMarch 10, 2012 at 8:54 PM

      *chuckle* ... so much for google ...

      Delete
  2. WinamMarch 5, 2012 at 9:28 AM

    The first caravan has such a mid-century look in shape and colour, like something out of the Jetsons.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joan ElizabethMarch 5, 2012 at 9:07 PM

    I'd say very 1930s.

    ReplyDelete
  4. diane bMarch 5, 2012 at 9:31 PM

    Interesting exhibits. I haven't seen a pay van like that before.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SusanMarch 6, 2012 at 3:31 AM

    That pay van is just gorgeous - love the colours!

    ReplyDelete
  6. freefallingMarch 6, 2012 at 8:22 AM

    OMG - I'm in love with that pay van!

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownMarch 7, 2012 at 8:55 AM

    The van is absolutely cute! Love it:

    ReplyDelete
  8. JulieMarch 10, 2012 at 8:53 PM

    That cute little pay van was on the main concourse at Central for much of last year. It was a good display. The Railways Historical society (which does much of Thirlmere) has a shop on the main concourse. So many fascinating books ... too many to be able to afford.

    ReplyDelete
  9. ABMarch 12, 2012 at 7:13 AM

    So much style and elegance in a pay van? Incredible!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Larras Lee

We passed through Bakers Swamp without noticing anything.  Then reached our last dot on the map for this trip - Larras Lee and saw this.  The roadside monument says: In Memory of  WILLIAM LEE  (1794 - 1870)  of "Larras Lake"  a pioneer of the sheep  and cattle industry  and first member for  Roxburgh under responsible  government (1856 - 1859).  This stone was erected  by his descendants.  --- 1938 --- This is a repost from a few days ago. Thinking I would use this for this week’s Taphophile Tragics post I dug a little further into William Lee’s story, it’s a very colonial Australian one. William was born of convict parents, living his childhood years around the Sydney region. In his early 20s he was issued with some government cattle, recommended as a suitable settler and granted 134 acres at Kelso near Bathurst. He was one of the first in the area and did well. A few years later he was granted a ram and an inc...
9 comments
Read more

The end

I retire from the workforce this week and to celebrate have decided to retire my current blogs and start afresh with a single consolidated blog -  My Bright Field  - to record the delights of my new life adventure. If you are interested follow me over there.  I will still be Sweet Wayfaring and collecting Royal Hotels.  The delights I discover along the way will appear together with my gardens and towns where I live.
Post a Comment
Read more

Coolibah?

Is that a Coolibah tree beside the abandoned house? Every Australian knows about Coolibah trees because the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda is nigh on our unoffical national anthem but most of us live nowhere near the inland where they grow. Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me. Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
13 comments
Read more