Our local heritage is not always bricks & mortar. These photos show some of the vehicles uses by Marrickville Council in times past.
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| Image Source: Marrickville Council |
This photo was taken in Stanmore Road in 1925.
The National Museum of Australia says that Marrickville Council used a Aveling & Porter Model O, No 12539, Quick Reverse Tandem Steamroller in the 1920’s. This type of machine had a vertical boiler in the middle, a roller a both ends, and power steering.
It was designed for use with the first hot mix road surfaces but they had a very short working life because they were superseded by diesel powered rollers. This particular type was known as a ‘coffee pot’ roller because of its shape.
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| Image Source: Marrickville Image Library |
This photo shows Harry Quinnell ex council employee driving the council’s steam roller in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s.
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| Image Source: Marrickville Council |
This photograph was probably taken in the 1940s. Marrickville Council’s truck fleet numbered six trucks and four are lined up here on parade at the Council’s depot in Cecilia Street, Marrickville. Marrickville Town Hall can be seen in the background.
From the 1920s onwards Marrickville Council gradually replaced its horses and drays with motorised vehicles. Council did use horse vehicles into the late 1940s, particularly during World War Two when petrol was heavily rationed. Council usually contracted out to local carriers when a horse and cart was needed for works.
Council also owned a few horses, which were stabled at Riverside Park (now Marrickville Golf Course). The last Council owned horses were rounded up and sold in 1958. Unfortunately during the “last round up” two horses bolted. They were later successfully rounded up on the Princes Highway at Tempe after causing a massive traffic jam for two hours.
The Council depot at Cecilia Street, Marrickville was also sold. The site was redeveloped for home units in the late 1990s.
References:
National Museum of Australia
Marrickville Council History Services
Marrickville Heritage Society 