|
from July 2010 Newsletter
It is likely that you will be reading this after the Annual Telephone Show in Sydney (at Hawkesbury Showground) has already happened. The 3rd and 4th of July were the dates for this show, too late for reports or pictures in this newsletter but we will bring a report in the September edition.
For those in Queensland (and northern NSW), the Queensland Show will be held at Pimpama (on the Gold Coast) on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th July. This is in conjunction with the South Coast Restoration Society - lots of machinery, tractors, buses, telephones (blokey stuff) but there are also lots of craft and nostalgic stuff for the ladies. A “not to be missed” event for those “up north”.
The second annual Telephone Show in South Australia will be held on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd August in conjunction with the Strathalbyn Hobbies and Collectables Fair. After last years success the local telephone collectors have a lot to live up to but we are confident that they will stage another excellent display.
We have just heard that Canberra member and regular exhibitor at Shows, Brian O’Donnell is to undergo surgery in early July. We will miss you at the Shows and we all sincerely wish you a full and speedy recovery.
Quite a number of members attended the garage sale at the home of Ric and Val Havyatt at Woolwich back in May. Ric and Val are moving after 42 years at this address. There were some goodies to be had but, regrettably, all of the telephones and other collectables had been sold beforehand. By now, Ric and Val will be well and truly set up in their new (refurbished) apartment in Lane Cove. Good luck to you both.
Page 24 of this edition has a list of the members who have joined our Society in the past couple of years. We usually acknowledge and welcome new members more regularly than this but the newsletter is only so big and space has been limited. Anyway, a big welcome to all those who have joined recently and we hope you get a lot out of being a member of the ATCS.
This month’s feature article is another from the pen of Bob Estreich. The history of Siemens-Halske is most interesting and our thanks go to Bob for his efforts.
This edition contains the last in a series of auctions designed to sell items from the collections of a couple of members who are suffering from ill health. All the members of the ATCS Committee (and members everywhere) will agree that this service is a most desirable and necessary addition to the services offered by membership of the ATCS. But we have to consider cost. The past auctions have cost the Society in the form of printing additional colour pages in the newsletter (and it isn’t cheap). We have been lucky in recouping most of these costs by charging the sellers a percentage of sales. But there is no guarantee of sales in any auction. So, in the future a fixed charge will apply to “advertising” in the newsletter. Not for smaller text ads in “Swap Shop” (even with small images) but for larger feature ads, particularly colour pages. Rules and costs will be published in the September newsletter.
Society Membership Secretary and Treasurer, John Nichols, is currently away on ths annual pilgrimage to the other side of the world (Estonia). We include pictures from some of his travels in the past year in this edition (to Iceland and New Zealand - see page 14). He will be back in September to sort out all those membership issues. In the meantime, Bob Mills is “acting” Membership Secretary.
from May 2010 Newsletter
Welcome to the 200th Edition of the ATCS Newsletter. We have come a long way since Edition 1 back in 1977. And I am proud to have been your Editor since 1990 - that’s about 117 editions. I am just grateful to all the contributors over the years - especially to Ric Havyatt, Bob Estreich and many others. Particular thanks to a couple of members no longer with us - Ken Bushell and Geoff Jull. Remember, I need all the help I can get with ideas and articles.
Garage Sale. Ric and Val Havyatt are moving house after 42 years of collecting. They will be holding a Garage Sale on 22nd and 23rd May at 37B The Point Rd, Woolwich (near the Ferry wharf). Members intending to be there should check by phone (02 9817 0337) or by email (valaric@optusnet.com.au) in case there is a late change.
The annual Telephone Shows are coming up shortly. 3rd - 4th July in Sydney, late July in Brisbane and August in Adelaide. Please give some thought to putting on a display to help make all these events a success. And please return the RAFFLE TICKETS to the Society as soon as possible
Don’t forget the may meeting in Sydney will feature the regular Favourite Collectables display by members as well as a bonus of displays of Tools used, over the years, in the telephone industry.
We reported in the last newsletter that Committee member Arthur Challinor is in a retirement home. He is doing well but would appreciate contact from members. You could phone him on 0402 688 459 or visit him at the Liverpool Aged Care Centre, 155 Elizabeth Drive, Liverpool, 2170.
The Editor’s computer has been unwell and needed a trip to hospital for a disc transplant. This edition of the newsletter was only partly completed when this happened and it needed some tidying up after the event. Please excuse any “funnies” that I may have missed correcting.
There has been quite a bit of discussion recently, at least among Sydney members, about lightning arresters, the various types and how they work. This may have come about because of the myriad of “British Western Electric Top Boxes” offered in our “Member’s Auction” and also from the talk given by John Nichols at the March meeting in Sydney on the various Top Box phones that were produced in the years from 1895 to 1915. So I thought I would write a little about lightning arresters, their history and how they work. This edition features a treatise of the “arrester” and its use in telephones as recorded in a number of books and journals written in the early 1900’s.
We have learnt recently of the death, in January, of member Bruce Carr of Nords Wharf (near Newcastle). Our condolences go to Bruce’s family at this time.
|
