Well now......

I just looked at the last post date - ooops, that would be July 2011 !  Sorry for not doing anything sooner.

I have been caught up in a heap of endeavours of late, some taking a lot longer than they ought to, some just trickling along.

But to put it all into a nutshell :

I have been continuing to work on clearing out the old Hudsons' Stores in inner Melbourne each week. (and I thought the shed was full of stuff !)

I have also being making a regular trek nearly 300kms to the north of Melbourne to a place called Tocumwal, which was home to one of the biggest USAF/RAAF bases during the early stages of WW2 and later became an aircraft killing field when over 700 aircraft were melted down for aluminium. Why did I go there? Well, a lot of parts that Grandad had acquired had obviously come from there when the aircraft were pulled apart and also the same from Hudsons - I will put up a pic of a piece with the original 7CRD (Central Recovery Depot) tag from Tocumwal that turned up in the Hudsons factory. There was a "dam" that was where the remains from the smelters were tipped into and this has been a source of fascination for researchers and hunters alike over the years

Due to respecting the landowners request for no trespassing from the "cowboy element" I have kept pretty quiet about it all and made the trip every couple of weeks for a year. However I received word today that someone else had moved in with a huge excavator and carved out the dam, and will aim to fill it in when done. Now that this has happened I feel it's probably time to share with you all the times I have spent on that and the things I have found.

I have also been looking after the Tocumwal Historic Aerodrome Museum - which was a gift to the museum and the town as a way of saying thankyou for letting me rummage around the lands and talk to the locals. The website for that is www.tham.org.au  

If you are ever up that way, I do suggest stopping in the town and going out to the old airfield - it's so incredibly peaceful up there. I always found time to gather my thoughts and relax while standing in the middle of the dam with next to no noise, just the sound of a distant aeroplane or truck, or the local birds soaring overhead.....

Time to sort out my photos. Will be back soon......