Cave of Wonders.

The Forests Commission and its successors continuously encouraged bushfire research and innovation.

In 1946 a large parcel of industrial land was purchased at North Altona as a fire equipment cache and workshop.

The Altona workshop became a hotbed of new technological thingumajigs… a marvellous blend of Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders coupled with Wallace and Gromit’s madcap contraptions… an exhilarating place where lots of gizmos were invented and tested… mostly with astounding results… but nearly always with some head-scratching frustrations… and thankfully not too much explosive mayhem.

In fact, a lot of Australia’s pioneering equipment development was led by staff from Altona, often in collaboration with other State forestry and fire authorities. The CSIRO also contributed significantly.

The US Forest Service, the US Bureau of Land Management and US State agencies such as the California Department of Forestry and Fire (CalFire) as well as the Canadian Forest Service faced similar challenges and proved strong and willing partners in sharing knowledge, ideas, equipment and expertise over many decades.

A small museum of some of these amazing inventions and other eclectic stuff collected by fire equipment wizard Barry Marsden is housed at Altona. It can be visited by appointment.

This collection of badges is testament to the relationships that were forged across the globe with staff from the Altona workshop.