Of State Significance – The Museum of Fire’s Collection Items Listed on the State Heritage Register

Did you know that it has been a decade since the Hon. Robyn Parker, Minister for the Environment and heritage attended the Museum to announce the listing of several of the Museum’s collection items onto the NSW State Heritage Register.

What is the heritage register?

The NSW State Heritage Register was created to identify places and objects that are of significance to the state of New South Wales. These places and objects help provide us with insight to previous generations and allow us to better understand who we are today. Heritage helps us shape our identity and highlights the values and priorities that we hold. It informs the choices that we make for the future, in direct and indirect ways.

This register offers protection to the places and objects on it. In order to be listed on the register, an object or place must meet one or more of the significance criteria. These criteria assess the historical, aesthetic, technical, social, representative, research, and educational value of the object. Places and objects may also have associative value through their connections to significant figure, groups, or communities, as well as value through their overall rarity.

 To learn more about the NSW State Register and to search it, click here.

After much work by the Museum and with the assistance of the NSW Fire Brigade (today Fire and Rescue NSW, FRNSW) the importance of these items to the history of firefighting in NSW was formally recognised and while the Museum ensure the highest level of care for all items with the collection; and all are intrinsically significant, this listing highlights the importance of these specific items to the wider NSW community and history of the state. The items that were added to the NSW State Register were:

• Shand Mason (1891),

• Shand Mason Curricle horse-drawn Ladders, 1898

• Shand Mason 7 Inch Manual Fire Engine, 1869

• Ford 21W – The Canteen

• Big 6 (1939)

A decade earlier, in 2004, the Ahrens Fox was added to the register and two years prior to that in 2002, the No. 10 Plate was added. 

While the entire heritage fleet is listed as a whole on the register the items noted above have been deemed significant enough to be listed within their own individual right. Below is a very quick overview of each item:

No. 10 Plate

The No. 10 Plate has been associated with the Chief Officers and Commissioners of the New South Wales Fire Brigade and Fire and Rescue New South Wales since the inception of the number plate system in NSW in 1910. The plate has been attached to several vehicles throughout its history including a Chrysler Valiant, a Holden Special, A Ford Fairlane, and Fairmont Ghia.

The Number 10 Plate on the Hudson Roadster c. 1930s [Museum of Fire Collection]

Ahrens Fox

The 1929 Ahrens Fox has held a special place in the history of the NSWFB and within FRNSW’s Heritage Fleet since its acquisition. With a reputation for producing the “Rolls-Royce” of fire engines, the Ahrens Fox Fire Engine Company produced motor fire engines that utilised piston type pumps to produce much higher pressure than the standard centrifugal pumps of the period. One single appliance, the 1929 Ahrens Fox PS2, made its way to Sydney, making it distinctly unique.

The Ahrens Fox was only brought out when its services were specifically needed. The vehicle was no longer in regular use by the mid-1950s, and in the 1960s it was set aside as a historic vehicle.

The brand-new Ahrens Fox in the yard of Headquarters Fire Station c. 1930s [Museum of Fire Collection]

Switchboard (here's a link to its blog!)

Edward Smith’s switchboard highlights an era of Brigade history where an in-house approach to work was emphasised. The approach was intended to encourage firemen to spend some part of their careers in the brigade workshops so as to ensure that they gain an intimate working knowledge of fire appliances and equipment. Edward Smith had experience in the brigade’s workshops and would later go on to be appointed Principal Electrician. During this period, Smith carved the switchboard which replaced an earlier, rudimentary model installed at Headquarters. The switchboard remained in service for the next sixty years.

1909 switchboard from Headquarters Fire Station (now City of Sydney Fire Station) [Museum of Fire Collection]

Big Ben at Centenary of Federation Parade Sydney, 2001 [Museum of Fire Collection]

1891 Shand Mason Steam Engine (click here to read its blog)

Despite being a relatively small city in the 1890s, the Superintendent of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, William Bear, recognised the growing potential fire risk in the expanding city area. Buildings of up to ten stories were becoming common, and an appliance that could deal effectively with fires in such buildings was becoming essential. The Shand Mason No. 16 Steamer, or as it was otherwise known, Big Ben, was at the time the largest capacity steamer built for land use. It remained in service in Sydney until 1929, operating from Headquarters and Circular Quay Stations before it was replaced by the Ahrens Fox.

1898 Shand Mason Curricle Ladders

The No. 4 Shand Mason Curricle Ladders was ordered for use at the Newtown Fire Station. Firefighters were given special instruction on the use of the telescopic ladders and an extra man and horse were placed at the station following its acquisition. The ladders were used in the Anthony Hordern & Sons fire in Haymarket which was one of the most famous major fires to take place in Sydney.

1869 Shand Mason 7 Inch Manual Fire Engine

The Shand Mason 7 Inch Manual Fire Engine reflects a period of development and change. This engine was manufactured in an era before the presence of a statutory control or coordinative body in charge of fire protection in New South Wales. Instead, firefighting was undertaken by a number of independent volunteer and insurance companies. During this period, firefighting appliances were constantly evolving with companies such as Merryweather and Shand Mason competing to outperform each other. The 7-inch Manual Engine was introduced into service before the Federation of Australian, where administrative coordination of brigades was largely non-existent, and continued into an era post-federation where state-wide administration was introduced through the Fire Brigades Act (1909)

Shand Mason Manual pumper in the 100 Years of the Fire Brigade Parade [Museum of Fire Collection]

Ford 21W – “Canteen” (you can read some extra info about it here!)

The Women’s Fire Auxiliary, established in the 1940s, raised funds for the fabrication of the motorised Mobile Canteen. Some of these fundraising activities included the Housie-Housie (Bingo!), dances, raffles, and more excitingly, the “Queen’s Competition”. The resultant Mobile Canteen was initially installed in Headquarters and served as a support vehicle that served hot beverages and consumable services to firefighters in the occurrence of a fire. The Canteen provided women a significant means of contributing the war effort, propelling women into a more active and defined role in front-line response.

Ford Canteen parked on street at Headquarters Fire Station, c. 1970 {Museum of Fire Collection]

1939 Dennis 'Big 6' (click here to read our blog about it!)

Brough into service in 1939 at Headquarters Fire Station, Motor Engine (ME) 132 is the only “Big 6” purchased by the New South Wales Fire Brigades. The Big 6 was used at all major fires, gaining further notoriety for the fact that it was always boarded by a Senior Officer, and/or higher ranks, up to and including the Deputy Chief Officer. During this time the engine became one of, if not the first, fire engines to in NSW to be fitted with a two-way radio communication. In 1951 the “Big 6” was transferred to No. 3 Station The Rocks. During its time here it was modified with the mudguards being shortened so as to prevent any damage being caused by contact to the kerb near the station. The “Big 6” was briefly returned to No. 1 Station in 1954 until it was again transferred to No. 38 Station Pyrmont later that same year where it served until 1967.

Dennis Big 6 at Pyrmont Fire Station [Museum of Fire Collection]

-Story by the Museum of Fire Heritage Team