The double chairlift at Caribbean Gardens in eastern Melbourne permanently closed on 1 July, so if anyone wants to preserve a double chair or other bits, it might be worthwhile contacting them. If they're selling bits of their old McCallum brand chairlift, I'll fork out a couple of hundred for a seat from it.
Yeah, the chairlift was built in Moorabbin by McCallum Engineering who made a few dozen T-bars and chairlifts, mostly in the 1960s including Boggy Creek at Buller. It was installed at a small theme park at Frankston in 1969. The site was closed and subdivided for housing a few years later. Then Caribbean Gardens bought it and it has run at Scoresby ever since. It may have been be the last operational McCallum chairlift. Here's a video of a ride on it, the distinctive tower frames identify it as a McCallum.
McCallum lifts (that I know about.) Location . . . . . . Lift name . . . . . . . . Lift type . . . . . . . . . Dates operated . . Notes Falls Creek . . . . Hyman's skyline . . . Portable Rope Tow . . .1954 - ? Mt Buller . . . . . . Baldy . . . . . . . . . . . . Portable Rope Tow . . 1957 - 1961 Falls Creek . . . . .Summit . . . . . . . . . . .T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1961 - 1991 Falls Creek . . . . .Village . . . . . . . . . . . T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1961 - 1999 Portsea . . . . . . . Back Beach . . . . . . . .Double Chair . . . . . . 1962 - 1967? Thredbo . . . . . . .Middle . . . . . . . . . . . . T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1962 - present . Moved to Merritts Spur, renamed Ski School Thredbo . . . . . . Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . .1963 - present Mt Buffalo . . . . Double Chairlift . . . . . Double Chair . . . . . . 1964 - ? Falls Creek . . . . Gully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Double Chair . . . . . . .1964 - 1981 Mt Buffalo . . . . . T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1965 - 1984 Mt Buffalo . . . . . Beginners Poma . . . . Platter . . . . . . . . . . . . 1966 - ? Falls Creek . . . . Sun Valley . . . . . . . . . . T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1967 - 1988 Mt Buller . . . . . . Boggy Creek . . . . . . . . T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . 1967 - present . Lift shortened 2020 to allow a dam to be built Falls Creek . . . . Link Lift (aka Saddle) . . T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969 - 2000 Frankston / Caribbean Gardens . . . . . . . Double Chair . . . . 1969 - 2020 . Moved to Scoresby c.1971 when Whistle Stop closed Perth . . . . . . . . Royal Show Chair Lift . . . Double Chair . . . . . 1970 - present Guthega . . . . . . Blue Cow . . . . . . . . . . . T-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 - 1980 . Allegedly formerly at Mt Buller, but no known McCallum T-bars were retired before 1976, so the lift may not have been a McCallum?
Company still exists - changed hands a few decades ago though. Basic repetition engineering now. They’re a couple doors up from a friend’s Biz. There you go.
Well they said they were just going to shorten it and give it a new electric motor. Not surprisingly, I haven't got to Buller this season, so I haven't been able to check if there is anything left.
It's all there, except for the bit that is now Dam. The last I heard is just as you said, a shortened electric version will happen.
Used to be a good way to get ‘up and over’ if the line at Grimus was crazy, but obviously not going to be possible anymore with the dam in the way!?
I believe there are plans for a new short lift that will go up between the Dam and the Esky, to complete that path, unloading higher then Boggy did, near ABOM unload.
That would be good, though a bit annoying needing a separate lift again. Did always find Boggy finished about 20m too short thought, so towards ABOM would provide more options.
My hunt for bits has unearthed some cool period info and documents. Here's the Dopp fixed quad schematic as at 1984.
The bars on the BB chairs are identical to that diagram, but I have seen old clips of BB that show two other designs as well. Would love to know why that is - perhaps Dopp resupplied the arms in that newer design in response to some complaint. Need to chat to a Buller old timer.
