Hi Looking forward to a good year in 08. Put the pics back linked in earlier thread, had a server crash badly restored by host co. Only just noticed the buller pic folder missing. Enjoying the newer pics posted since. Couple of notes to other posts re history.. Ernest Foras re: notorious womaniser. Mum reckons the sleazy bugger couldn't keep his hands to himself and pretty keen on himself too. The Whit was so named as far as I know after Ivor Whitaker who was one of the founders of sorts of the Ski Club of Vic. They put the rope tow on Bk St, soon after started using the nut cracker to hold on to the rope. SimoninAustralia "Nice, do you do any 360 degree panoramic images with these poles?" I don't, but some owners do, one in particular that is very good at it. (they all do RE, be a nice change to see someone doing landscapes with the pole but its a bit spendy for a rig.) My new bluetooth wireless cam mount system incorporates "pan bot" features in the control software. So cam mount fits the pole for seqeunced pano or spherical or a ground stand with level to do interior VT's Anyway, here's to a good season. Have to see if I can rake up anymore pics. Cheers Dave
Thanks Pole Cams. Ivor Whitacker was only a slightly significant pre-war skier. When hostilities broke out, he joined the army and was promoted as high as Major before he was killed in action. He left 500 quid (a lot for the time) in his will to develop a replacement for the 50 bed Buller Chalet which burnt down circa 1942. Other skiers who died in the war such as Nathaniel "Fanny" Strauss (RAAF) also left money to the SCV for ski field development. The Ivor Whittacker War Memorial Lodge was built partly with these bequests and partly with loans. The estimated cost in late 1946, just before it was built was £1053/16/1. Hmmm, the days when I can show off this knowledge of Buller's history are numbered. The Buller history book will be on sale in 6 weeks for $70. After it comes out this sort stuff will be available to everyone.
Bogong Thanks for the info I was told he had very little involvement in the club over its life, not being alive explains that. Some oldies from those days (like my parents) found it odd that the place was named after him. 24th April I come back here after not being here since last year jus to put the pics back of buller. Was looking at the cams and the dirt roads thinking about June coming around. A day or so later and its snowing. Good timing.
The lodge I was at last week purchased it and I had a good read. If you have some spare cash and like the mountain, you'll like the book.
Book is well worth buying. I can also recommend an Hour long DVD, which I purchased at the museum, which has some fascinating historic 60's 70's footage of the mountain, particularly construction of the lifts . Well worth the $30 price
Our ski club has its 50th Anniversary celebration this weekend and I'm told there will be an archive of photos produced. Will post a few up here in the coming weeks.
dibloc. I'm about to resume writing my history of Australian skiing from 1900 to about 1975. I'm especially interested in anecdotes about club life and skiing (both lifted and unlifted runs) pre 1960. So if your club produces anything, even just a brochure with a couple of anecdotes or photos, I will happily pay the price plus postage, etc. Even better, if an old timer is prepared to talk about their experiences into a tape recorder, I will travel anywhere, anytime to chat with them.
Bogong, there's a swag of ol Schuss Mags at USC Hotham Lodge, and many at AWSC. People whose marriages were covered are still uuum alive and espousing the virtues of Trotsky'ism. They're worth chatting to, but don't mention the war
Thanks WIZO, the state library has had many copies of old Victorian ski mags like Ski Horizon and Schuss stolen, but the museum at Buller has an almost complete collection. But if you have copies of those mags for sale, I will pay well above the going rate for them. I will start hunting people down for interviews and do some serious writing about March, after I finish renovating the house.
This one belongs here, old pics post too old to edit (Moved from Hotham Forum) The old Buller Summit lookout, now replaced by the stone lookout. Was secured to ground with fencing wire.
I think one contributor to this forum picked on her because she was upset by something and got their friends to do so too. I thought that person's behaviour was rather nasty, a bit like a schoolyard bully picking on a kid who has suffered a misfortune and getting all the wannabe bully acolytes to join in. That sort of thing happens all the time in schoolyards, but I've never seen adults behave that way before.
Bogong I was friendly to her - she then demanded i delete certain people from facebook if i ever wanted to speak to her again. Ive never known adults to make such demands before...
MX, I understand she was distressed about the sort of thing that knocks us all around occasionally. But I wasn't specifically defending her, more identifying the really nasty bullying, the "kicking her when she was down" behaviour that pushed her into less than ideal behaviour herself. But let's not divert this thread from Buller history, anyone can PM me if they want to chat.
A day tripper’s impression Started at Buller one sunny day in the late ‘60s on Little Bourke Street. Hired lace up leather boots and timber skis with cable bindings from Auski, at the village entrance. Straight into a lesson with the Blue's “French Ski School†ESF top man Alexis, black from the neck up, so the ladies said. The family parked the caravan at the Bonnie Doon municipal caravan park Around $2.00 per week for a powered site. We bought ex rental timber skis and lace up leather boots. I bought myself a new pair of LaDolomite 5 buckle leather low cut boots. The Boot hook. Broken ankle, the frequent skiers injury. Next year, May school holidays dump. Buller open to Baldy. First rides on a poma, grabbed the spares after the Bull Run tunnel, No ticket, and out of Hans’ view. Kids day ticket: $4.00, pocket money $0.50 Leave Bonnie Doon by 7:30 and make it into the day car park. Horse Hill, a hill, nothing more. Walk up to the village; spend the land rover fare on a lift ticket. Miss the day park; miles down below the overnighters … LWB Land rovers then. Toyotas later. A Bonnie Doon neighbour bought a ’50 SWB Land Rover. Soft-top with a village permit. Cold trip, but door to door. Make it to John Hilton-Wood’s door by 8:00am, and get a Blue day ticket for pulling t-bars over the towies lunch break. Bargain. The Blue Lifts ticket, coloured card with a code stamp on a string Almost strangled in a couple of runs. Cheapest lunch: The Whitt. Spag bol, goulash, shaslicks etc The oldest, 16, I bought the beers for the others. A kid could buy a drink almost anywhere on the mountain. Boilerplate ice, the whiteout. The big net across the bottom of Federation. Three died on Feder in one week, two on the Saturday. Then they closed it. Skiing over to summit, plant a pole only to realise I wasn’t moving. Corrugations on Bourke Street. Grooming was the next dump. The Kooroora guest lounge fire, a covert day-trippers thaw. Abom table carving “Charles†Following the junior squad down the funnel. The Boggy Ck 45-minute pre lunch queue. Spring skiing cleavage. The Summit to Boggy staff downhill. Howqua poma launching my 7-year-old brother a metre into the air End of season party with Captain Grimus on skis.
WOW ! My entire life from age 5 (1965) just flashed before my eyes. With one exception. We got the lace up boots and wooden skis from Bill Duff.
Its everything Buller for sure. I just found this Melb Age Ski pages Fri May 15 1970 http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=13...pg=6318,3169418 Check the adverts, classic Mark Adams New Twin Towers, apartments available from $11,500 "If You Want To Build (Anywhere in the Snow), contact Aurel Farrass" Bill Duff Ad there A mid Week Ski package staying at Kooroora 5 daqys Accomodation, Lessons and Lift included, $65 "New Duplex Poma to Baldy" "Arlberg New just opened" "Right where the action is" "Swinging Disco Weekends" ED Reading more "Blue Lifts and Orange lift considering (1975) having a joint day ticket for $6" Sadly they never ever did. Love this Bit "Bill Duff Ski Hire has added a couple of pairs of Fischer President Skis to his Hire range this year and also has plastic clip up boots for the first time"
awesome, just had a flick through love the twin towers pad for $11.5k, and molonys apartment FS. the parents were regulars in those days, but i was a few years off with my first week being in 1990
dates wrong, should be 1970. I was suspicious because I first skied in 1973 in plastic boots from Bill Duff. Baldy was a duplex poma then too. Checked the link and it said 1970
Got more pics But first one correction from old pics This one It is not the Summit looking down It is from Baldy looking down Bk St, a close look you can see the Top of the Bk St rope tow in it. (Have the original I might crop the lift so it can be seen.) New pics to add. Tyrol Rope tow YHA Lodge AKA "Shiver Shanty "situated at Skating Rink (pre Village) J Hilton Wood over snow trips to the summit (pre lifts on or to summit) Above tour Arrived at Summit
Wow, we used to hire from Bill Duff when I was a kid. We used to keep a locker there too, and our boots would be freezing in the morning. Those were the days when Abom was the original Abom and the food was good, open fireplace and wooden logs with cowhide as seats. We stayed in the original CSIRO lodge which of course has gone and is now a car park..... we would walk up to Bill Duff's every morning to ski, and it was some walk! I have such fond memories of getting a nasty front wedgie from the pomma in Bourke Street (I think it was anyway - so long ago) - it was evil.... Ahhh memories....
Thanks for the memories PP. Any of the original weatherboard Alberg ? Bill & Judy Duff's lockers, down the east corner, in the basement. They ran a smooth show.
Got this off a photo hanging on a wall in the lodge. Bk St Rope tow (early 1950's) Note the lift line. Had them back then too. Also note there is no lift line fences, people just seem to know how to line up behind one another back in the old days.
This set of images are from Buller 1950's and 60's Village Sign API ski club rear (note peak roof of sun room) API ski club front, snow up to bottom of sunroom windows API member Skis the Roof Arlberg from Baldy Arlberg Arlberg Baldy Rope Tow Bluff from Top of Rope Tow BMW ski club
Bottom Tyrol Rope Tow Bourke St & Rope Tow Bourke St Rope Tow Bourke Summer Bourke St T-Bar bottom Bourke Street T-Bar engine house Bourke Street T-Bar Bourke Street T-Bar Building Arlberg Ski jump, (faced top of Bk St from Top of what is now Emirates chair)
Bull Run Canteen Bull Run Races Bull Run Rope Tow Shed Buller Summit Hut Cow Camp from Helicopter Flat CSIR Onetree Hill Jumping from above jump. Kofflers
Kooroora Chalet Entry Kooroora Chalet Kooroora Deck Kooroora Entry Kooroora with Icicles Little Bourke St Top Little Bourke St Little Bourke Street Loading Bourke Street T-Bar Loading Rope Tow
Loading T-Bar McLachlan Shoulder Merrijig from Summit Merrijig from Summit2 Moose & Womens ski clubs Moose Ski Club2 Carousel Pole Line from theSummit Pole Line to Summit Races at Tyrol Rebuilt API & Engine Shed
Riding Bourke St Rope Tow Riding Tyrol Rope Tow Road Out of Village Bk St Rope Tow Queue Rope Tow Queue Bourke St Rope Tow Queue Ski Jump Snow Gums Snow Pole Top of Bourke St Summit at Sunset
Summit Hut Summit Hut2 Summit Hut3 Summit View Top of Bourke St Rope Tow Tyrol & Rope Tow Tyrol Pole Line Tyrol Rope Tow Tyrol Tow Half Way View from Roof of API ski club
