In the background

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Doing the Jeep rounds at the moment, way more interesting out the back.
Rich.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Richard Coutts-Smith

Doing the Jeep rounds at the moment, way more interesting out the back.

Rich, I also posted this picture earlier as the jeeps in the foreground are Canadian contract jeeps.

[Tony Wheeler]

"In the background" and "Under the house"!

703395374 Moving weatherboard house from Tallangatta to Bolga.jpg

[lynx42]

Tony, Well spotted. The prime mover in the foreground, looks like a GMC. The same company had a Yankee Joe and house moving trailer which was parked up next to the railway line in Rutherglen about 25 years ago. I have some photos somewhere but I can't put my hand on them at the moment. The trailers were 2 pairs of 16inch limber wheels on a short axle about 2 feet apart with a 12 inch square, long Oregon beam between them.

Regards and Merry Christmas,
Rick.

[Robert Bergeron]

Crazy and incredible feat !

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by lynx42

The same company had a Yankee Joe and house moving trailer which was parked up next to the railway line in Rutherglen about 25 years ago.

Rick, looks like they had a Ford M-H 6x6 as well. Rare beast in Aust, I wonder what became of it...

70501577 Moving weatherboard house from Tallangatta to Bolga.jpg 70501584 Moving weatherboard house from Tallangatta to Bolga.jpg 70501567 Moving weatherboard house from Tallangatta to Bolga.jpg 70501572 Moving weatherboard house from Tallangatta to Bolga.jpg 703087188 Moving weatherboard house from Tallangatta to Bolga.jpg

[Tracey Burt]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

"In the background" and "Under the house"!

Attachment 78337

Hi Tony

That's my father on the left on the bridge in the photo. My parents split and then he died when I was young, so recently I went searching for photos of the moving of those houses. I already had all of the ones posted here, except for one. I am very grateful that someone posted it, as it is the best one of the whole collection which shows my father.

The houses were located in a town called Tallangatta in Victoria, which is now referred to as 'old Tallangatta'. The whole town was moved to higher ground, about five miles away, because the area it was situated in was to go underwater when they extended the Hume Weir. The town was moved in 1955.

The trucks and vehicles were owned by a contractor called Ernie Nunn, who came from Ballarat to shift the town.

The new town of Tallangatta continues to thrive today, and is undergoing a facelift at the moment. All of the houses which were moved, are still standing in their new locations.

I joined the forum to post a better photo of the jeep you point out following the house over the bridge. In appreciation of the photo I gained from you guys. Thanks again.



http://s1083.photobucket.com/user/0B...tml?sort=3&o=0

[Tony Wheeler]

Hi Tracey

Thanks very much for your post, I'm pleased you were able to ID your father in the old photo. The internet is an amazing place!

Nice to know those old houses are still standing in Tallangatta today. I used to pass through when visiting relatives in Cudgewa back in the '80s. It's a beautiful region off the beaten track. I recall one time we dropped in on the way back from Sydney, taking a "short cut" over what appeared on the map to be a bridge across the Murray. We arrived at dusk to find no such bridge existed, and were about to turn round in disgust when the sound of a motor was heard across the water, and out of the gloom appeared a cable driven vehicle ferry - a most unexpected but very welcome sight! Great to see it's still running today.

Cheers,
Tony

Wymah ferry.jpg Wymah ferry (2).jpg

[Tracey Burt]

The Wymah Ferry! I've been on that a few times.

Yes, it is a lovely area. I've been away from here for more than 30 years. Its been fun exploring the area again.

Even more interesting after doing family ancestry research, and finding out where my ancestors lived, when they first arrived in Australia, and revisiting those places with that in mind.

After the town of Tallangatta was moved, two of the work crew stayed behind, being my father and his brother. Both married local girls, and started up their own house removal businesses. My uncle Bob is shown in the photo of the other house on the bridge, with the old bus in the foreground, on the roof of the house. My dad is in the foreground of that one too, with Ernie Nunn.

When I was a child, we used to drive ahead of, or behind dad's truck, in an old panel van with the 'danger wide load' sign on it. I still remember being on some of the work sites, and always amazed to see a house hit the road. Dad once blacked out a small town, when they took down the power lines on their way into it.

Dad went back to Ballarat and to work for Ernie again, after my parents split. Uncle Bob stayed in the business for many years afterwards, but has died a couple of years ago now.

Uncle Bob moved lots of army buildings, into Bandianna, to become housing for the immigrants after WWII and moved buildings for workers on the Hydro Electricity Scheme.

Thanks again for the photo you posted.