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Ken Purdham

Bachelor of Arts History & Politics

Diploma of Professional Writing & Editing


The Electrical Trades Union, Victorian Branch believes its past is as important as its future. To that end its offices include museum displays that track a timeline of trades and union history from 1902 to now.


This Union looks to its future from the platform of its past. It values its place in the community. With that in mind it welcomes educational inquiries about its history within industry, within the political system and within the labour movement.


Contact: ETU on above link or ken. purdham@etuvic.com.au



The union archive collection includes:


The ETU is sometimes referred to as a pepper and salt union in that its members are sprinkled over all industries. But it all began with the poles and wires.


While the newspapers were warning the general public about this new stuff electricity. “If you see a wire off the pole and on the ground don’t touch it. If possible train your dog to to pick it up…” electrical men were busy installing small private power generators and transmission lines to supply Melbourne city blocks.


From those small beginnings electricity and electrical workers began a long association with Australian people and businesses.


Behind the scenes their union has worked with organisations to secure electrical standards, electrical licensing, training, and safety.


But more than that it has tirelessly supported members’ local communities in many charitable ways.


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ETU Historian

This month in the virtual museum

A linesman’s tools are many and varied from razor sharp knives to strip off the insulation to blunt bars to prize apart the cores of a steel wired armour cable.


When we see a linesman or cable jointer up a pole or down a pit we don’t think of the tools he uses. What about ratchet spanners, line tap spanners, stringing rollers, tool buckets, come alongs, hotsticks, hotstick attachments, and wedges?


That’s not to mention, callipers, blow torches, leather wipes, soldering irons.


Joining cables is not just twisting some wires together, it’s a craft in itself.

 While the rest of us sit safely on the ground looking up at a linesman maintaining the poles and wires that bring us electricity, he can’t take his safety for granted. The lifeline of a linesman is his safety belt.

Linesmen were  taught to keep their belts well oiled to prevent cracking and to keep them dry. Wet belts could be conductors of electricity.

In the past belts were made from Italian leather by the leather workers at the SECV workshops in Richmond, Victoria but by the 1980s, they were being replaced with webbing belts that were much lighter and stronger and would not crack like leather.

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1998

March 1959

On my union page I tell the story of Freddie Hooks. After an accident, that caused horrific injuries, he fought to rebuild his life and rebuild it he did.

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Leather Linesman’s safety belt, circa 1960s

1975

Linesman’s webbing Belt December 2013