| Historical notes: | 1869 Shand Mason No. 1 Manual Fire Engine is a survivor from an era of development and change, not only of fire fighting equipment and brigade organisation, but also of systems of government and their policies.
No.1 manual pumper was manufactured by the Shand Mason Company of London during a period when there was no statutory control or co-ordination of Sydney's fire protection. At the time this vehicle commenced its service, Sydney's fire protection consisted of a number of autonomous volunteer fire companies as well as the Insurance Companies Brigade (formed in the early 1850s) and thus would have been originally purchased by one of these early brigades or companies. By the time the manual had become a curiosity, preserved for display purposes, statutory control was well established and the NSW Fire Brigades was a state-wide fire fighting service. This engines four decades of service is therefore associated with an era in which fire protection in Sydney and NSW progressed from independent , mid-nineteenth century fire companies to a statutory, twentieth century state-wide organisation.
In the year of the manual's manufacture (1869) fire brigades in Sydney were using a variety of fire fighting appliances. It was a time of intense development and competition between the manufacturers of fire fighting equipment, with English companies such as Shand Mason and Merryweather trying to out perform each other with their respective products. It was a great period of transition in fire engines. Horse drawn engines had largely replaced hand drawn ones. Manually pumped engines were being challenged by the more powerful steam fire engines, however both were being used side by side in by the Sydney Insurance Companies Brigade. If a volunteer company agreed to place itself under the control of the Insurance Brigade's Superintendent at fires, then it would receive assistance, both financially and in terms of the loan of equipment which might include a steam powered pumper. Volunteer companies which refused to be 'controlled ' in such a manner had no support. Consequently steam fired engines were largely out of the question - they were simply too expensive. For these companies manual engines were an affordable appliance to maintain and operate and they were something a volunteer company could realistically purchase through a consistent fundraising effort.
At the inception of the Metropolitan Fire in 1884 the plant included two steam engines, two manuals and a ladder truck. In 1909, just prior to the NSW Board of Commissioners taking control, the plant included some thirty manuals. Even with the first motorised pumper being introduced in 1906, manuals continued to be used. Many of them were eventually fitted with turbine pumps. In 1909 the Annual Report states 'On October 14th, Messers T Green and Co., exhibited to the Board a method of conversion of manual engines to petrol motor power, which appears to have much promise' (MFB Annual Report 1909:4) These were mainly used at country stations, however, with the last one being withdrawn from Alstonville in 1931. This 1869 Manual somehow managed to escape such modification and is, apart from minor alterations, largely intact. The last manual fire engines were withdrawn from service in 1930.
The No.1 Manual's service period commenced during the era of pre-Federation Government. This administration was largely inadequate in its attempts to control and co-ordinate fire protection in the City of Sydney due to its long lasting procrastination) until it finally passed the Fire Brigades Act (1884). The Manual's service also extended into the era of post-Federation Government, which initiated state-wide co-ordination and control through the Fire Brigades Act (1909).
The Shand Mason Manual is documented as being located at Headquarters (now City of Sydney Fire Station) from 1903-1909. Its history prior to 1903 is uncertain. It can reasonably be suggested that its early service would have been with either the Insurance Companies Brigade and/or a volunteer company. Indeed there is a long-term oral tradition among fire-fighters and fire engine enthusiasts that it is the same engine that was owned by the Royal Alfred Australian Volunteer Fire Company No.1 from 1871 (christened 'the Pioneer' in honour of the company's founder, Andrew Torning). That particular manual was located at the Volunteer Company's engine house in 1900 when the premises were auctioned. Documentary evidence does not yet conclusively establish the provenance of either engine during the intervening three years( 1900-1903). By 1914 the No.1 Manual appears to have been a spare appliance at Newcastle City, at which time it was sent to Stockton.
On 30 June 1926, the Shand Mason manual was used in a display of ancient and modern fire engines featuring replicas of fire fighting equipment dating from 120 BC, which were constructed at the brigade workshops. This display was carried out in the presence of His Excellency the Governor of NSW, Admiral Sir Dudley De Chair and his wife Elaine De Chair. The occasion was the presentation of 86711 pounds ($173,422) raised through the Fire Brigade's Art Union, to be donated to various charities. A commemorative photo album which features the No. 1 manual being used, operated by firemen, was issued following the occasion. Copies of the album are held at the Museum of Fire, Penrith and the State Records NSW. No 1 Manual was handed over to the Museum of Fire in 1985 and is now on permanent display. |