Fishermans Bend Aerodrome was located near the confluence of the Yarra River with Port Phillip
Bay.
The area was mainly a vast swamp, and was owned by the Commonwealth Government.
In the early 1930s, a primitive airstrip had been built there, used
by gliding and light aircraft enthuasists,
In 1935, the Goverrmnt built the Conmnonwealth Aircraft Corporation factory there, together
with a long sealed airstrip.
In the years 1935 to 1960, the CAC built many aircraft,
including the Avro Lincoln, the Tiger Moth, thed Canberra bomber, the Sabre jet, the Beaufort, the
Boomerang, the Mustang, the Winjeel, and the pilotless Jindavik.
.
The factory housed a major design, development, research and
manufacturing group, and in the 1940s, other manufacturing companies emerged
adjacent to the CAC.
In 1948, The State Electricity Commission built a large staff training facility next
to the CAC, which survived until 1981.
General Motors (Holden) set up its own enterprise nearby in 1947, resulting in the first Holden
car coming off the production line in 1948.
In 1949, The PMG's Department set up its Lineman's Training School
immediately next to the SEC facility, which endured until the early 1960s.
In 1956, I was in my first year of the PMG's Traineee Technician
Course, and I spent four weeks at the Lineman's School, gaining an appreciation of transmission line and
cable installation and maintenance practices.
The Lineman's School relocated to a new site in Doncaster in 1967, and the old site was taken
over by a PMGs Engineering Work Centre for the pre-installation of small telephone exchanges, and ultimately managed by the
Engineering Workshops.
