EILDON


Lat / Long GDA -37.209230, 145.842395
Department FCV...etc...DEECA
Work Depot Alexandra
Region North East
Grading Primary
Elevation (ASL) 638m
Height 5.4m
Construction Steel
Cabin size 2.3m x 2.7m
Public access to site No
In use since 1949 - 1998 (original)
1998- current
CFA Region 12 - North Eastern
Photo taken and supplied by Andre Belterman in May 2003

The following information was found in correspondence supplied by David Bannear.
An official letter from the Forest Commission of Victoria, dated 26th July 1954 talks about "establishing a fire lookout station on a prominent point in allot. 55 Sec. B, Parish of Eildon."
A database supplied by the DSE (formally known as Forest Commission and NRE) has the construction year as 1949!

Forest Commission letter dated 16-11-1967 talks about re-painting the cabin. Materials needed are: 1 gallon pink primer, 2 gallon external u/c white, 2 gallon external f/g white, 2 gallon roofing green, 1/3" paint brush, 1lb putty and 24 sheets of sanding paper. Total cost: $25
The towerman was to supply the labour while on duty.

An SEC letter dated 02-04-1975 is regarding power supply to the lookout.
83m of low-voltage line was proposed at a cost of $300.

A new Toronto cabin and structure was erected in 1998?

Please click on thumbnail for enlargement
Above photos (May 2009) and updated info was supplied by Richard Webb

Eildon tower received a new cabin before the 2013-14 season. Info supplied by John Hopper (DEPI Alexandra)

Above photos (May 2014) of tower with new cabin and view were supplied by Andre Belterman

The Hume Region FaceBook page posted a video about the tower in January 2017. You can view the clip here
The following text accompanies the clip: "There are 16 fire towers across the Hume Region that are manned by people just like Fire Lookout Observer John Power, who is located at the Eildon tower on days of high fire danger. Eildon is located in the Murrindindi Fire District which has a total of six towers including Eildon, Mt Terrible, Mt Gordon, Mt Despair, Mt Hickey and Pretty Sally.
John explains in this short clip what he does when he first sees smoke.
Fire towers play an important role in the early detection of fires. Forest Fire Management Victoria operates a network of 72 fire towers, located strategically around the state to ensure maximum coverage of Victoria's parks and forests. Early detection is critical to responding to incidents and containing fires before they have the opportunity to spread and impact communities and the environment".

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