I am searching for information about and photos of the East Burwood Cool Stores Pty Ltd. My partner's great grandfather, grandfather and uncle worked as engineers at this cool store. All 3 went under the name of Thomas...

fernhill

I am searching for information about and photos of the East Burwood Cool Stores Pty Ltd.
My partner's great grandfather, grandfather and uncle worked as engineers at this cool store. All 3 went under the name of Thomas French although the eldest appears to have been named Thomas Williams at birth and changed his surname to French (his mother's maiden name) as a young adult.
The main building and 1 or 2 associated houses were owned by the Mullins/Mullans family. Not sure on the spelling of this surname.
The original store building burnt down in 1933 I believe.
The start date of the family's association with this cool store is unknown but we know that Thomas French (b.22/8/1888 & d.6/2/1948)started work there soon after World War 1 ended, and was still employed as the Manager and Chief Engineer at the time of his death in February 1948.
Any snippets of information will be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou,
Michele French

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replied to: fernhill

WoodyAB

Replied to: I am searching for information about and photos of the East...

Michele, I think this reply is probably a little late and of little help, but here it is.
I lived on an orchard in Mahoney's Rd until I was 15. My father, Ron Bluhm and my grandfather William Bluhm used the cool store.
As a young kid I found the place fascinating with its ice-covered pipes and engine pit with two diesel(?) engines connected to enormous pistons and flywheels, all in red, green and polished brass. It was here that Dad first taught me what part a governor played on a motor, as this one visibly demonstrated its operation with spinning arms raising and lowering according to the speed.
Since Dad died in 2009 I have been desperately trying to remember the first name of one of the two friendly engineers who were always hovering around the plant maintaining it. I thought they were brothers and had no doubt their surname was French, but the brothers idea may just have been a young child assumption.
Dad introduced me to Tom French and the other one in the mid-fifties. I remember they always had a rag in their overalls back pocket to clean any excess oil and grease off the machinery.
In Dad's brief memoirs he devotes about two paragraphs to the cool store and hasn't mentioned any names. I have been searching high and low for a photo of it to add to his memoirs before publishing, but have drawn a blank both from neighbours and the local historical society. I had a camera as a kid and could easily have taken photos that would be priceless today, but my rolls of film only had 8 shots and it had been impressed on me to that I had to make them last.
Sorry that none of this is much help, and all of our Mahoney's Rd orchardist fathers have now passed on so we can't ask them, but I do know that one of the two engineers in my fifties cool store visits was one of your Tom Frenchs and that he was always friendly and happy to show us around his spotless machinery.
Maybe you can clear up the mystery of whether the other one was also a French or just my imagination running wild?
By the way, Trove has articles from The Argus and The Reporter detailing a fire that destroyed the cool store on 2 April 1916, but there may well have been another one in 1933.

Regards,
Alan Bluhm

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