Photograph of Essendon Aerodrome about 1930

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Type: Photographs
Date: 1930
Place: Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Materials: Paper, Photographic emulsion
Collection: Eric J Treloar collection
Accession number: 1988.0024.0011

Description

A photograph of Essendon Aerodrome. The photograph is a black and white print with a glossy finish on velux paper. The ink inscription on the back reads "Aerodrome, Essendon 19...? Probably 1930".

About the collection

The collection consists of 56 items related to the career and interests of William Harold Treloar, including photographs, magazines, newspaper clippings, documents and a cartoon by Tom Shield. The material was donated his son Eric J Treloar, and is drawn from Harold Treloar's employment and flight training before the First World War, and his commercial flying activities in Australia after the war. Born in Hamilton, Victoria in 1889, Harold Treloar was employed as a driver for Young Bros Auctioneers in Horsham from 1908, and then a motor mechanic and driver at McDonald's Garage in Hamilton from 1911. During 1912-13, Treloar was employed as a mechanic and driver at the Ballarat Motor Works. Treloar developed an interest in aviation and travelled to England where he was accepted as a pupil at the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company Limited in June 1914 for training in piloting and maintenance of aircraft. Treloar continued his training at the Point Cook aviation school after enlisting with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1914, and began service with the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) in 1915. Treloar was one of the first members of the AFC to enter war service as part of the 'Half Flight' sent to assist the Indian Government against Turkish forces in April 1915. In August 1915, Treloar was reported missing and then confirmed a prisoner of war, remaining in captivity until November 1918. After returning to Australia, Treloar explored a number of commercial aviation interests, entering aerial races and offering joy flights during tours of Victoria and parts of New South Wales. He was employed as an aviation officer for the British Imperial Oil Company Ltd in Adelaide, a subsidiary of the Shell Transport and Trading Company (becoming the Shell Company of Australia Ltd in 1927), from 1920 to 1940.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:15:45 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-23. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.