VINTAGE 1917 COLOUR PHOTOGRAPH: motorcycle excursion to Ross, Tasmania. This very early and faded “PAGET COLOUR” photograph is by H J King, and that’s him riding the motorcycle. Lucy King (in the sidecar in these pictures) told me that these were taken ‘in her courting days’ when H J’s family owned the cycle shop in Launceston. They had the Tasmanian agency for ‘Indian’ Motorcycles. The image is from a glass lantern slide transparency, 3 1/4 inches square, which I copied to Kodachrome with Lucy’s permission in 1982. Paget colour was a fore-runner of the Finlay colour process, though its colours were not so true, and the fine primary colour dot-mosaic through which the emulsion was exposed, and later projected, used fugitive dyes which faded badly. I have tried every software manipulation known to recover what little colour remains in these Paget plates after 96 years, and this is the best that I can do with this and its companion slide. The Paget colour photography process was most notably used by Frank Hurley on the famous Shackleton Antarctic expedition of 1914-16. Hurley also subsequently used the Paget Process to take official Australian army photos of battles in the latter part of World War One. Thanks member Rodger Beimers for this interesting bit of Australian History & to all involved to give a us a little more appreciation of past times

 

 

It’s that time of the year for renewing your Association membership. Midnight on June 30 is the crunch time on which your Iron Indian Riders, Victoria Section membership expires, provided you have not already completed and sent off the renewal included in your current edition of Smoke Signals which you will receive within the next 10 days.

Not all that important?  Well blow me down, if you have a vehicle on club (red) plates it just might be. When you have a vehicle on Victorian club plates, in order for the club registration to be valid you MUST be a financial member of the club that the rego was arranged through.  If you are NOT financial then your vehicle club registration is INVALID – as far as the cops are concerned it’s no ifs and no buts.   In Victoria this means you would be charged with operating an unregistered vehicle – penalty is a whopping $706 PLUS 4 demerit points.  To add to the ignominy – the cops will NOT let you drive/ride away plus they will not be responsible for your vehicle if you leave it unattended where it is.

So – if you have not done it already – you may just want to send your membership renewal off to our secretary Peter Kime any day now. By the way, failing to have a valid and correct log book with you when operating your club registered vehicle attracts EXACTLY the same penalty.

2013 Membership Application form (download)

Two of the above people will be glad to help & the first one is member John”Straw” who runs Antique Motorcycles 03 9583 9922 in Cheltenham Melbourne. John is a colourful chap with plenty of experience & banter he has a good knowledge back-up as well, the other good thing is he will not only supply but also fit your parts if needed as they have a great workshop facility, Straw recently got a huge inventory of spares from USA he will also sell you a complete motorcycle if needed. The other is Mark Barthelmie from Zorro’s Apparel   0433106669 Mark is also the President of the IIRA of Aust and a dead keen Indian owner who together with his charming wife Sandy, run a great business in Mordialloc supplying a huge range of clothing & accessories for all your motorcycling needs (click on highlights)

A great group of photos from the last century, kids those years were really interested in motorcycles I suppose some had no choice as these were the only form of transport available for a large percentage of the population. This concept is sadly now lost when kids get freighted everywhere by Mum’s S.U.V they have little interest in motorcycles or some see no need for them except a novelty value, or some “Silly old Bugger” down the road has one in the shed that wakes them early some mornings. Sad is’nt it, this is where you need to get your motorcycle out  and encourage young people to ask questions we need a new generation of riders to take the reins before nobody cares & the government legislates them off the road, this would be a shame and your treasured Indian may end up in the scrap 50 years from now as there is no one that cares & the scrap metal price is worth more than your Indian 4, you cant do much about the future but remember you are only a current caretaker of your motorcycle at this present time, without future generations your machine is doomed!