The first cars that began to appear in the Midland Junction
District just before World War 1 attracted much attention and were greeted with
mixed reactions. By the 1920s cars were becoming more frequent but were still
considered highly "newsworthy". The following information featured in
the 19 December 1924 edition of the Swan Express.
Mr Parker, Greenmount drives a well kept Oakland car, and gives pleasure to other folk, also by welcome lifts up and down the York road. Mr Silverwright, York road, Greenmount occasionally takes the family out in a neat Gray car and is ever ready to give a ride to a hot and dusty pedestrian of his acquaintance. Among the list of newly acquired Fords we notice some local names- Mr L. Williams, Greenmount, Mr E.T. Taylor, Bellevue, Mr W.M. Newey Rivervale''Some Motorists We Know
The Swan Express also published useful maintenance tips to those who had discovered the joys of motoring.
Swan Express December 1924
'MOTORING MATTER
CAR SPRINGS AND SILENCE
The spring shackles are without exception the most neglected part of the car. Failure to lubricate them, exposure to water and mud, soon produce wear, and cause them to rattle constantly. The strain of braking and driving now comes on the springs of all cars, and for this reason it is quite necessary to keep the shackles well lubricated. The best lubricant is grease, used in grease cups, which feed by pressure. Grease forced in under pressure oozes out to some extent at the opposite ends of the bolts, and at the same time it carries away the grit. Keep the spring bolts tight. Side play in springs will cause a knock, which is intensified by the drive force. It may be necessary to apply ‘shims’ or even new bolts to take up the wear.'By the late 1920s motorcars were everywhere. An article published in The West Australian - Sunday Motor Driving: A Clerical Denunciation, attacked the habit of Sunday driving which it said was:
"becoming more and more a curse to the community. It was no good for the children physically, mentally or spiritually. Their souls were being turned into vacuums. Also the Sunday drive, which to some people was a fetish, was not good for father’s liver. A four-mile walk would do him much more good".
But for Midland Junction Technical School capitalising on this popular trend offered a way to stay open during the devastating years of the Depression. A self-supporting class in Motor Mechanics was set up in 1932 and twenty three people enrolled for a fee of 10/- for ten lectures.
The main training centre for motor mechanics was Perth Technical School until the early 1960s when a purpose build workshop was set up as part of Carlisle Technical School.
It was one of Carlisle’s earliest apprentices, Ray Mahony who was given the task of equipping the new automotive training workshop at Midland in 1986. Ray had extended his motor mechanics experience to that of a diesel fitter, as well as a rep for the Ford Motor Company and had previously lectured at Fremantle, Balga and Kalgoorlie Technical Schools.
Since 1986 different types of training have been offered through the Midland centre. High school students and pre-apprentices have been introduced to motor mechanics, women have gained a better understanding of their cars, and overseas teachers have upgraded their automotive training skills. A number of post trade certificate courses have been conducted including Automotive Science, Traction and Automatic Transmissions. However the most significant groups have remained the motor mechanic apprentices, many of whom are now involved in the local automotive industry.
Sean Cranenburgh who completed his apprenticeship at Midland in 1996 now draws from Midland’s pre-apprentice students for his apprentices in his role as Assistant Service Manager of Skippers Service centre. Sean won the WA Apprenticeship of the Year for the State Automotive and Westrac Training Excellence Award and continued his training to become a master technician, then Workshop Foreman and Workshop Manager. In 1999 as a technician representing Hyundai he became the Amber medallist (fourth place) in the World Skill Olympics competing against finalists from a pool of 12000 technicians world wide.
"Matching pre-apprentices with suitable businesses is one of the key roles of current staff," said Senior Lecturer, Keith Verrier. Keith has been around the industry all his life - his grandfather and father both operated a mechanics workshop, which has since evolved to become Verrier’s Engineering. "The other key role for staff is to make sure that students have access to the latest equipment to analyse any problems," he said. "When the centre was first set up cars were being fitted with only very basic electronic equipment as it was prior to the introduction of electronic fuelling systems or engines management systems".
However despite the sophistication of modern cars, students still learn the basics by starting on simple lawn mower engines. As their skills improve they progress to V8 engines. Cars are donated for students to work on.
In 2003 seven teams of pre-apprentice students competed in an expo to strip down and reassemble an engine in the fastest time. The event, which was won by Pravesh Ghumaria and Nicolas De Gaye in fourteen minutes and fifteen seconds was featured in Motor WA - July 2003.
Previous staff at the Midland Centre
Ray Mahony
Norm Johnson
Terry Lyons
Tony Baldwin
Ron Harvey
Trevor Bicknell
Arthur Hughes
Thanks to Ray Mahony, Keith Verrier and Norm Johnson for assistance with this industry profile.
