This page contains a photograph which is one of several belonging to the photo gallery pages which are part of several pages relating to the invention of the world's first automatic totalizator in 1913 and Automatic Totalisators Limited, the company founded to develop, manufacture and export these systems.

An early Automatic Totalisators Workshop at the Newtown factory

This image of an Automatic Totalisators Limited (ATL) photograph, which was taken inside the factory at Alice Street Newtown in Sydney. There are parts of drum counter indicators on the bench. There is a workshop come machine room behind the bench with drive belts rising from the machines to pulleys on a drive shaft running across the roof truss area driving the machines. The elegantly dressed gentleman in the Homburg hat standing on the left hand side of the photo seems to be at odds with the rest of the men in it looking very much like a visitor. He is holding a drum counter display wheel and seems to be listening to someone standing in front of him, dressed like a manager or supervisor, describing the drum counter display wheel. Apart from these two everyone else seems to be at their workstations.

Not knowing who the visitor is, I will refer to him as ATMOM. ATMOM? An acronym for Automatic Totalisators Man Of Mystery. Aside from ATMOM and his discussion partner, everyone else is clearly engaged in their daily work activities, with some who have been distracted by the photo being taken and are looking up at the camera. I get the impression ATMOM is a visitor as I think it is improbable that he and the manager like person are discussing a quality control issue with the drum counter display wheel that ATMOM is holding! Adding to the impression ATMOM is a visitor, there are coats and hats seen hanging on the walls presumably belonging to the employees, yet ATMOM is the only one wearing a hat which probably means he was not planning to stay all day or do any work. Elevating ATMOM to the status of significant visitor, it is clear that someone has considered ATMOM worthy of particular attention by drawing an arrow on the photograph pointing him out and providing a three word annotation which can be seen written across the second beam above him and to the right, above the join between the lower beam and the supporting pillar. Unfortunately the identification words near the tail of the arrow are unclear. For some time I was fairly sure the first two words read Curtis of however the third word was and remains quite illusive and looks like Camera however there are many other possibilities like Canada Canoba Canola Camala Camela or Camola. In any case, ATMOM was worthy of note even if we don't get the message! More after the image...

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Click on the image to go back to the Photo Gallery

The photographers stamp on the photograph reads Hall & Co 44 Hunter Street Sydney

An additional observation that gives credence to the idea that ATMOM might be important, is that he appears in another photo in the Photo Gallery pages of this website. Following is a reduced size version of that photograph titled Another image inside the Alice St factory that I have included here for reference. To view the full sized image click on the image above and scroll up and select the image thumbnail that corresponds to the image below. In that photograph and also seen below, ATMOM is one of two men again standing apart from the machinists and observing the scene, to the left of the central row of machines about halfway down the depth of the photo. Alternatively they can be located to the left of the second machinist who is behind the first in the centre foreground and wearing a white shirt and braces and has his left hand is resting on the machine he is operating. Of interest in the photo is that everyone is looking at the camera. As ATMOM is also accompanied in this second image and all the other staff seem to be at their workstations, it cements the impression that ATMOM is a visitor. His companion in the photo could well be the same person seen in the photo above judging by his height and attire. In the light of this, considering that I have in the few photos I posses noticed ATMOM in two of them and that there were probably more with him taken, I think it is highly probable ATMOM is the reason these photos were taken. To visit the Webpage containing this other photo, click on the image above and scroll up and select the image thumbnail with associated text starting with This photograph is labelled First Workshop ATL.

Another image inside the Alice St. factory

Returning to the image at the top of this page, as ATMOM seems to be interested in a Drum Counter Display Wheel and the person with him seems to be explaining something about it, I will write a bit about it. This Drum Counter Display Wheel is a part of a Counter Display Unit that has an inbuilt adder and four Drum Counter Display Wheels. There are four of these Counter Display Units sitting on the bench three small ones and one large one. There are several of these Units in a Public Display Indicator one unit for each runner in a race and another that displays the pool grand total. Additionally there is one of these Public Display Indicators for each pool. Following is a comment from Neville Mitchell, a long serving Automatic Totalisators manager and engineer regarding the large Counter Display Unit, which Neville refers to as The Larger Drum Adder as they have a built in adder, sitting on the bench: The Larger Drum Adder looks familiar, I think it is the same as the 1936 version I re-installed at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club track in 1969. These were the one's with the mercury digit transfer forked switches. we have mentioned before. The first two digits of the large Counter Display Unit are showing 98 the following digit is half way between 6 and 7 and the final digit is between 2 and 3. This device sums the total investment on a particular runner. The forked mercury switches Neville refers to, are discussed in the third image in the Longchamps Paris 1928 section of the photo gallery. To view this, click on the image at the top of this page, scroll to the bottom of the newly loaded page, select the previous page button in the navigation bar and scroll down to the Longchamps Paris 1928 section and click on the third thumbnail showing the large shaft adder and read the paragraph starting with Neville Mitchell, the best historian of this company...

Returning to the speculative subject of ATMOM and his identification, the most likely thought I have has to do with the Julius Tote installed at Longchamps in France in 1928. That Julius Tote system is the largest I know of bar one, which had 273 terminals and received the nickname The Insatiable Moloch in Paris. At the time the contract for this project was the largest Austral-French commercial transaction. As the Newtown factory was the factory for the duration of the Longchamps project with the move to Chalmers Street in the Sydney CBD taking place at a time when the Longchamps system had been in operation for something in the order of five years, I think ATMOM could have been a representative of the French purchaser checking on progress. I do note however that the Counter Display Units seen on the bench in the image at the top of this page do not belong to the Longchamps system as the Longchamps indicators had six digits in them as opposed to four in this image. On the other hand they could be looking at these being manufactured for some other smaller installation as an example. There is another image in this Photo Gallery showing the assembly of Longchamps Adders and TIMs in this factory. ATMOM could even be a politician interested in such a large project. I discovered on the Internet that the name Curtis is of Anglo - Norman origin derived from the old French Curteis. So if ATMOM is called Curtis he could have French heritage.

It is probably whimsical musing but it is interesting to note that Glenn Curtiss, a famous American aviation pioneer was instrumental in developing Hialeah and co-founded the Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah. Hialeah Park was another significant Julius Tote installation with 110 terminals and was the first Automatic Totalisators Limited installation in the United States of America. As that system was installed in 1932 the Alice St Newtown factory also saw that project come and go as the move to Chalmers St did not take place till shortly after November 1933. In 1934 the Sydney phone book gives the address of the Automatic Totalisators Limited factory as Chalmers Street in the Sydney CBD. Could ATMOM be from Hialeah? One big argument against this is that by the time of the Hialeah system George Julius had invented the world's first odds calculator and the Hialeah system had odds displays in contrast to the old systems displaying investments on runners and pool grand totals so the Counter Display Units shown on the bench in the image at the top of this page were redundant. There are several pages in this photo gallery relating to the Julius Tote at Hialeah. To read this, click on the image at the top of this page to return to the photo gallery index then scroll up to the top of the page where the image thumbnails begin under the heading Hialeah racetrack in Miami 1932. Additionally there is a very interesting article by Jack Bell from the Miami Herald describing the installation of the Hialeah Julius Tote in the Automatic Totalisators In America chapter of this website. To read this click on the image at the top of this page then scroll down to the bottom of the Photo Gallery Index and select the Go to the index button in the navigation bar and finally select the Automatic Totalisators In America link under the Secondly heading.

I have come across another possible identity for ATMOM that comes from Sir George Julius' great grandson. It is a result of wading through the wealth of Julius family documentation that Tony Shellshear, George Julius' great grandson gave me. It is titled BUILDING THE BRIDGE Twelve Lithographs with supplement in colour by ROBERT EMERSON CURTIS. Robert worked as an illustrator and cartoonist in Brisbane. His interest in the industrial expansion in Chicago took him to the United States. He was interested in the links between man and machines which would definitely have attracted him to Automatic Totalisators limited if he was aware of the mechanical computing of the totalisator systems. When he returned to Australia in 1928, curiously the year the Longchamps system commenced operation, he recorded the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge resulting in the Building The Bridge document. In 1940 Robert depicted activities in Commonwealth munition factories, which almost definitely would have included Automatic Totalisators Limited, as they manufactured munitions during WW2 (World War Two). He worked as a Camouflage Officer attached to the RAAF in Cairns and New Guinea and I wonder if the word that I cannot decipher written on this photo is some permutation of camouflage. If so I suspect these words were written on the photograph well after the photo was taken. Robert became an official war artist and was interested in technological achievements which makes the work of Automatic Totalisators Limited, in the field of mechanical computing an irresistible subject if he knew of them. He later became interested in the Sydney Opera House and was commissioned by The Sydney Opera House Trust to illustrate each stage of its construction. As Julius Poole and Gibson were the prime Electrical Contractors for that installation, it is improbable that he would not have known of Automatic Totalisators Limited being George Julius' other major company. For a person who developed a lifelong interest in industrial modernism, it is difficult to imagine that he would not have discovered a company, that in the country that he spent the major part of his life, was manufacturing Large-scale, Real-time, Multi-user systems long before the digital computers that made these concepts commonplace. I feel compelled to mention that I too witnessed the final stages of construction first hand as I worked for AWA on the Opera House Project, a company subcontracting to Julius Poole and Gibson to provide install and commission the electroacoustic and CCTV systems. The main argument against Robert being ATMOM is that he seems to have been too young. He was only about thirty when ATMOM was photographed in the first two images in this page and ATMOM, although it is not clear seems to be older. Robert's pencil drawing titled Construction Worker Resting, Sydney Opera House shows the temporary site offices being built along the western side of Bennelong Point. This is nostalgic for me, the row of offices closer to Circular Quay have already been built, however some of the materials for the construction of the row of Site Offices where our huts were located, are already lying on the ground.

Aerial View Alice Street factory post Automatic Totalisators Limited

The image above titled Aerial View Alice Street factory post Automatic Totalisators Limited, was extracted from a 1949 aerial survey photograph titled City of Sydney - Aerial Photographic Survey, 1949 Map 102 and is from the Historical Atlas of Sydney. I received the aerial photograph image from Naomi Crago, an archivist at the City of Sydney archives when I enquired about the Newtown Project and the Alice Street factory.

In trying to establish which manufacturing facility the photo shown in the image at the top of this page was taken there are a couple of very strong indicators. The aerial image above can be related to the image at the top of this page.

Firstly, the image at the top of this page shows an obviously early manufacturing period of the company and it clearly shows the building has a corrugated iron roof. The image below shows the first Automatic Totalisators Limited factory which was at Alice street Newtown, and it too shows the corrugated iron roof. The factory Automatic Totalisators Limited later moved to ended up as a six storey building located in the city next to Central Station and definitely did not have a corrugated iron roof being of a much later era 1933, so the image at the top of the page is not in that factory, which means it must be the Alice Street Newtown factory.

Staff outside the Alice street factory at Newtown

Secondly, the 1949 aerial photograph was taken after Automatic Totalisators Limited had vacated this factory and moved to Chalmers street in the city. This move took place in 1933/34. How much change to the ex Automatic Totalisators Limited factory took place in the intervening years is unknown, however there is an aspect of this factory shown in the aerial image above that can be seen in the much earlier image at the top of this page. It can be seen in the aerial view shown above in the image titled Aerial View Alice Street factory post Automatic Totalisators Limited that a major part of the factory consists of two very long thin neighbouring structures with A-frame roofs. It also shows what looks like from above, four parallel close together and perpendicular extensions to this major part of the factory, about half way down and on the right hand side of the long thin sections. In the image at the top of this page, the most distant part of the roof visible shows the corrugations in the iron rising towards the camera. In the top left corner however, a small corrugated iron section of the roof is visible, that is much closer and is rising from left to right at 90 degrees to the previously mentioned part of the roof. This is how the roof would look if we were standing inside one of the perpendicular sections shown in the aerial view looking into the nearest of the two very long thin neighbouring structures with A-frame roofs.

I have previously speculated as to why the part of the factory down the bottom end of the two long thin sections shown in the aerial image above titled Aerial View Alice Street factory post Automatic Totalisators Limited, has a darker roof than the rest of this roof section above. Could it be that the darker part is older than the lighter part above which is an addition? The image at the top of this page seems to bear this out, as the corrugated iron wall with the long window in it, which disappears off the right hand end of the image, must be the end of this long narrow section of the factory. If this speculation is correct, then to line up with the darker part of the roof shown in the aerial photo, the top perpendicular segment of the factory shown in the 1949 aerial photo was not present at the time the much earlier photo at the top of this page was taken and all the light coloured section of the roof of the long thin section in the aerial photo has not yet been constructed. Additionally, judging by the amount of light that is coming in from what presumably are windows in the back wall of the image at the top of this page, it would appear that the second long narrow section of the factory with a separate A frame roof, the left of the two long narrow sections as seen in the aerial photo, which should be behind the wall at the back of the image at the top of this page, has not yet been built as it would be blocking this light from the back.

One final contemplation regarding ATMOM's identity, which also seems to be a possibility. Narelle just had a look at the annotation for ATMOM in a higher resolution version of the image at the top of this page. The first thing that came to her mind was that the word I had previously read as "of" actually is a J. This then drew my attention to what I have previously read as Curtis and now think is more like Curtin. On seeing this name, placing the initial first gives J. Curtin and only one person immediately came to mind, John Curtin Australia's war time Prime Minister regarded as one of Australia's best PMs.

I started to look into any possible connections between John Curtin, ATMOM and the totalisator. First I will mention that the photo shown at the top of this page was taken prior to John becoming Prime Minister. John became Prime Minister in 1941 and as the image at the top of this page shows a workshop in the Alice street factory, this photo could not have been taken after 1934, as the factory moved to Chalmers street in the city somewhere around the end of 1933 or the start of 1934. In other words, by the time John became Prime Minister Automatic Totalisators Limited had long vacated the Alice Street factory and had been in Chalmers street in the city for about 7 years. Neither was he yet the leader of the opposition as that took place in 1935. Trying to match up the face of ATMOM, which is not shown clearly in either of the photos, with images of John Curtin, I have been unable to draw any conclusions. There are distinct similarities like a square chin however considering that the two images containing ATMOM show no mouth features at all, it is very difficult to draw conclusions. I do get the vague impression that ATMOM looks older than what John would have looked like in the early 1930s, which I estimate is the era these photos were taken. That leaves us with seeing if there is any likely connections between ATMOM and John Curtin.

A remarkable characteristic of ATMOM, seen in the two photographs, is that he is extremely well dressed, in a suit, hat, Mandarin collar, bow tie/cravat and a dress hanky in the breast pocket. I learnt from the Australian Dictionary of Biography that John dressed the part, on occasions a bow tie and insisted that labor candidates be well turned out. Additionally ATMOM looks comparatively tall in the two images and I have read that John Curtin was 5 foot 11.

John Curtin did have an interest in horse racing. He wrote racing tips for the Westralian Worker in 1932. Despite this, he was not a punter and rarely bought a ticket and then mostly on the obligatory Melbourne Cup. Nor was he an advocate of gambling, quite the opposite in fact. He would later deliver deprecating opinions about betting on the races. John's main motivation for writing the racing tips may have been to promote sales of the Westralian Worker. During his tenure as Prime Minister during WW2 his opinions on gambling at racetracks became scathing. Following is an extract from a National Library Of Australia Trove Newspaper:

Citation: 1945 'BACKSTAGE OF SPORT', Call (Perth, WA : 1945 - 1953), 19 July, p. 2. , viewed 30 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article210963963

John Curtin was a lover of good horses, but be was never a punter. He had none of the instincts of a money gambler.
Before the war his visits to the racecourse would never average more than 2 a year. He never went into the betting ring.
You would find him wandering around the horse stalls or in the "birdcage" during parading time.
He broke away from committee stand parties to mingle anonymously with stable strappers.
He discussed with them everything about horses except their winning chances.
His bets were confined to a traditional 10/ on the Melbourne Cup, or a parochial (or senitimental) 10/ on Western Australian horses when they trekked to the Eastern States.
His life-long prejudice against race betting came close to intolerance after the outbreak of war.

One historic totalisator history event did take place during the Automatic Totalisators Limited tenure at this factory and that was the legalisation of totalisators in Victoria. Implementation of totalisators in Victoria lagged behind other states because they were illegal. The first year that the Julius tote operated on the Melbourne cup at Flemington was 1931. During this year, Julius totes commenced operation in Victoria at the Victoria Racing Club, Flemington, Moonee Valley Racing Club, Melbourne, Williamstown Racing Club, Williamstown and Victoria Amateur Turf Club, Caulfield. Additionally, in 1933 a Julius tote was installed at the Victorian Trotting and Racing Association, Ascot Melbourne and in 1936 another two were installed at the Mentone Turf Club Melbourne, Victoria and the Epsom Turf Club, Melbourne. Following is an extract from an NLA Trove article regarding the start of the process that resulted in these installations.

Citation: 1927 'THE TOTALISATOR IN VICTORIA', Worker (Brisbane, Qld. : 1890 - 1955), 23 November, p. 11. , viewed 30 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71137656

THE TOTALISATOR IN VICTORIA

The Totalisator Bill now going through the Victorian Parliament makes the establishment of the machine on metropolitan racecourses, both registered and unregistered, mandatory. The form of totalisator is left to regulation, as is also the dividend. It is certain, however, that there will be two machines -- straight out and place-- the latter paying 75 per cent and 25 per cent dividend on the first and second horses. The type of machine to be installed and the site on the racecourse has to receive the approval of the Minister.
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webmaster's note:

Inside this article is a photo of John Curtin, with Lewis McDonald and J. S. Hanlon in which John is dressed very much like ATMOM, except except he is wearing a traditional tie instead of a bow tie. Also note that John is referred to in this article as Jack. He had also been called Jim. The following paragraph appears below the photo and the final two paragraphs below that are other extracts from the article:

From left to right: Jack Curtin (editor of "Westralian Worker," who recently visited Brisbane as a member of the Federal Childhood Endowment Commission), Lewis McDonald (Secretary of Queensland branch, A.L.P.), who gave evidence on behalf of the Queensland Labor Movement, and J. S. Hanlon (Editor of Queensland "Worker"). (Curtin and Hanlon, who were born within a stone's throw of each other in the little town of Creswick (Vic.), some 40 odd years ago, renewed acquaintanceship recently, after a lapse of several years.)
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Moving the second reading of the measure last week, Prendergast said that the two main arguments of the opponents of the machine were that it legalised gambling, and that it increased gambling. In reply to the first argument, he would say that betting on racecourses had always been legal. The proposal that the State should get revenue from this source involved no new principle. Already revenue was derived from bookmakers' licences and from betting tickets tax. Therefore, on the grounds of morality, there was no difference in getting money from the book maker or the totalisator.
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Prendergast said that the advantages of the totalisator included these : There was no crying of the odds, no credit betting, no doubles or trebles, absolute accuracy, and with proper administration the machine would eventually reduce betting. The totalisator would be welcomed by the majority of the people. It would not allow women or children to bet.

Now moving on to the WW2 war years, when John Curtin was Prime Minister, to see some of the problems he faced. Following is another NLA Trove newspaper article archive extract:

Citation: 1941 'MR. CURTIN'S PROBLEMS.', North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), 9 October, p. 2. , viewed 29 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article181554241

MR. CURTIN'S PROBLEMS.

With his cabinet duly chosen, Mr. John Curtin, Australia's Labor Prime Minister, has met Parliament and prepared the way for a suitable adjournment to enable him to face up to the question of framing a war budget. The Commonwealth thus enters upon a new phase of its political existence, but whether the result will bring a greater degree of stability than has been in evidence in recent months remains to be seen. If Mr. Curtin can bring to Australia a more unified and more intensified war effort -- for that after all is the para mount consideration -- he will deserve the goodwill of all. If, on the other hand, the changeover is merely going to perpetuate the internecine struggles of the past year then the last state will have been worse than the first.
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Mr. Curtin will have the supreme duty of keeping the war machine going at an increasing tempo. Nobody doubts his complete sincerity in facing this almost superhuman task but, be it right or wrong, the impression prevails that "things will be easier under Labor," and that less will be required in the way of personal sacrifice--except by the other fellow--than under the former regime. Mr. Curtin will extract little comfort from the fact that record crowds have attended the spring meeting in Sydney, and that, at the very time when the Commonwealth is launching its hundred million war loan, hundreds of thousands of pounds have rattled heedlessly through the totalisators. That is not the atmosphere of a maximum war effort, and Mr. Curtin may well find it one of the main obstacles in his path.

Citation: 1943 'Curtin Attacks Betting', The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), 25 October, p. 11. (HOME EDITION), viewed 29 Apr 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78460672

Curtin Attacks Betting

CANBERRA, Mon -- Reports of heavy betting transactions in Commonwealth notes at Randwick in the weekend and of record tote investments at Melbourne drew a stinging comment from Prime Minister Curtin today.

He specially warned bookmakers against carrying out large-scale transactions in cash or notes, saying this was one of the causes responsible for the heavy increase in the note Issue.

Mr Curtin also said that it would have been better if those who rushed totalisators and bookmakers at Randwick and Flemington had backed Australia by investing in war loan instead of backing racehorses.

Rolls Of Notes

"Record investments on the tote and the huge turnover with bookmakers show that a great many people were employed as clerks, prolonging their weekday avocations instead of resting and fitting themselves for this week's work because they chose to provide for other peoples' betting activities and recreation," he said.

"I understand also that a great many punters pulled rolls of notes out of their pockets to bet with.

"This reveals at once one of the reasons why the note issue has gone up.

"According to Sydney reports one man pulled five £100 notes out of his pocket to put on a horse.

"This man was a thoughtless enemy of his country, to put it mildly.

"Transactions on that scale are not in the category usually covered by cash, and I issue a warning that the income tax department will be very interested in cash transactions of this magnitude being carried on."

Whether ATMOM is John Curtin or not, I think this has been an interesting glimpse at the racing industry from a different perspective. If he is not ATMOM we can still thank the writer of the annotation in the image at the top of this page for having drawn attention to John Curtin and his contrary view of the racing industry. George Julius and John Curtin certainly were contemporaries George living from 1873 to 1946 and John 1885 to 1945. As the CSIR later known as the CSIRO was a major asset to the Australian war effort it seems highly improbable that John Curtin would not have known George Julius as he was the Chairman of that organisation.

I recall how astonished I was when I first noticed that the racing industry did not come to a complete halt during war years. The interest in totalisators continues during war! following is an extract from a 1946 article on the Gloucester Park totalisator in the Western Mail newspaper titled IDEA THAT PAID DIVIDENDS, which was in the Trove newspaper Internet archive. This article relates to the second world war. Following is the pertinent extract:

Citation: 1946 'Romance of the automatic tote had origins in this State The Gloucester Park totalisator at night. IDEA THAT PAID DIVIDENDS', Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), 5 December, p. 26. , viewed 28 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36951074

War Boosted Turnover

THE two totalisators in this State augment the incomes of Over 200 employees and in 1945-46 over £16,000 was paid in wages. When the totalisator at Gloucester Park was installed it was estimated that the maximum amount which could be handled at a meeting would be £30,000. Before the war a maximum turnover of £20,000 had not been reached.

During the war the boom was such that £30,000 turnover was not only attained, but £40,000 was reached and exceeded on four occasions, the maximum put through at one meeting being about £44,000.

Regarding the tote betting during the war: Longchamps continued racing under German Occupation during World War 2. That probably meant the Julius tote was printing tickets for German troops on leave, as well as for the many Vichy government collaborators spending a day at the races.

Following is one final possible connection between George Julius and John Curtin. First some extracts from the book Julius Poole and Gibson The First Eighty Years with a secondary title From Tote To CAD published by Julius Poole and Gibson:

One of the great contributions made by George Julius to the well being of Australia resulted from his appointment in 1926 by Prime Minister S.M.Bruce( later Viscount Bruce ) as chairman to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR ) - forerunner of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ( CSIRO ). Webmaster's note: George Julius was the chairman of the CSIR until retirement in 1945.
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In the thirties Sir George Julius realised there was a need for more research work in secondary industry. Despite strong opposition from the Department of Defence to any extension of the activities of the CSIR, he presided over the establishment of a Division of Aeronautics and was appointed chairman of the important Commonwealth Committee on Secondary Industries Testing and Research in 1936. According to CSIR Chief David Rivett:

The switch of the CSIR to secondary industry and into many aspects of defence planning probably stemmed from a visit by BHP chief Essington Lewis to Japan in 1936. He returned thoroughly alarmed at what he saw and urged the Lyons Ministry to act immediately to produce planes and fliers.

George Julius concurred. By 1938 he had convinced the Government that £143000 would be needed for Aeronautical Research Laboratories to be built at Fishermans Bend near Melbourne. The Daily Telegraph, 7 April, 1945 recorded:

Generally it is he ( Julius ) who has to battle for new funds, and getting money in lump sums is no sinecure.

Sir George's value to the Council was in contact with politicians. He was flexible and extremely shrewd in his handling of the species Homo Politicus.

Without his experience, ability to manoeuvre and thorough understanding of when to concede in appearance without surrendering the substance, the independent scientists might not have had so smooth a run through CSIR's first twenty years.

I have since found a better high resolution version of the image at the top of this page and I think, although there are certain similarities between John Curtin and ATMOM, that ATMOM is too old at the time this photograph was taken to be John. Additionally, zoomed in on ATMOM in this better version of the image, it is clear that ATMOM is not wearing glasses, which I think John would have been. I have left the above information on John Curtin in this page as I still think it is most likely that John Curtin and George Julius would have known each other, particularly as I have read that George Julius had excellent connections with Cabinet. Another reason for leaving the above information is that it provides an interesting alternate view, in a war context, of the racing and betting industry and consequently the totalisator industry as well.

There is another image in the Alice Street group of photos in the Photo Gallery, that shows another early workshop like the one at the top of this page, where TIMs (Ticket Issuing Machines) are being assembled. It is evident from examination of the two photographs that they are in neighbouring sections of the Alice Street Newtown factory. I have included a reduced copy of the other image below for comparison with the image at the top of this page. I need to correlate photographs as that confirms I have grouped photographs together correctly, in this case into factories. Often photographs have no annotation or if annotated have no era or location like Old Workshop or Early Machine Shop or New Factory. To see the full sized version of the image below, click on the image at the top of this page to return to the photo gallery index then scroll up and select the image thumbnail for the image below with the associated text starting with An early workshop photograph inside the Alice Street Newtown factory.

The TIM Assembly Section Alice Street Factory

The Drum Counter Wheel display assembly section shown at the top of this page starts behind the three wooden pillars shown in the image above, in the upper half and a little more than the left hand half of the image. Each pillar rises behind the back of one of three men respectively, who are working at the bench. The first man is completely visible and bent over on the near side of the bench, the second man is the first on the left hand side of the far side of the bench, the third man is to the right of the second. On the right hand pillar of the three, there are a couple of notices or drawings attached and there is also a long black tool looking like a heavy duty pincer dangling from it. This pillar and notices can be seen at the right hand end of the bench in the image at the top of this page which has a lot better view of the pincer like tool. The woodwork support structure above these beams can be made out in both photos as well. In the image above, near the top of the pillar with the pincer, the wooden support structure takes the shape of a right angled triangle with the pillar forming the vertical side and the plank joining the third pillar to the second pillar of three on the left, forming the horizontal side of the triangle. This triangle is clearly visible in the image at the top of this page to the right of the pillar with the pincer like tool. In this image at the top of the page a second horizontal plank parallel with and above the base of the triangle can be seen more clearly, which forms a smaller triangle. This parallel plank can also be made out in the image above although it is partly obscured by the bottom part of the drive belt between the two pulleys.

The first thing that I saw that planted the seed that these two photographs show parts of the factory adjacent to each other, was in the image at the top of this page, where I noticed a TIM visible behind and on the right hand side of the pillar with the pincer like tool. To the right of the bottom of the pincer like tool two men are visible in the background. Below and in front of them, the shiny top surface of a TIM is visible, partly obscured by the pillar with its corner pointing upwards and facing the camera. The runner number arc can be seen on the TIM. I immediately thought this might be the TIM assembly section shown in the image above, that could be neighbouring the section shown at the top of this page. I then sought further evidence that these two photographs of two different sections of the factory were adjacent to each other. I have another photo of this very TIM assembly section shown above, that is not presented on this website as it is very similar. The main difference is that it is from a much more elevated perspective and angled a little to the right and with no staff working at the near table. The first confirmation that these assembly sections are adjacent came from this second photograph of the TIM assembly section, when I saw some Drum Counter Wheel displays on a bench to the left of the three pillars previously mentioned and shown in the image above.

Now with growing confidence, I sought any other evidence of the two sections being adjacent. There is a dark cloth visible in the last image above dangling down over part of the rear corrugated iron wall, the bottom right hand corner of which starts to the left of the back of the head of the man on the right hand side of the far side of the near bench. This can be seen in the image at the top of this page. There is a single bright light bulb seen to the left of and above the centre of that image. The left hand side of that dark dangling cloth is seen immediately below that light bulb. Returning to the image at the bottom of this page that bulb can also be seen there, the brightest illuminated light and does not have a saucer type lamp shade/reflector, although from this perspective it can be seen the bulb is in front of the dark cloth. It is located up and to the right from the back of the cap of the second man from the right on the opposite side of the bench.

Additionally, starting with the image at the top of this page where it is easiest to see, there is apparent obtuse triangle shape in the roof truss space at the rear of the room with the two congruent sides being wood. The side opposite the obtuse angle is horizontal and the vertex is above it making it look like it is pointing upwards. To the left of the pillar with the pincer like tool previously mentioned, there is a V shaped drive belt seen rising from bench height to a large drive wheel in the roof space and further to the left of this there is a parallel drive belt similarly rising into the roof space and this first crosses the opposite side of the triangle about half way up its rise and then the left hand congruent side of the triangle over half its way from the bench to the first beam above the bench where it disappears from view. To make this clearer, over half way up the right hand side of this parallel belt it intersects a brighter patch on the back wall which is actually oblong shaped that the belt crosses. The reason it does not look oblong shaped is because the left hand congruent side of the triangle passes in front of the light patch. This brighter patch is inside the wooden triangle. The Vertex part of the triangle is missing as it appears the congruent sides do not actually meet but it still looks like a triangle. Projecting the congruent sides of the triangle to the imaginary vertex, it is slightly to the right of the right hand side of the of the parallel belt and slightly below the distant horizontal roof beam. Locating this in the last image above, moving right along the top of the corrugated section on the far wall from the position just above the top back of the head of the right hand man on the opposite side of the bench, we come to a wire attached to and rising from the right hand side of the bench, to which the overhead lamp has been attached. Slightly right of this attachment wire from the bench and slightly above the top of the corrugated iron on the back wall there is what looks like a rectangular shaped light source or bright section laying on its side. This is the light patch mentioned in describing this light in the image at the top of this page. In this perspective the opposite side to the triangle is the top of the corrugated iron section. The right hand congruent side starts near the right hand end of the photo and the top of the corrugated iron section heading up and to the left towards the attachment wire. The attachment wire actually crosses the left hand congruent side of the triangle leaving little of it visible.

One last observation regarding these adjacent sections. To the right of ATMOM in the image at the top of this page and close to him there is a pillar with a roof support beam across the top of it. This pillar has a dark stain on it near the top. On the right hand side of that pillar a bit above the bottom of the stain a protrusion to the right can be seen. This is small dome shaped bell projecting out to the right. In a high resolution version of that image it seems the bell hammer is on the top side of the bell and is probably electrically operated. It is visible in the image above as a vertical stroke parallel to the beam and above the top of the dome. In the last image above this can just be seen. To identify that pillar with the bell return to the middle pillar of three previously identified and rising above the back of the first man on the left on the far side of the bench. Parallel to, in the distance and on the left hand side of that pillar another pillar can be seen. That is the pillar with the bell on it. The left hand edge of that pillar is almost in line with the left hand edge of the forehead of the man mentioned. It can be seen in the image above especially if you zoom in on it. The previously mentioned dark stain on that beam is clearly visible without zooming in. A couple of drive belts can be seen between the two pillars just mentioned and they are also clearly visible in the image at the top of this page. Also in the image at the top of this page returning to this pillar that is to the right of ATMOM, there is a small wheel suspended from the support beam held up by that pillar, between ATMOM and the pillar. In the high resolution version of the last image above I can see that wheel. Additionally I can make out the dangling wire and small part of the lamp shade at the end of that wire seen supported from the beam between the two pillars to the right of ATMOM in the image at the top of this page, in the high resolution version of the image above.

ATMOM Conclusion

Failing any further information regarding ATMOM, I think it is possible to continue speculation regarding his identification for a very long time to come. I have however, since writing about him at the top of this page, identified his factory tour guide seen with him in the first two images in this page as an upper echelon manager deduced from his being seated to the right of the two most important looking managers in the Alice street factory staff photo in this group of image pages in this photo gallery. He can also be seen in the reduced size version of that image in this page above titled Staff outside the Alice street factory at Newtown being the only person wearing a white coat in the seated row mentioned, behind the staff sitting on the pavement, on the right hand side of the two men wearing hats. I think I have already provided more than enough speculation regarding ATMOM's identity. To me the most significant contribution to this website ATMOM has made is to unite two disparate pairs of factory photographs. He provided a link between them and I now know both pairs of photos are part of the same factory. The photos in the first pair are shown in the first and last images in this page titled An early Automatic Totalisators Workshop at the Newtown factory and The TIM Assembly Section Alice Street Factory respectively. One of the photos in the second pair is shown in the second image in this page titled Another image inside the Alice St. factory. Until realising ATMOM was in a photo of one image in each of these pairs I struggled to comprehend how the fancy brick archways seen in the second image in this page, as well as the second photo in this pair, could be related to the tin shed style construction seen in the other two images. As ATMOM appears in one of the tin shed photos and one of the fancy archway photos I think that in all probability both pairs of photos show rooms that are co-located. Furthermore, as the first second and last images in this page as well as the last one in the second pair of photographs were all taken by the photographers Hall & Co in Sydney I think it is very likely seeing ATMOM is in two of them that they were all part of the same Photo Shoot, adding to the concept that both pairs of photos belong to the same factory. To see the second image with the fancy brick archways, click on the image at the top of this page to return to the photo gallery index then scroll up and select the image thumbnail corresponding to the text starting with the sentence Another image of the early factory machine shop.

It did not take long after mentioning each of the two pairs of photographs, show rooms in co-located premises, that another realisation took place, that I can thank ATMOM for. In the staff image above titled Staff outside the Alice street factory at Newtown there is a rather elegant looking building that looks like it is constructed out of sandstone, appearing over the top right hand side of the factory building roof in the foreground. I now think the brick archway photos could well have belonged to that building. I had for years totally dismissed the idea that this building could house a machine room as this building seemed too elegant and is something that might last for centuries and is probably across the road from the factory anyway. As there was no sign of this building when I visited the site in 2018 and furthermore no sign of it even much earlier in the 1949 aerial survey, it might not have been as elegant as I thought and obviously not there for the longer term. Additionally it has now become blatantly obvious that this elegant building is much closer to the foreground tin shed style factory building and is definitely not across any road. In fact when I zoom in on this building using a high resolution version of the image, it seems as though the two buildings could even be joined they appear so close. I now believe this substantial, possibly sandstone building, is where the fancy archway factory photos were taken. It seems an irony to think the tin shed style factory building outlived the substantial, possibly sandstone neighbour. To see the full sized image of the staff photo click on the image at the top of this page to return to the photo gallery index, then scroll up to and select the staff photo image thumbnail with the associated text starting Staff outside the Alice street factory at Newtown.

Finally, only days since I wrote the previous paragraph it seems ATMOM has triggered an avalanche of revelations. I have discovered that not only are the elegant sandstone building and the tin shed style factory building next to each other, they are actually joined together! To read about this you need to read the conclusion about it in the page containing the image where this revelation took place. First click on the image at the top of this page to return to the photo gallery index, then scroll up the the second image in the group of images titled Early Factory Images and select the image thumbnail with the descriptive text beginning with Another image of the early factory machine shop and scroll down to the heading The June 2025 revelation thanks to ATMOM