This rare colour photo was taken inside the Melbourne/Essendon Area Control Centre (ACC) in September or October 1967. The controllers are (L-R): Bruno Origlasso, training officer to John Baxter (third from left) on Sector 2 (north-east routes); Trevor O'Hehir on Sector 1 (west and north-west routes); Alan Roberts on Flight Data; Ken Welsh on Arrivals; Wally Jones on Sector 3 (Tasmainian routes); and Peter Gorta (standing), leaning over from the Flight Data side of the console where the strips were prepared.

In those days Flight Datas were Grade 1 controllers, Sector controllers were Grade 2s and Arrivals was Grade 3. Note also that the Arrivals position has a Semi-automatic Altitude Assignment Board which enabled silent coordination of levels for arriving aircraft between Arrivals and the Tower.

A year or so after this photo was taken this ACC closed and operations moved to a new radar Area Approach Control Centre (AACC) at the newly constructed Tullamarine Airport.

Click here to see some earlier photos taken in this ACC

(Photo: Trevor O'Hehir/CAHS collection)

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