POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Halda mechanical taxi-meter

Object No. B2314

As Halda brand taxi-meters were widely used in Australia until the 1970s, this meter is a reminder of the long period during which mechanical taxi-meters were used to calculate taxi fares, before they were supplanted by electronic meters. The form of the meter also helps explain the origin of the term 'flag fall', now commonly used for the fixed part of the price of making a telephone call: the upright 'flag' announcing that the cab was for hire was pulled down out of sight by the driver when a passenger entered the cab; and the 'flag fall' fee was the fixed part of the taxi fare that compensated the driver for loss suffered by carrying a passenger over a short distance and then having to wait for another passenger. The term taxi-cab comes from the words 'taxi', short for taxi-meter (a meter installed in French horse-drawn cabs, long before motor cabs appeared on the road), and 'cab', short for cabriolet (a two-wheeled horse carriage). In Australia the taxi-meter became common only with the introduction of motor cabs and was thus associated with them. Taxi-meters made motorised taxis popular as they did away with the demeaning need to negotiate the fare with the driver of a horse-drawn cab. The first motorised taxis operated in Germany in 1896, and by 1905 there were five at work in London. This number had grown to over 5000 by 1910. Because taxis were in such great demand and short supply in Europe, it was not until January 1909 that they were imported to Melbourne, July 1909 to Sydney and August 1909 to Adelaide. Melbourne's first taxis were manufactured by Renault, with a landaulet body comprising an open compartment for the driver and enclosed cabin for passengers. Dust and rain easily got into the cabin, there was a lack of luggage space, and when the vehicles were fitted with roof racks they tended to overturn. Many people had their first ride in a motor vehicle by hiring a taxi, and they were commonly used for theatre parties, afternoon calls and weddings. Margaret Simpson, Assistant Curator, Science & Industry, 2004 New introductory paragraph by Debbie Rudder, Curator, 2009