I recognise these from 70 Lygon Street East Brunswick!
I saw them in storage there about two years ago. The location was then a vacant downstairs shop downstairs, and a boarding house upstairs for young Italians on working visas (I presume they were legal).
The then owner of the shop, and presumably those pins, owns DOC's on Lygon St Carlton, Faraday St Carlton and Mornington. Nino: From that info your dad could probably give you the history of where those pins were operated, and perhaps who obtained them from him?
When the vacant shop became a shop again, I held hope the machines weren't trashed. I'm pleased to see someone got them for the purpose of attempting to restore them.
That's a cool story thanks for sharing :) I never get sick of operator story from years ago