Summary
Overview of the Sunshine Harvester Works' Plier Shop.
Year established: 1939-1945
The Sunshine Harvester Works Plier Shop was established during World War II to manufacture pliers, spanners and other items for tool kits which were supplied with each machine. During World War II, the shop produced hundreds of thousands of pliers of different varieties which were used by the military. The majority of these items included conventional pliers, but also special tools for cutting barbed wire, telephone cables etc. High quality carbon steel was also hardened and tempered on site.
The shop included equipment manufactured by Sunshine Harvester Works, most notably two drop-hammers and 24 single-purpose lathes and milling machines. Other equipment included three to four presses, open-hearth furnaces, drilling machines, grinding wheels and a bench-assembly area.
The shop's workforce totalled about 50, half of whom were women. During World War II, the foreman of the shop was Arthur Dedrick, while the sub-foreman was Arthur Ustick.
- References
- Ray Browne and John Ayton (former Sunshine Harvester Works employees), personal recollections held at Museum Victoria, October 2000, May 2001 and August 2004.
- Massey-Ferguson Outlook 1969, Untitled, Vol. 1, No. 32.
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Authors
Mr Raymond (Ray) Cyril Browne, John Ayton, Ms Snjez Cosic, Ms Helen McGeehan
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