Summary

Certificate of title for the Sunshine Property S.I.E, North of Furlong Road. Part of the H.V.McKay Massey Harris Collection. Dated 6th September, 1926. Copied by B.W.King 14-9-1950.

Part of a collection of photographs, negatives, moving film, artefacts, documents and trade literature belonging to the H. V. McKay Sunshine Collection. The McKay collection is regarded as one of the most significant industrial heritage collections in Australia. The collection relates to the agricultural manufacturing firm, the Sunshine Harvester Works. The Australian operations of this company were originally founded by Hugh V. McKay in the 1890s in Ballarat. Between 1906 and 1907, McKay moved production to Sunshine where the firm became one of the largest industrial businesses in Australia. Change in ownership is a recurring theme in the company's history. In 1930, it merged with Massey-Harris to become H.V McKay Massey Harris. In the mid-1950s, the company was absorbed by Canadian agricultural firm Massey-Ferguson. Production in Sunshine ceased in the mid-1980s, following almost 100 years of manufacturing agricultural equipment.

Physical Description

Certificate of title for the Sunshine Property S.I.E, north of Furlong Road, includes handwritten statement of ownership. . Part of the H.V.McKay Massey Harris Collection. Dated 6th September, 1926. Copied by B.W.King 14-9-1950. Drawn in black ink on a blue cloth paper.

Significance

H.V. McKay revolutionised farming for his invention of the Sunshine Stripper Harvestor in 1883. He went on to establish the agricultural manufacturing enterprise known as the Sunshine Harvestor Works, which was the largest industrial enterprise in Australia, in the 1920's. McKay encouraged his workers to settle locally in Sunshine, by securing 400 acres of land, and developing key infrastructure and services including electric lighting, parklands, recreation areas, public buildings, land for school and library, and housing for employees.

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