Summary

Sepia toned photograph of the exterior of the Kodak factory in Abbotsford, Victoria, viewed from across the Yarra River, circa 1930s.

The facilities and buildings in this view highlight the nature of the photographic manufacturing done at this factory. The tank in the foreground close to the river was used in the silver nitrate recovery process. The Power House, with its two chimneys, provided all of the power and refrigeration for the factory. The shorter chimney was the original Power House chimney, which was removed by 1955. The second chimney was probably built in the 1930s. The Paper Coating Building was where photographic paper was coated and photographic emulsions manufactured. The tank on the top of the tower on this building contained distilled water which was used in the manufacturing process. The Glass Plate Building with ivy on its front was where glass plates were made. The Number 6, Film Coating Building, behind the plate building was where film products were made - this included the 'finishing' process. In the background is the multi-storey building on the south side of Southampton Crescent, which was built around 1938.

Kodak manufactured and distributed a wide range of photographic products to Australasia, such as film, paper, chemicals, cameras and miscellaneous equipment. Its client base included amateur and professional photographers, as well as specialist medical and graphic art professionals who used photography, x-ray and other imaging techniques.

This photograph is part of the Kodak collection of products, promotional materials, photographs and working life artefacts collected from Kodak Australasia in 2005, when the Melbourne manufacturing plant at Coburg closed down.

Description of Content

The photograph of the factory is viewed from across the Yarra River. It features the Yarra River and trees in the foreground, and the factory in the background across the river. Chimneys and a variety of factory buildings are visible, as well as palm trees and gardens.

Physical Description

Black and white, silver gelatin photograph with sepia tones, printed on heavy weight paper, landscape format with a white border.

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