Summary
Black and white, silver gelatin photograph of the exterior of the Kodak Australasia factory in Abbotsford, Victoria, circa 1950.
The photograph features a wide angle view of the factory site from a distance, looking west across the Yarra River. The factory in the mid-ground, the Yarra River and trees in the foreground, and suburban Melbourne in the background. The building on the left featuring water tanks on top and two chimneys is the Power House. This building 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 taller chimney was probably built during the 1940s. To the right of the Power House is the Paper Coating Building where photographic paper was coated and photographic emulsions were manufactured. The tank visible on the top of the tower of this building contained distilled water which was used in manufacturing. The tall building at the far right is the Kodachrome Building, which was constructed in the 1940s. The building in front of this is the Glass Plate Building, where glass plates were made.
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
Photograph of the exterior of a factory site. The image features a wide view of the factory site from a distance, with the factory in the mid-ground, trees in the foreground and a suburban city in the background. Factory buildings include the Powerhouse with chimneys and distilled water tanks.
Physical Description
Black and white, silver gelatin photograph, printed on medium weight paper, landscape format with a white border.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd, Ms. Kate Metcalf - Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd, 2005
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Acknowledgement
Courtesy of Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd.
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Place & Date Depicted
Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd, Abbotsford, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1950
Former Kodak executives Ed Wood & John Mitcham have dated this photograph to about 1950, because the Kodachrome building, which was built in the 1940s, is complete, and the original chimney, which was removed by 1955, is still intact. -
Organisation Depicted
Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd, Abbotsford, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1940-1955
Former Kodak executives Ed Wood & John Mitcham have dated this photograph to about 1950, because the Kodachrome building, which was built in the 1940s, is complete, and the original chimney, which was removed by 1955, is still intact. -
Format
Photograph, Black & White
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Classification
Manufacturing & industry, Photographic products, Factory exterior views
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Image Dimensions - Photograph
240 mm (Width), 153 mm (Height)
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Keywords
Chimneys, Cityscapes, Factories, Manufacturing Plants, Photography, Trees, Making History - Kodak Collection