Summary
Two black and white, silver gelatin, stereographic photographs mounted on brown card. They feature the exterior of the Kodak Australasia factory in Abbotsford, Victoria, circa 1940s.
At the left of the image is the maintenance workshops, behind this is the second Power House chimney, thought to have been built in the 1930s. The Power House provided all of the power and refrigeration for the Kodak factory. To the right is the tower and water storage tank of 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. In the foreground, separated by a timber fence, are the staff gardens, featuring lawn, trees and garden beds. The gardens were built over by 1955.
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 images feature the exterior of a factory and gardens. In the foreground of the photograph is a stretch of lawn with trees and garden beds aligned with a timber fence running diagonally across the image. In the background, the factory buildings include a single storey structure with a pitched roof, a chimney and a tower with a water tank.
Physical Description
Two black and white, silver gelatin stereographic photographs mounted on brown card.
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, 1940-1949
Former Kodak executives John Mitcham and Ed Wood assisted with dating this photograph. The second chimney, which was thought to have been constructed in the 1930s, is visible in this photograph. The gardens were built over by 1955, so the date must be between 1930 and 1955. -
Organisation Depicted
Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd, Abbotsford, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1940-1949
Former Kodak executives John Mitcham and Ed Wood assisted with dating this photograph. The second chimney, which was thought to have been constructed in the 1930s, is visible in this photograph. The gardens were built over by 1955, so the date must be between 1930. -
Format
Stereograph, 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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Overall Dimensions
161 mm (Width), 82 mm (Height)
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Image Dimensions - Mount
187 mm (Width), 1 mm (Depth), 108 mm (Height)
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Keywords
Chimneys, Factories, Fences, Gardens, Manufacturing Plants, Photography, Trees, Making History - Kodak Collection