Summary

Black and white gelatin photograph of the Kodak Australasia factory site in Abbotsford, Victoria, circa 1940s.

In the foreground is the eastern bank of the Yarra River, with a tree at left and a snake on the track. In the background are the buildings of the Kodak factory. At left is the Number 6 Film Coating Building, where photographic film was coated, 'finished' and distributed. At far right are the two chimneys of the Power House. The Power House provided all of the power and refrigeration for the Kodak factory. The taller chimney was the second chimney and was probably built in the 1930s. The original, shorter, chimney was removed by 1955. The tall tower adjacent to the Power House, with a water tank on top, is part of the Paper Coating Building where photographic paper was coated and photographic emulsions were manufactured. The water tank visible contained distilled water which was used in manufacturing. Market gardens are evident in the foreground, separated from the factory by a timber fence.

The market gardens were a Kodak initiative, grown on Kodak land, and were made available for employees during World War II to grow vegetables. This helped sustain the employees as food was in short supply during this time.

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 a factory site with market gardens. In the foreground is the bank of a river, with a tree at left and a snake on the track. In the background are the buildings of a factory, including multi-storey buildings, chimneys and water tank towers. A market garden is in the midground, separated by a timber fence.

Physical Description

Black and white silver gelatin photograph, printed on medium weight paper, portrait format with a white border.

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