Summary

Black and white silver gelatin photograph of staff on the factory roof inspecting the Yarra River in flood at the Kodak Australasia factory in Abbotsford, Victoria, 1934.

Factory staff, including a number of women, are walking across the roofs of the Kodak factory buildings to observe the damage and avoid the flood water. Debris such as tree branches and timber is piled up in the water next to the building at left. The top of the silver nitrate processing tank can also be seen almost completely submerged at left.

The Yarra River was prone to flooding, and despite major works designed to manage water flow in the 1920s, the river still experienced a major flood in November 1934. Such floods caused damage to the Kodak factory and potentially washed away into the river some of the materials and chemicals that were used in the manufacturing process.

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

A river in flood with ten men and women walking across roofs of buildings at a factory. Debris is floating on the water next to a building and the top of a tank is visible at left.

Physical Description

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

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