Summary

Photograph of Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd senior executives including Managing Directors Thomas Baker and JJ Rouse and their senior staff, posing for a group portrait on the front steps of Thomas Baker's home 'Manyung' in Mornington, June 1925 during a Kodak conference.

The Australasian Photographic Review (APR) published an article in its 15 July 1925 edition, featuring this photograph and discussing the conference, which continued for over a week. On the day this photograph was taken many of the executives were hosted for dinner by Mr and Mrs Baker at Manyung, and according to the APR, the total length of service of the men present for dinner was 358 years between 15 staff. Mr AC Shaw and Mr CR Du Rieu each had 40 years service.

This is one of the few photographs taken of the two men, Thomas Baker & JJ Rouse, together that is held by Museums Victoria.

Left to right:
Front row: HC Slocombe, Manager Melbourne branch; Thomas Baker, Governing Director; JJ Rouse, Managing Director; CR Du Rieu, Works Abbotsford.
Second row: G Cree, Assistant Secretary; J Sutherland, Secretary; FL South, Manager Brisbane.
Third row: FC Saggers and R Grave, Sydney; HH Wight, Manager Adelaide; FE Manning, Manager Sydney; Walter Burke, Advertising Manager.
Back row: AC Shaw, Works Abbotsford; FJ Muirhead, Manager Hobart; T Cutbush, Brisbane; JA Tayler, Melbourne; F Keon, Melbourne; EJ Rouse, Manager Perth; Mr Jones, Adelaide.

Thomas Baker was a pioneer of photographic manufacturing in Australasia. He was the founder of the Austral Laboratory. J.J. Rouse was an accountant who went into partnership with pharmaceutical chemist, Thomas Baker, in 1884 to develop the photographic manufacturing company, Baker and Rouse Pty Ltd. In 1907 Baker and Rouse proposed a merger with Eastman Kodak and in 1908, Australian Kodak Limited was formed and evolved to become Kodak Australasia. JJ Rouse played an important role in Kodak Australasia for many years, becoming a managing director along with Thomas Baker.
Baker remained a director of Kodak Australasia and was an indispensable technical director of manufacturing until his death in 1928. JJ Rouse remained a Kodak director until his own death in 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.

Description of Content

Group of men in suits standing on stone staircase of large, grand stone building with ornate archways.

Physical Description

Monochrome, sepia toned photographic print mounted on cardboard, landscape format.

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