Summary

Black and white silver gelatin photograph, view looking west inside the Machinery Hall of the Power House, Building 11, Kodak factory, Coburg, late 1959.

This view features two electric motor driven 1.6MW (450 ton) centrifugal refrigeration compressors. The compressors' condensers, chilled water shells and tube heat exchangers are connected via isolating valves to the cooling water and chilled water mains located on racks to the left of picture. The 3ºC chilled water was circulated to the first production buildings via the services gantry. The cooling water was circulated through the Marley cooling tower. These mains were later extended east to connect with two Worthington steam turbine driven 3MW (850 Ton) refrigeration compressor and heat exchanger sets. This alteration was made to meet the increased demands for chilled water after 1961, and further west to accommodate a York chiller set in approximately 1980. At this stage of construction, only one of the motor-turbine sets seems fully operational whilst the second unit in the foreground is ready to be installed in its casing. Along with three temporary packaged steam boilers these units were amongst the first equipment to be installed in the Machine Hall for the factory start-up period 1959-60.

The electrical switchboards to the right of the photograph form part of the Electricity Sub-station number 1 located in the Power House and supplied the electric motor driven turbines from the Coburg City Council network. Following the planned building of the Boiler Hall, there was the installation of two oil-fired refractory boilers and the addition of two steam driven turbine-alternator sets in 1960-61. These chilled water compressor sets could be switched to either the Council network or the in-house alternators, providing the flexibility to help achieve maximum energy efficiency in Power House operations.

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 after the manufacturing plant at Coburg had closed down the year before.

Description of Content

Internal view of a large factory building featuring steel columns and a trussed roof structure.There are high windows and fluorescent lighting. On the left side of the room and to the rear is a a piece of machinery with several pipes. To the right is an electrical switchboard. In the foreground is an area of gravel. The rest of the floor is cement.

Physical Description

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

More Information