Summary

Black and white silver gelatin photograph, view from the north-east corner of Electricity Sub-station Number 2 in Gatehouse Road, and looking north-east towards Building 11, Power House, Kodak factory, Coburg, late 1959.

In this photograph two major branches of the services reticulation gantry are visible emanating from the Power House in the background. They follow high above the side of the roadways towards production buildings unsighted to the left, and behind. The gantry system maintained a rectangular and level disposition throughout the factory, accommodating ground level changes with appropriate vertical sections. At this point all external building work for the planned first stage of the Power House, including the first of three Marley cooling towers, had been completed. Much of the first equipment for the factory start-up period 1959-60 had been installed and operational within the Power House.

Also featured in this view is the incoming Coburg City Council electricity supply into the factory. This was via timber poles and overhead high and low voltage lines from Elizabeth Street to the right of photograph. High voltage take-offs via isolating switchgear and underground cables fed sub-stations in the Power House (sub-station number 1) and end of Building 7, Testing, (sub-station number 2). Overhead lines continued down the main east-west internal road (Bigg's Road) to later link to sub-station number 3 in Building 14, Garage, in 1961. Eventually it provided another incoming link to the Coburg supply from Newlands Road.

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

In the foreground is a road with a sloping area of dirt stretching along its length. In the mid-section of the photograph is a fenced off car park with cars to the right. Running perpendicular to the road and above the car park, is a series of pipes elevated by a steel framework. At the rear of the car park is a building featuring a water cooling tower. To the left, two men are walking near a ladder.

Physical Description

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

More Information