Summary

Black and white silver gelatin photograph taken looking south inside the west end of the Machinery Hall of the Power House, Building 11, Kodak factory, Coburg, November 1958.

In this image, the pipework for carrying 3ºC chilled water is being insulated (lagged), with pre-formed styrene foam over a bituminous vapour barrier coating on the pipes and sealing the joins, then tied with metal bands (a protective metal covering was applied later). Pipes that are visible include: to the left, the blanked-off ends of the condenser water mains(not lagged) and below that the blanked-off ends of the chilled water mains (completely lagged). All are to be connected to the centrifugal refrigeration compressor shell and tube heat exchangers and their pumping systems. To the right and further back in the South Annexe, the supply and return chilled water mains (currently being lagged) coming off the services gantry through the west wall.

At the top of the photograph the steel columns supporting the roof and gantry crane rails of the Machinery Hall are visible. Immediately below the windows is the line of the skillion roof of the South Annexe, with its steel beams, sprinkler heads and south windows. Located on the lower level floor of the South Annexe are the condenser water, chilled water pumps, and two Thompson single cylinder horizontal air compressors, just visible in the south-west corner. The two workers (known as Laggers) appear to be readying the materials surrounding them for lagging the chilled water supply and return lines in the background.

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

Two workers can be seen unpacking and readying insulating materials for lagging the chilled water pipelines in the background. The steel structure of the building featuring the south-west corner of the Machinery Hall and the South Annexe is clearly visible.

Physical Description

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

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