Summary

Black and white, silver gelatin photograph of the experimental emulsion mixing area of the Kodak Australasia factory in Abbotsford, Victoria, 1953.

The man seated is Jack Quinn and the man pushing the trolley is Joe Chasson.

The Abbotsford factory was initially the site of the Austral Plate Company, created by Thomas Baker, a pharmaceutical chemist, in 1884. After Baker went into partnership with accountant, John Rouse, to develop the photographic manufacturing company, Baker and Rouse Pty Ltd, they proposed a merger with Eastman Kodak in 1907. In 1908, Australian Kodak Limited was formed and evolved to become what is known today as Kodak Australasia. The Abbotsford site remained the base for the operations of Kodak Australasia until the late 1950s.

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

The image consists of an interior view of experimental emulsion mixing area in the Kodak factory. The interior is tiled with a cement floor with two large metal drums enclosed and attached to tubes with two smaller cylindrical containers positioned above them. A man in a laboratory coat is seated next to one of the metal drums and another man in overalls is pushing a trolley with equipment on it, into the room.

Physical Description

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

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