Summary

Photograph of the Kodak Australasia factory in Abbotsford, Victoria, 1952

This photograph shows the Yarra River in flood, as the floodwater is receding. Debris from the flood is collecting along a line of trees, while the buildings made of aluminium sheeting are still partially underwater.

The Yarra River was prone to flooding, and despite major works designed to manage water flow in the 1920s, the river still experienced a major flood in November 1934 and again in July 1952. Such floods caused damage to the Kodak factory and potentially washed away into the river some of the materials and chemicals that were used in the manufacturing process.

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 photograph is dominated by the foreground which shows the bank of the Yarra River on the factory side. In the background, near a group of trees, to the right, are several water tube boilers made in Wolverhampton. To the left of the image, the river is visible, with debris of planks of timber collecting near a line of trees. Two buildings made of aluminium sheeting are in the background and are both still partially submerged by floodwater.

Physical Description

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

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