Summary

Colour aerial photograph of the Kodak factory complex and surrounding suburb at Coburg, 1965.

View from the eastern side of the complex. At the far right is Building11, the Power House featuring the chimney and the water cooling towers. Next to the Power House is Building 12, the engineering workshops. To the left of Buildings 12 is Building 2, where emulsion was made and adjacent to this is Building 7, where testing was done. Behind Building 7 are three large single storery buildings, From right to left: Building 3, Emulsion Coating; Building 4, where roll Films were made and Building 5, where sheet films were produced. To the far left, in front of Building 5, is the multi-storey Building 8, Head Office and behind this is Building 6, the Distribution Centre.

Construction of the Kodak factory complex in Coburg began in 1957 on 23 hectares of former farmland. Since 1908, Kodak had been operating from the factory in Abbotsford and had gradually outgrown the premises. The Abbotsford factory remained operational while the Coburg plant was being built until it closed in1966. Architect Harry Norris of H A & F L Norris & Associates, created the design for the new factory and individual buildings for the manufacture of silver halide photographic products. The building contract was awarded to Lewis Constructions Pty Ltd. The still uncompleted complex was officially opened on 14 April 1961 by the Prime Minister, Robert G. Menzies with Dr. A Chapman, President of Eastman Kodak Company, in attendance. The complex was the national headquarters of Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd.

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

Photograph of an aerial view of a factory complex. In the foreground of the image is suburban housing and cleared land. The factory complex is mid ground in the image. To the left is a multi-storey building with a car park in front. Behind this is a row of single storey buildings. To the far right are water cooling towers. In the background and to the left of the image is suburban housing and an open tract of land.

Physical Description

Colour photograph printed on medium weight paper with a white border.

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