Summary

Photograph of the threshing test rig in the Threshing laboratory.

Part of a collection of photographs, negatives, moving film, artefacts, documents and trade literature belonging to the H. V. McKay Sunshine Collection. The McKay collection is regarded as one of the most significant industrial heritage collections in Australia. The collection relates to the agricultural manufacturing firm, the Sunshine Harvester Works. The Australian operations of this company were originally founded by Hugh V. McKay in the 1890s in Ballarat. Between 1906 and 1907, McKay moved production to Sunshine where the firm became one of the largest industrial businesses in Australia. Change in ownership is a recurring theme in the company's history. In 1930, it merged with Massey-Harris to become H.V McKay Massey Harris. In the mid-1950s, the company was absorbed by Canadian agricultural firm Massey-Ferguson. Production in Sunshine ceased in the mid-1980s, following almost 100 years of manufacturing agricultural equipment.

Description of Content

An operator in the Massey Ferguson Threshing Laboratory in St. Albans road Sunshine, is about to start the 50-foot conveyor which feeds measured quantities of cereal crop into a threshing test rig. Small piles of straw and grain against the wall on the right record the quantities of grain separated at the concave, concave-separated straw, and grain that would have gone on to the straw walkers. The wall charts show the variation of concave adjustments during a series of grain separating tests.

Physical Description

Black and white photograph

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