Summary

A statement made by Hugh Victor McKay of the Sunshine Harvester Works, Ballarat, regarding the tariff proposals for manufacturers in the Commonwealth which would discourage Australian manufacture in favour of imported products.

The statement, dated 10th December 1901, is accompanied by a letter, referring to the Statement and asking the letter's recipient (not named) to consider application of a fixed duty on a complete harvester as opposed to a percentage. The letter indicates that machinery parts may have to be manufactured abroad in order to remain competitive with machine importers, and hence local manufacturing and employment would suffer.

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.

Physical Description

One sheet of off-white, watermarked paper with the Sunshine Harvester company logo (illustration of a harvester) in top left corner. Typewritten in black ink, one-side only. Extensive text. One printed off-white sheet, single-sided. Extensive printed text in black ink.

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