Summary

A handwritten letter on Commonwealth of Australia letterhead from Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, to Mr H.V. McKay, dated 26th February 1911. The letter is in response to H.V. McKay's earlier correspondence regarding intervention in the Agricultural Implement Makers Union strike of 1911 which was the first union action strike to impact on the Sunshine Harvester Works and became a Federal issue as the strike escalated.

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

Single sheet of off-white watermarked paper, parallel folded in half with the a Coat of Arms and printed text in red ink on one side. Handwritten text in pencil on both sides.

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