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.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
Working Life & Trades, Public Life & Institutions, Sustainable Futures
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Mrs. Cecil Newton McKay (nee Shaw), University of Melbourne Archives (The), circa 1970
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Sender
Honourable Mr Andrew Fisher - Commonwealth of Australia, 26 Feb 1911
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Recipient
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Inscriptions
Letter, watermark: ' ORIGINAL / TURKEY MILL / KENT ' Letter, printed, red: ' COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA / PRIME MINISTER ' Letter, handwritten: ' 5/7 / Series B / Mr H V McKay / Melb / 26/2/11 / Dear Sir, I am just in receipt of yours of even date and thank you for it. I was greatly disappointed when had Mr Ashby's letter read to me and when I read it subsequently taking any action now to express any opinion whether it should be made public or not & only one thing remains for me to add & it is this:- I shall always be available to help prevent strikes & settle them when they do occur. This is written offhand & in courtesy to you for writing same. I had hopes of an amicable settlement free from no surrender declarations & I think a great mistake has been made. It's not my business to express an opinion how manufacturers are to conduct these beyond the general interests of the public & the letter from Mr Ashby himself deals with the questions as we discussed then & I do not [indecipherable, possibly ? yourself for consideration] '
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Classification
Manufacturing & industry, Agricultural & horticultural equipment, Correspondence
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
205 mm (Width), 150 mm (Height)
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Keywords
Agricultural Implements, Strikes, Trade Unions, Industrial Disputes, Manufacturers, Handwriting, Manufacturing, Strike Actions