Summary

Photograph of the Kodak Australasia factory in Burnley, circa 1953.

The Burnley building was located at 550-556 Swan Street Burnley and was purchased by Kodak in 1950 as the Abbotsford factory became too cramped. The building was previously the Barnes Honey Factory.

The main delivery entrance and yard can be seen at far left of the image, with drums of chemicals stacked in the yard. The building at the back of the yard was where the powdered chemicals were mixed.

Both Kodak's black and white photo finishing laboratory and the Powder and Solution Department (later known as the Photochemical Department) operated out of these premises until1974. The Photochemical Department was transferred to the Coburg factory in 1974, while the photo finishing laboratory closed down at this time because a black and white processing and developing service was no longer provided by Kodak after Burnley was vacated.

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

Street view of the exterior of a two storey brick building. The photograph is angled to reveal two sides of the building and a fenced in yeard next to the building on the left. Large steel barrel drums are stacked in the yard. The street in the foreground features tram tracks.

Physical Description

Black and white, silver gelatin photograph, printed on medium weight paper, landscape format with a white border.

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