Summary

Colour photograph of former Kodak Abbotsford factory taken from the street.

Part of a collection of research material and artefacts assembled by former Kodak Australasia employee Nigel Beale while he was writing Kodak's company history in the 1980s.

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, educational, defence, scientific and graphic art professionals who used photography, x-ray and other imaging techniques.

Description of Content

A view of a five storey brick factory building taken from across the road, with a car park in the foreground and a large chimney and other buildings in the background. On the left hand side of the image a man is walking along the footpath next to tall buildings and the street curves alongside the factory.

Physical Description

A colour landscape format photograph printed on Kodak photo paper. In the centre of the image there is some evidence of deterioration

Significance

This item, showing the site of the former Kodak factory in Abbotsford, enhances our understanding of the changing nature of the photographic manufacturing in Melbourne, and also traces the changes in industrial sites in inner Melbourne over the twentieth century. This is an important theme for Melbourne, where de-industrialisation has changed the shape and culture of the city in a multitude of ways since the decline of local industry in the late-twentieth century. That Kodak staff took this photograph of its former premises twenty years after it relocated, shows that the company was also interested in its heritage.

More Information