Summary

Digital copy of a black and white photograph of the 1959-1960 Christmas party in the Accounting Machine Room at Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd's factory at Abbotsford. On the far right, in the glasses, is Marion Asher (nee Docherty), who worked with Kodak from 1959 to 1962. Marion operated an accounting machine, and primarily dealt with the accounts for New South Wales chemists. Herself and workmate Janice split the NSW chemist accounts alphabetically between them - Janice working with A-L and Marion with M-Z. Most of Marion's work was with Washington H Soul Pty Ltd in Sydney.

According to Marion, there were approximately 4-7 accounting machines in this office space which used to process accounts payable with the various chemist accounts all over Australia. There were also 3-4 typists and a supervisor who sat in the middle of the room to ensure the girls remained working to task. Their manager, Dick Moore, sat in a glass-walled room at the front of the open plan office with secretary and typists close to hand. Marion reflected that it was a noisy place to work and very rigidly organised but the structure and efficiency was a good professional grounding for her as a young woman,18-19 years old.

This photograph complements the Kodak Heritage 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.

Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd 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.

Description of Content

A group portrait of 15 women and two men (one in the middle of the group dressed as Santa). They are standing in an office, with office machinery in the foreground and horizontal blinds covering a large window behind them. Some women are holding unwrapped presents and wrapping paper.

Physical Description

Digital image file. Digital copy taken of original photograph.

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