Summary

Two couples dancing as part of the Double K Square Dance Club, a social group organised by Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd staff at the Burnley factory, Richmond.

The staff are dancing here in the Powder and Solution Department storeroom at the Burnley premises, circa 1950. Marie McKinley (later de Camara ) is the woman on the left, while Pearl Cleaver is at right.

Marie worked for Kodak for 35 years in total, commencing at Abbotsford, moving to Burnley and then finishing up at Coburg. She spent the majority of her working life at Burnley in the Powder and Solution Department, and here we see her with some colleagues enjoying social time dancing together.

Pearl Cleaver was manager of the Powder and Solution Department at Kodak.

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.

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.

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.

Description of Content

Two couples dancing in a factory storeroom - one pair passing underneath the arms of the other. Women wear long check skirts and jumpers, and one man is in overalls while the other wears slacks, tie and vest. Behind the couples are wooden pallets and crates, two of which have square dancing instructions and a handmade cardboard sign reading 'K K Double K Square Dance Club' attached to them.

Physical Description

Black and white silver gelatin photographic print, portrait format, glued to off-white cardboard

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