Summary

Photograph depicting the Kodak Australasia factory in Abbotsford, Victoria, 1952. It shows the Yarra River in flood - and also the damage from a fire in the silver nitrate building that happened the same day as the floods.

The flood, about 12 feet high according to newspaper reports of the day, submerged the company's timber yard and maintenance workshops, causing £2,000 of damage to the timber. The Yarra River was prone to flooding, and despite major works designed to manage water flow in the 1920s, the river still experienced more major floods - in November 1934 and again in July 1952.

The fire, ignited by a spark from a drill, swept rapidly through vats of highly flammable silver nitrate crystals, causing £10,000 damage to the silver nitrate building. Part of the damage can be seen in this image - note the roof of the silver nitrate building where the fire has burnt through. The building was later rebuilt.

This image was donated by the family of Ian 'Charlie' Yelland, who worked for Kodak Australasia Emulsion Department for 46 years, retiring in 1978.

This image 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

Flooded river with factories and many industrial chimneys in the background. Trees are in the foreground. The water seems to be rushing fast

Physical Description

Digital file. Original photograph was a monochrome copy, landscape orientation.

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