Summary

Black and white photograph of George Laming, an employee at H.V McKay Massey Harris. Laming was the foreman of the Binder Shop from at least 1925. He migrated to Sunshine from England in 1911. Workers in the factory were exposed to many safety hazards and Laming was no different. The top of his finger was cut off in 1939 after it was caught in the Binder Shop door which had been violently shut by the wind.

Laming made many contributions to the company, especially during World War II. The company manufactured farm machinery for the British government. Between 1940 and 1944, Laming made four trips to England to supervise the distribution of nearly 7,000 Sunshine binders for the company. Furthermore, Laming was involved in the company's social life. He was the President of the Sunshine Harvester Works Rifle Club. After a short period of illness, Laming passed away at a private hospital in December 1946, aged 63.

Part of a collection of photographs, negatives, moving film, artefacts, documents and trade literature belonging to the H. V. McKay Sunshine Collection. The McKay collection is regarded as one of the most significant industrial heritage collections in Australia. The collection relates to the agricultural manufacturing firm, the Sunshine Harvester Works. The Australian operations of this company were originally founded by Hugh V. McKay in the 1890s in Ballarat. Between 1906 and 1907, McKay moved production to Sunshine where the firm became one of the largest industrial businesses in Australia. Change in ownership is a recurring theme in the company's history. In 1930, it merged with Massey-Harris to become H.V McKay Massey Harris. In the mid-1950s, the company was absorbed by Canadian agricultural firm Massey-Ferguson. Production in Sunshine ceased in the mid-1980s, following almost 100 years of manufacturing agricultural equipment.

Description of Content

Portrait of man wearing jacket, tie and shirt.

Physical Description

Black and white photograph.

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