Summary

Negative of Messrs. Appleton and Burgess who were associated with H.V McKay Massey Harris. They are standing in front of the H.V McKay farm smithy, where the first Sunshine harvester was reportedly built. The smithy was relocated from Drummartin and installed at the front of the company's Head Office. It was dismantled in the 1950s and is now housed at Museum Victoria.

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

Two men, Messrs Burgess & Appleton, dressed in suits and hats, standing in front of the original McKay Farm Smithy. The hut stands on a nicely manicured lawn with a neat concrete border and curving entrance path leading up to the doorway.

Physical Description

Black and white negative.

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