Summary

Negative of Samuel Stuart McKay, general sales manager and company director. He was commonly known as Stuart in order to distinguish him from his father, Samuel. He was the nephew of H.V McKay, founder of Sunshine Harvester Works (known as H.V McKay Massey Harris from 1930). His father built the company's presence in South America in the early 1900s and later became the firm's Managing Director in 1926.

Stuart McKay was born in July 1908 in Buenos Aires, Argentina where his father was working. Stuart worked in the machine-tool division of McPherson's Pty Ltd prior to joining H.V McKay Massey Harris in 1930. He entered the company's Experimental Department under the supervision of Headlie Taylor. In 1937, Stuart become in charge of Australian sales and service of the improved Massey Harris tractor. In 1942, he was sent to England to supervise the supply of machinery to assist in wartime food production. Upon his return to Sunshine in 1946, Stuart became the general sales manager and company director. He resigned from the company in 1956 after Canadian firm Massey-Ferguson absorbed H.V McKay Massey Harris.

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

Man seated behind a desk and clasping his hands. He is wearing a jacket, shirt, tie and glasses. Piles of papers are on his desk and a painting sits on the wall in the background.

Physical Description

Black and white negative.

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