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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Economy
Secondary industry
Manufacturing

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Manufacturing

Subject

Bricks

Canterbury Sugarworks

Colonial Sugar Refining Co Ltd

Dixson, William

Karitane Products Society factory Surry Hills

Richard Dawson's Australian Foundry

Royal Commission into Noxious and Offensive Trades 1882

Transcript: Miss Elizabeth Killinger talks about her father's tannery on the Georges River

Transcript: Mr Eddie Saunders remembers a blacksmith's workshop in Liverpool

Transcript: Mrs Enid Borowsky talks about working conditions in Liverpool's Challenge Woollen Mills

Transcript: Mrs May Rae recalls her father's work for Challenge Woollen Mills, Liverpool

Victa Mowers Pty Ltd

White Bay

Wilshire, James Robert

Agnes Napier

Factories and Shops Act 1896

Furniture Trends

Arnott's Biscuit Factory

Boot factory Bondi Junction

Challenge Woollen Mills

GH Olding workshop

Karitane Products Society factory

Alderson and Son

American Flange and Manufacturing Company

Amoco

Arnott's Biscuits Limited

Ashwin & Falconer

Associated General Electric Industries Limited

Atlas Engineering Company

Auburn Brick, Tile & Pottery Company

Austral Brick Company

Australasian Mineral Oil Company

Australasian Sugar Company

Australian Aircraft & Engineering Co Ltd

Australian Cement

Australian Chamber of Manufactures

Australian Forge and Engineering Pty Ltd

Australian Foundry

Australian Leather Research Association

Australian Wood Pipe Company

Australian Woollen Mills

BP

Bakewell Brothers

Beale Piano Company

Beckers Pty Ltd

Bedford Brick Works

Bennett & Wood

Bennett Surfboards

Boot, Shoe and Slipper Manufacturers' Association of New South Wales

Bowden's Sugar Works

Brisbane Distillery

British-Australasian Tobacco Company Limited

Brookvale Union Brewery

Bunce's Tannery

Butcher Brothers

Caldwell Vale Motor and Tractor Construction Company

Caltex Australia

Carlton and United Brewing Company

Centennial Shoe Company

Central Brick and Tile Company

Challenge Woollen Mills

Cohen Brothers & Co

Colonial Sugar Refining Co Ltd

Commonwealth Brooms

Commonwealth Engineering

Commonwealth Oil Refineries

Conqueror Cables

Cowan & Israel

Davies Shephard

Davis Gelatine Company

Denniss's Tannery

Elliott Brothers

Enfield Brick Company

Fairfax and Roberts

Federal Match Company

Ford Motor Company

Fowler's Potteries

GH Olding & Sons

General Motors

General Motors Holden

Goodlet & Smith

Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company

J Bayley and Sons

JC Ludowici & Son

James Bonner and Sons

James Hardie & Company

Jantzen (Australia) Ltd

John Fell and Co

Johnson & Johnson

LJ Anschau & Sons Tannery

Lanceley's Brickworks

Lever Brothers

Lyon Cottier & Company

Lysaght

Magney & Weynton

Mangrovite Belting Ltd

Manly Brick and Tile Co

Mashman Brothers Pottery

Mastertouch Piano Roll Company

Meggitt's Linseed Oil Factory

Metropolitan Vickers Australia

National Brickworks

North Sydney Brick & Tile Company

Noxious Traders Association

O'Brien Glass

Oaks Steam Brick Company

Omega Trading Company

Orica Limited

PGH Bricks & Pavers

Patent Asphaltum Company

Peacock Jam Company

Peters Ice Cream

Philips Industries

Phoenix Pottery Company

Pioneer Concrete Services Ltd

Prouds Limited

Resch's Ltd

Rheem Australia Pty Ltd

Shell Australia

Singer Sewing Company

Staedtler (Pacific) Pty Ltd

Starkey's Limited

State Brickworks

Strathfield and Enfield Steam Brick Works

Swinbourne & Stephen

Sydney Foundry and Engineering Works

Sydney Pottery Company

Sydney Steel

Target Woollen Mill

Tebbutt's tannery

Tennyson Textiles Mills Pty Ltd

The Blazing Star

Tooheys Pty Ltd

Tooth and Co Ltd

Unilever

Union Box and Timber Company

United Shoe Machinery Company

Vicars Woollen Mill

Victa Mowers Pty Ltd

W Walker, Sons and Bartholomew Ltd

WD & HO Wills Australia Ltd

Waterloo Tanning School

West Coast Kalsomine Co

Western Kerosene Oil Company

Western Suburbs Brick and Tile Company

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Westinghouse Rosebery Pty Ltd

Wiley and Sons

Wormald Brothers

Wunderlich Limited

Acott, George

Ah Toy

Barker, James

Barrett, Harrie (Todds)

Beard, William Henry

Bebarfald, Barnet

Bentley, Cecil

Blamire, Anthony

Blanch, James

Bocking, James

Bonner, James

Boston, John

Bowden, Thomas Wheaton

Bowen, LJ

Burdekin, Thomas

Butters, Malcolm

Castle, Henry

Child, William Knox

Cluer, William

Cooper, Robert

Davis, George

Dawson, Richard (Dicky)

Denniss, Jeffrey

Dickson, John

Dixson, Hugh 1810-1880

Dixson, Hugh 1841-1926

Dixson, William

Elliott, Joseph

Farleigh, John Gibson

Fell, John

Fowler, Robert

Garthwaite, John

Geddes, J

Gentle, Josiah

Goodlet, John Hay

Goodsell, Alfred

Goodsell, Frederick John

Goodsell, Henry Wesley

Goodsell, John

Goodsell, John Wesley

Grubmeier, Heinz

Grubmeier, Rebecca

Hale, William

Hallstrom, Edward John Lees

Harrison, James

Hattersley, George

Hayes, Patrick

Herford, John W

Hunt, Robert Fellowes

Irving, Clark

Jones, John

Jordan, John

Kemble, Francis

Kirk, Rupert

Knox, Edward

Krupp, Bertha

Lanceley, Edward Robert

Leak, Jonathan

Leggo, Charles William

Lever, William

Linney, Charles

Lord, Simeon

Louden, A

Ludowici, Charles

Ludowici, John Charles

Luland, F

Lupton, F

Macintosh, John

Marshall, George

Meggitt, Harold

Mort, Thomas Sutcliffe

Muller, Fritz

Newnham, Charles

Norris, Isaac

Olding, George Henry

Pearson, TE

Pemell, James

Peters, Frederick Augustus Bolles

Radke, Albert

Reid, Andrew

Ritchie, Robert Adam

Robey, Ralph Mayer

Sands, John

Sims, James

Smart, Thomas Ware

Sprod, Charles

Starkey, William

Stephens, William

Tebbutt, EJ

Todman, George Frederick

Toohey, John Thomas

Tooth, Edwin

Tooth, John

Tooth, Robert

Vickery, Ebenezer

Wade, William Glenn

Walder, Sam

Walker, John

Walkley, William

Walters, FJ

Wilkes, Thomas

Wilshire, Austin Forrest

Wilshire, James

Wilshire, James Robert

Wunderlich, Ernest Julius

Wynne, Richard

de Russett, Alfred Montagu

den Hartog, Anton

van den Broek, Issac

ACI Glassworks

Aerated Water Factory Darlinghurst

Albion Brewery

Alcan factory Granville

Bennett's boot factory

British Motor Works

Brookvale brickworks

Bullock's Brick and Pipe Works

Burwood Brickworks

Clyde Oil Refinery

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation factory

Convict lumber yard, Parramatta

Duck River Brickworks

Eastwood brickworks

Edworthy Cycle & Motor Works

Excelsior Brickworks

Gore Hill Brickworks

Government lumber yard

Halvorsen boatshed

Judd's Brickworks

Lever Brothers Factory, Balmain

Lustre Hosiery factory

Robertson's coach factory

Rosemorrin copper smelter

Scotland Island salt works

Shell Refining Terminal

Small's Chocolate factory

Starkey's ginger beer factory

State Clothing Factory

Sunbeam factory

Sydney Smelting Company

Top Dog Men's Wear Production Centre

Villawood munitions factory

Wright's glue works

Wrigley's Chewing Gum factory

Aerial view of the Australian Window Glass factory at Alexandria c1940

Albion House and Albion Brewery, Surry Hills c1840

Australian Sugar Company's Works, Canterbury c1842

Blackfriars sugar refinery, undated

Brick chimneys St Peters 2008

Brick factory, St Peters c1940s

Businesses on lower George Street in 1848

Canterbury Refinery Sydney 1894

Colonial Sugar Works, Chippendale 1868

Colonial industries - Dixson's Twist Tobacco Manufactory 1864

Cover of 'Buzacott country gates and fences : catalogue no. 164' 1938

Dixson's Twist Tobacco Manufactory 1864

Employees of Speare's Brickworks, St Peters

Entrance to Tooth & Co. Kent Brewery, Broadway 1930s

Foster 'Dry Brick Press' advertisment

George Foster and Sons, St Peters c1914

Goodlet and Smith pottery, Surry Hills 1871

Goodsell's Brickyards, Newtown April 1883

Government Stores Department Clothing Factory Branch, Leichhardt September 1971

Government lumber yard 1813

Greek girls working at the factory of Australian Optical Industries making sunglasses for local and overseas markets 1964

Hydraulic press at Dixson's Twist Tobacco Manufactory 1864

Ice making room in Mort & Co's Meat-Preserving Works, Darling Harbour 1876

James Robert Wilshire 1856

James Wilshire, public servant and manufacturer, c1860s copy of c1800 portrait

John McCormack and unidentified woman assembling aircraft cowling in Wunderlich factory, Redfern 1943

Letter from R Dawson & Co, Australian Iron Works, to the City of Sydney requesting permission to remove moulding sand from Sydney Common, February 1870

Letter from Richard Dawson, Australian Foundry to the Chairman of the City of Sydney Lighting Committee offering to supply cast iron lamp posts 17 March 1843

Mr E Fowler's Pottery, Camperdown 1865

Mr WH Paling's new establishment in George Street 1883

Neilson Slipper Factory, Broadway 1945

Nestle's factory seen from company wharf, Parramatta River 1918

Nicolle and Mort's Patent Revolving Freezer 1899

Phillip Guerin's factory, Surry Hills 1878

Processing 23inch television picture tubes, Phillips Electric Industries 1960

Sir William Walkley

Squire's Brewery, Kissing Point

Sugar Works at Canterbury c1845

Sweating room at Dixson's Twist Tobacco Manufactory 1864

The Camperdown Potteries and Alderman Fowler, new Mayor of Sydney 1880

The Karitane Products factory at 72 Buckingham Street 1930

The Standsure Brickworks, Marrickville 1922

The Sugar Mill, Cooks River 2005

The old Sugar Mill, Canterbury c1885

The pottery works of Messrs Fowler and Son at Camperdown 1880

The staff assembled on Australia Day, G H Olding Coach Building Works, Parramatta Rd, Glebe 30 July 1915

Two women operate a detoluator machine at the Commonwealth Explosives Factory, Villawood c1944

Unknown brickyard

Workers outside Thomas Daley's brickworks Marrickville c1916

Miss Elizabeth Killinger talks about her father's tannery on the Georges River, interviewed 1986

Mr Eddie Saunders remembers a blacksmith's workshop in Liverpool, interviewed in 1986

Mrs Enid Borowsky talks in 1986 about working conditions in Liverpool's Challenge Woollen Mills c1930s

Mrs May Rae recalls her father's work for Challenge Woollen Mills, Liverpool, interviewed in 1986

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Manufacturing

Bricks

Sydney is unusual in the extent to which the urban landscape has been profoundly influenced by the basic, yet ancient, building material of bricks. Bricks made by the first convict brickmaker were used in the public buildings of the new colony, and the presence of brickyards influenced a succession of localities, from the inner city to the outer suburbs.

Canterbury Sugarworks

As the earliest surviving element of the Australian sugar industry, the Sugarworks has endured a variety of industrial uses to become an intrinsic part of Canterbury's heritage.

Colonial Sugar Refining Co Ltd

Founded in 1855, CSR had refineries in Canterbury, Chippendale, Pyrmont and later around Australia. It became a large and influential industrial company, with city offices and diversified business interests.

Dixson, William

William Dixson's dream was to make Australia's history better known. His passion for collecting and his enormous generosity made this dream a reality and a lasting legacy for the cultural and historical records of Australia

Karitane Products Society factory Surry Hills

In the aftermath of World War I, and with the onset of the Great Depression, concern over the high levels of infant morality in Australia led the drive to develop locally made, affordable baby care products.

Richard Dawson's Australian Foundry

Dawson's Foundry (the Australian Foundry) at George Street and Sydney Cove was the colony's first important iron foundry and a machining and engineering works that operated for four decades. This leading colonial manufactory played an important role in transferring iron trade and engineering technology from England to the Antipodes. Surviving cast iron artefacts represent the industry of the site, which was both a factory and the owner's residence.

Royal Commission into Noxious and Offensive Trades 1882

The stinking industries of mid-nineteenth century Sydney, combined with the theory of miasmas, or infection through smells, led to agitation to move 'noxious' trades away from the city. The Royal Commission of 1882 recommended changes to the siting of polluting industries, but this did not happen until well into the next century.

Transcript: Miss Elizabeth Killinger talks about her father's tannery on the Georges River

Miss Elizabeth Killinger was born in 1899 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Miss Killinger's family was of German extraction and she talks here about her father's tannery on Ritchie's Creek [now Brickmakers Creek] on Georges River, which he established in the very early twentieth century.

Transcript: Mr Eddie Saunders remembers a blacksmith's workshop in Liverpool

Mr Eddie Saunders was born in 1903 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' He remembers the unexplained disappearance of a building wall in Liverpool on a site that once housed a blacksmith's workshop.

Transcript: Mrs Enid Borowsky talks about working conditions in Liverpool's Challenge Woollen Mills

Mrs Enid Borowsky was interviewed, with her husband Carl Borowsky, in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960 ' project. Here they talk about working conditions in the Challenge Woollen Mills, a major employer in the Liverpool area

Transcript: Mrs May Rae recalls her father's work for Challenge Woollen Mills, Liverpool

Mrs May Rae was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' She recalls her family's immigration to Liverpool in New South Wales was due to her father's skilled work in woollen mills.

Victa Mowers Pty Ltd

Invented in Sydney, and adapted by the founder of Victa, the rotary lawnmower made a neat lawn easy to maintain, just in time for Sydney's postwar suburban expansion.

White Bay

Long a centre of waterfront industry, including a saw mill, a power station, an oil terminal, and a container wharf, White Bay is now a more peaceful place, with Birrung Park preserving some industrial heritage.

Wilshire, James Robert

Sydney's second mayor was a prosperous tanner with radical views.

Agnes Napier

Coal carrier which made over 20 trips from Newcastle to supply Dawson's foundry in Sydney.

full record »

Factories and Shops Act 1896

Legislation regulating working conditions and hours in industry and shops, and restricting the working hours of women and children.

full record »

Furniture Trends

Industry magazine of the 1960s and 1970s.

full record »

Arnott's Biscuit Factory

The first factory opened by William Arnott, it was located in Forest Lodge before moving to a new building at Homebush in 1906.

full record »

Boot factory Bondi Junction

Three storey factory in Spring Street built by William Sidaway and Son, who had been in the boot production business from 1887. The business flourished under various owners until it closed in 1969.

full record »

Challenge Woollen Mills

Paper mill on the Georges River which was converted to woolen mills. Part of the building has been retained in the current residential development.

full record »

GH Olding workshop

Workshop and head office on Parramatta Road at Forest Lodge that was owned by GH Olding & Sons Pty Ltd's coachbuilding and engineering firm. The firm built bodywork for everything from buses, cars, trucks and lorries to ambulances, garbage compactors, water carts, caravans, hydraulic lifts and elevators, as well as armaments and military equipment during wartime. The workshop operated from about 1912 until late 1967 when the company moved to Thornleigh.

full record »

Karitane Products Society factory

Factory established to manufacture baby formula at a price and quality affordable by mothers who were unable to breastfeed.

full record »

Alderson and Son

Tannery at Bourke Street Redfern which employed over 300 men.

full record »

American Flange and Manufacturing Company

A manufacturer of flanges, the company was a plaintiff in Australia's longest and most costly legal case.

full record »

Amoco

Oil and chemical company acquired by British Petroleum in 2001.

full record »

Arnott's Biscuits Limited

Large biscuit manufacturer which began as a small bakery in Newcastle in 1865.

full record »

Ashwin & Falconer

Stained glass manufacturing company formed by Frederick Ashwin and John Falconer in 1877 that worked on many of Sydney's most significant buildings. Initially called Falconer & Ashwin, the names were reversed later.

full record »

Associated General Electric Industries Limited

British-owned company which established a manufacturing site in Lidcombe that became a world leader in the manufacture of electric tram motors.

full record »

Atlas Engineering Company

Engineering company at Pyrmont which built ships and railway rolling stock from 1878.

full record »

Auburn Brick, Tile & Pottery Company

Brick business formed with the takeover of the Duck River Brickworks in 1905.

full record »

Austral Brick Company

Leading clay product manufacturer

full record »

Australasian Mineral Oil Company

Company incorporated by statute to extract and manufacture oil.

full record »

Australasian Sugar Company

full record »

Early sugar producer, with factories at Canterbury and in central Sydney from 1842.

Australian Aircraft & Engineering Co Ltd

Aircraft manufacturing company which began flying operation from a paddock leased at Mascot. It went bankrupt while assembling Avro 504K aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force.

full record »

Australian Cement

Australian owned cement company, first incorporated as the Australian Portland Cement Company Ltd in 1890.

full record »

Australian Chamber of Manufactures

Australian manufacturers industry group which grew from individual state organisations.

full record »

Australian Forge and Engineering Pty Ltd

Steel manufacturing and engineering company.

full record »

Australian Foundry

full record »

Iron foundry and factory established by Richard Dawson in 1833 which employed blacksmiths and ironmongers to create a huge range of household and construction items. Diversification into steam engines and ship ownership followed as Dawson attempted to secure the mechanism and supplies to ensure success. The site, that included Dawson's house, was on lower George Street near the Quay. The business was sold to Thomas Mort in 1872.

Australian Leather Research Association

Scientific research organisation for the leather industry.

full record »

Australian Wood Pipe Company

Manufacturing company established at Lane Cove in 1914 to provide wooden pipes for irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply systems.

full record »

Australian Woollen Mills

Manufacturer of fine worsted and serge fabrics from 1909.

full record »

BP

Global energy company.

full record »

Bakewell Brothers

Pottery company at Erskineville founded by William Bakewell which produced bricks and pipes as well as domestic wares for the kitchen and pantry.

full record »

Beale Piano Company

Australia's first piano factory established in 1893 which became the largest piano manufacturer in the British Empire. It closed in 1975.

full record »

Beckers Pty Ltd

Manufacturing chemist originally in South Australia during the 1920s. The company relocated to Sydney in the 1960s and was based at the corner of Campbell and Crown Streets from 1964.

full record »

Bedford Brick Works

Brick manufacturer in St Peters.

full record »

Bennett & Wood

Manufacturers of penny-farthings who embraced safety bicycles and were eventually to see motor vehicles as the way to further develop their business. The company was established by Mr. Charles W. Bennett and Mr. Charles R. Wood.

full record »

Bennett Surfboards

Early surfboard manufacturer in Brookvale.

full record »

Boot, Shoe and Slipper Manufacturers' Association of New South Wales

Peak body for the footwear industry in New South Wales, founded in 1900 and still going after World War II.

full record »

Bowden's Sugar Works

Sugar mill established on the corner of Pitt and Liverpool streets in the 1840s.

full record »

Brisbane Distillery

Distillery established on the main route into Sydney, Parramatta Road, in 1825.

full record »

British-Australasian Tobacco Company Limited

Tobacco company created by a merger between two companies - the Dixson Tobacco Company Limited and William Cameron Brothers and Company Proprietary.

full record »

Brookvale Union Brewery

Trade union-backed brewery that produced union pilsener and honey stout for sale to trade union clubs, but was unable to compete with market domination of Toohey's and Tooth's.

full record »

Bunce's Tannery

Tannery established in 1887 in Botany by John Bunce.

full record »

Butcher Brothers

Early brick making company in Artarmon.

full record »

Caldwell Vale Motor and Tractor Construction Company

Company formed by Caldwell Brothers and Henry Vale to manufacture tractors and heavy equipment.

full record »

Caltex Australia

Oil importing company listed in Australia in the 1940s which became the largest refiner and marketer through merger with Ampol in 1995.

full record »

Carlton and United Brewing Company

Brewing company formed by the merger of Carlton, Fosters, Victoria, Shamrock, Castlemaine and McCracken Breweries which was the last operator of the Tooth's Brewery in Chippendale.

full record »

Centennial Shoe Company

Footwear manufacturers in early twentieth-century Sydney.

full record »

Central Brick and Tile Company

One of the many brick making companies which characterised St Peters in the mid twentieth century.

full record »

Challenge Woollen Mills

Mill which produced carded wool, blankets and flannel for many decades on the banks of the Georges River.

full record »

Cohen Brothers & Co

Manufacturer and retailer of men's clothing.

full record »

Colonial Sugar Refining Co Ltd

full record »

Sugar refining company whose factories left a mark on many areas of Sydney and which later diversified into building materials and aluminium.

Commonwealth Brooms

Rozelle broom factory established by Rebecca Grubmeier, widow of Heinz Grubmeier, a highly skilled millet broom maker.

full record »

Commonwealth Engineering

Engineering firm, known as Comeng, in Granville that was responsible for building many of Sydney's buses, trams and trains, including Australia's first stainless steel railcars in 1954. Originally founded as private company Smith & Waddington in Camperdown, the firm moved to Granville after the Depression and was subsequently used by the Australian government to produce materials during World War 2. The name was changed to Commonwealth Engineering when the government purchased a controlling interest in the company in 1946. This interest was sold in 1957.

The Granville factory closed in 1989 and has since been demolished.

full record »

Commonwealth Oil Refineries

Oil company that operated between 1920 and 1952 as a joint venture of the Australian government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.

full record »

Conqueror Cables

Manufacturer of automotive electrical cables and cable assemblies at Dee Why.

full record »

Cowan & Israel

Substantial soap and candle making business which grew from the boiling down works on Johnston's Bay. By the 1860s it had grown to several large buildings, wharf and tramway and had found new popularity manufacturing scented toilette soaps.

full record »

Davies Shephard

Engineering company from Melbourne which established a branch at Stanmore.

full record »

Davis Gelatine Company

Company established in 1917 by George Davis in Botany that produced edible and technical gelatines for both local and export markets. Known as Gelco by employees and in the Botany area.

full record »

Denniss's Tannery

Tannery established at Canterbury which added to the pollution of the Cooks River.

full record »

Elliott Brothers

Chemical plant in Balmain that manufactured drugs and chemicals.

full record »

Enfield Brick Company

Brickworks which operated early in the twentieth century to take advantage of Cooks River clays. The site was then developed as the Enfield Marshalling yards.

full record »

Fairfax and Roberts

Jewellery business established in 1858. It was Australia's earliest emporium for fine silver, optical instruments and jewellery, creating items for heads of state, country gentlemen and families collecting their first heirlooms.

full record »

Federal Match Company

Match manufacturing company established in the 1910s which employed many workers from the local area particularly Aboriginal women. The box covers were used to support the war effort, promote war bonds and explain the new decimal currency. Like many factories of the period there were tennis teams and social groups for the workers.

full record »

Ford Motor Company

Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company founded in Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA. Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights to Ford in British Empire (later Commonwealth) countries (excepting the UK) to Canadian investors.

full record »

Fowler's Potteries

Pottery established in 1837 by Enoch Fowler to supply the building and industrial trades.

full record »

GH Olding & Sons

Coachbuilding firm established by George Henry Olding in 1906 after he and George Parker dissolved their partnership running the Paddington Coach Works. The firn built bodywork for everything from buses, cars, trucks and lorries to ambulances, garbage compactors, water carts, caravans, hydraulic lifts and elevators, as well as armaments and military equipment during wartime. Olding's version of the belt and reel surf lifesaving device was officially introduced in 1906 and in use until 1993.

full record »

General Motors

Car manufacturer founded in Melbourne.

full record »

General Motors Holden

Automobile manufacturer formed when General Motors bought out Holden's Motor Body Builders in 1931.

full record »

Goodlet & Smith

Partnership formed between James Smith and John Goodlet to mill timber which later expanded into brickworks, pottery and glass works.

full record »

Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company

Global rubber tyre company first registered in Australia in 1926.

full record »

J Bayley and Sons

Largest tannery business in the Botany area.

full record »

JC Ludowici & Son

Company established in 1858 as a tannery and manufacturer of mill belts which grew into an international company handling mineral processing and materials handling equipment.

full record »

James Bonner and Sons

Iron foundry formed by James Bonner in 1895 which purchased the Globe Iron Foundry and Glebe Foundry and operated from McKee Street Ultimo until the 1930s.

full record »

James Hardie & Company

Global building materials company which was founded in Melbourne but is now in headquartered in the Netherlands.

full record »

Jantzen (Australia) Ltd

Australian subsidiary of US company Jantzen which commenced manufacturing swimsuits in Sydney in 1928

full record »

John Fell and Co

Oil refinery company which refined both shale oil and crude oil.

full record »

Johnson & Johnson

Manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and consumer health products which began in the United States of America in 1886 and expanded into Australia in 1931.

full record »

LJ Anschau & Sons Tannery

Tannery and boot making business first established at Luddenham by German migrant Ludwig Joseph Anschau.

full record »

Lanceley's Brickworks

Brickworks in Artarmon.

full record »

Lever Brothers

Commercial soap manufacturer with factory at Balmain.

full record »

Lyon Cottier & Company

Stained glass manufacturing company from Glasgow.

full record »

Lysaght

Steel products business which is now part of BlueScope Steel since it was demerged from BHP in 2002.

full record »

Magney & Weynton

Brickmakers of Gore Hill.

full record »

Mangrovite Belting Ltd

Industrial belt company established on the Lane Cove River in 1913. Publicly listed in 1922 , it was delisted in 1993.

full record »

Manly Brick and Tile Co

Brick company established to operate the brickworks at Brookvale.

full record »

Mashman Brothers Pottery

Family run pottery business which grew on the skills acquired in England before many family members emigrated. Potteries were established at Willoughby, Auburn and Kingsrove. In July 1960 it became a subsidiary of Doultons.

full record »

Mastertouch Piano Roll Company

A company established in Sydney which manufactured and sold piano rolls. It was the only piano roll manufacturer operating in Australia and one of two remaining large scale piano roll manufacturers in the world, the other being QRS in the United States of America. Following the closure of the company, the Powerhouse Museum acquired the Mastertouch Piano Roll Company Collection.

full record »

Meggitt's Linseed Oil Factory

Linseed oil manufacturer in George Street Parramatta serviced by the tramway.

full record »

Metropolitan Vickers Australia

Australian subsidiary of Metropolitan Vickers, formerly British Westinghouse. Manufacturer of industrial electrical equipment.

full record »

National Brickworks

Brick pit and kilns which operated between the Main Northern Line railway and Pennant Hills Road. The pit was filled with garbage when the works closed.

full record »

North Sydney Brick & Tile Company

Brick company formed by a partnership between Edward Lanceley, Oswin and John Magney and Herbert Oswin Weynton.

full record »

Noxious Traders Association

Organisation established in the late 1870s to protect the interests of 'noxious trades' and to lobby for areas to be reserved for them away from built-up areas

full record »

O'Brien Glass

Glass making company formed in 1924 by Frank G O'Brien.

full record »

Oaks Steam Brick Company

Brickworks in Neutral Bay operated by Patrick Hayes 1880-1891

full record »

Omega Trading Company

Manufacturer of insecticides.

full record »

Orica Limited

Manufacturer and distributor of chemicals and services, to mining, construction and industrial companies.

full record »

PGH Bricks & Pavers

Brick company which is part of CSR diversification from sugar refining to building materials and chemicals.

full record »

Patent Asphaltum Company

Bitumen refinery industry.

full record »

Peacock Jam Company

Jam manufacturer established in Hobart in 1867 by George Peacock and moved to Sydney in 1880.

full record »

Peters Ice Cream

First Australian ice cream brand, developed by American-born Frederick Augustus Bolles Peters.

full record »

Philips Industries

Electronics company which is a local division of Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands.

full record »

Phoenix Pottery Company

Pottery company established in Lane Cove in 1883.

full record »

Pioneer Concrete Services Ltd

Australia's largest concrete company formed 1950 by Tristan Antico.

full record »

Prouds Limited

Jewellery and opticians business opened by William James Proud in Pitt Street in 1904. By 1912 it began to manufacture electric time-mechanisms to compete with imported products and many of its electric clocks were installed in banks and office buildings throughout the city.

full record »

Resch's Ltd

Brewing company that built the Waverley brewery in Redfern and claimed to be the only company in New South Wales making beer without additives, in the German style.

full record »

Rheem Australia Pty Ltd

Manufacturing company established in Australia in 1936 as a branch of an American drum manufacturer. It first manufactured gas water heaters in Australia at Waterloo in 1939.

full record »

Shell Australia

Global petroleum company which opened the first bulk kerosene facility at Gore Bay in 1901.

full record »

Singer Sewing Company

Company which has manufactures sewing machines since 1851.

full record »

Staedtler (Pacific) Pty Ltd

Manufacturer of writing and drawing instruments which began in Germany in 1835. It was established in Sydney in 1931.

full record »

Starkey's Limited

Soft drink manufacturing company founded by William Starkey in 1838 and purchased by Shelley's in the 1950s. Starkeys was at one point the largest ginger beer factory in the southern hemisphere.

full record »

State Brickworks

Brickworks established at Homebush Bay in 1910, on land resumed from the State Abattoir, to break the monopoly of the private brick companies.

full record »

Strathfield and Enfield Steam Brick Works

Brickworks which operated from Water Street to take advantage of the clays and water supply of the Cooks River.

full record »

Swinbourne & Stephen

Botany industrial company.

full record »

Sydney Foundry and Engineering Works

Engineering and smelting business which specialised in casting iron and brass for parlour grates, kitchen ranges and balcony railings.

full record »

Sydney Pottery Company

Pottery company established at Lane Cove in 1886.

full record »

Sydney Steel

Steel manufacturing company constructed on reclaimed swampland.

full record »

Target Woollen Mill

Mill established by Mark Foy's in Harcourt Avenue Rosebery which employed over 130 people in a modern mill manufacturing blankets, tweed and other clothing fabrics.

full record »

Tebbutt's tannery

Tannery owned by John Tebbutt where old and diseased animals were boiled down for tallow. The 26 tanpits and six lime pits were some of many which contributed to the pollution of the Cooks River.

full record »

Tennyson Textiles Mills Pty Ltd

Textile mill established at Ryde in the 1940s. It merged with STP Holdings Limited to form Universal Textiles Australia Limited in 1967.

full record »

The Blazing Star

Lighting business owned and operated by John White at 19 George Street in the 1830s.

full record »

Tooheys Pty Ltd

Brewing company established by Irish brothers John Thomas and James Matthew Toohey in the 1860s which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Lion Nathan.

full record »

Tooth and Co Ltd

Brewing company founded in 1835, and incorporated in 1888, which became a large, successful and diversified company for most of the twentieth century.

full record »

Unilever

Multinational corporation which entered the Australian market in 1959.

full record »

Union Box and Timber Company

Manufacturing company in inner-city Sydney in the early twentieth century.

full record »

United Shoe Machinery Company

Supplier of machinery to shoe manufacturers.

full record »

Vicars Woollen Mill

Woollen mill established by John Vicars and sons in 1893 in Marrickville. It merged with the Australian Woollen Mills in the 1960s and continued to operate until 1976. The site became Marrickville Metro shopping complex in 1987.

full record »

Victa Mowers Pty Ltd

Company that popularised the rotary mower, just in time for the postwar expansion of backyards in Sydney.

full record »

W Walker, Sons and Bartholomew Ltd

Furniture manufacturer of 357 George Street, prominent in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

full record »

WD & HO Wills Australia Ltd

Tobacco manufacturer which is a subsidiary of British American tobacco.

full record »

Waterloo Tanning School

The School of Leather Dressing and Tanning was a training facility established at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Sydney Techical College for the use of new technologies and chemicals in the tanning and leather industry. Originally based at Circular Quay, it moved to the main college campus in Ultimo in 1912 and then to facilities at Waterloo in 1916.

full record »

West Coast Kalsomine Co

Paint manufacturing company.

full record »

Western Kerosene Oil Company

Oil company established in 1852 at Hartley Vale to retort shale produce kerosene and candles. It was incorporated in 1867.

full record »

Western Suburbs Brick and Tile Company

Brickworks in Dean Street Enfield which was later developed as an industrial precinct.

full record »

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

American manufacturing company founded in 1886 which established a branch in Australia manufacturing household appliances.

full record »

Westinghouse Rosebery Pty Ltd

Engineering company which manufactured engines, electrical gear and household appliances from the 1920s to the 1960s. It achieved major technological advancements and contributed to the widespread introduction of refrigerators into Australian homes.

full record »

Wiley and Sons

Basket warehouse and retail store at 20-21 Park Street.

full record »

Wormald Brothers

Fire sprinkler system company formed in 1900 by Joseph Wormald and his brother Harry Wormald. It had previously operated as Russell and Wormald, agents for the British Grinnell sprinkler head.

full record »

Wunderlich Limited

Manufacturer and importer of building products including tiles, pressed metal ceilings and fibro sheeting.

full record »

Acott, George

Prominent in brick and pottery-making business in Lidcombe.

full record »

Ah Toy

Chinese-born furniture manufacturer with a factory in The Rocks.

full record »

Barker, James

Businessman who took over his brother's milling business in 1834. His partnership with Ambrose Hallen however was one of the early failures in the depression of the 1840s.

full record »

Barrett, Harrie (Todds)

Businesswoman and philanthropist who established heavy equipment industries in the suburbs of Mascot, Randwick and Botany and donated to animal and social welfare charities as well as hospitals and medical research.

full record »

Beard, William Henry

Furniture retailer and partner in retailing and manufacturing company Beard Watson Ltd.

full record »

Bebarfald, Barnet

Furniture retailer who founded Bebarfald's furniture stores.

full record »

Bentley, Cecil

Tennis racquet manufacturer who built St Bernard's at Blakehurst.

full record »

Blamire, Anthony

Brickmaker in Hurlstone Park in the late nineteenth century.

full record »

Blanch, James

Former convict, mathematical instrument maker and foundry owner who established his business in George Street about 1822.

full record »

Bocking, James

Businessman who took over Bradbury district's first steam flour mill in 1870s.

full record »

Bonner, James

Iron-founder and early Mayor of Manly.

full record »

Boston, John

Early free settler who became a salt, soap and beer manufacturer and trader.

full record »

Bowden, Thomas Wheaton

Ironmonger whose career also diversified into sugar production, land sales and auctioneering.

full record »

Bowen, LJ

Bootmaker at Waterloo.

full record »

Burdekin, Thomas

Ironmonger who set up a branch of the family company Burdekin & Hawley in Sydney and became a wealthy and successful merchant and landholder.

full record »

Butters, Malcolm

Saddler and bootmaker in Oatley.

full record »

Castle, Henry

Ironmonger and blacksmith who made anchors at his business in The Rocks. He was in a partnership with Richard Dawson before returning to England in 1837.

full record »

Child, William Knox

Bank director who financed the establishment of the the first sugar mill.

full record »

Cluer, William

Convict and manufacturer of clay pipes, whose Sydney business at Brickfield Hill was established by 1804.

full record »

Cooper, Robert

Convict who became a successful distiller, with property in Paddington and Chippendale.

full record »

Davis, George

New Zealand born founder of Davis Gelatine in Australia, with a model factory at Botany, and international subsidiaries, as well as interests in shale oil and engineering.

full record »

Dawson, Richard (Dicky)

Engineer and ironmaster who established a foundry near Sydney Cove in 1833 and spent four decades improving process and product despite financial problems. His innovations and transfer of technologies made him an industrial leader of the time.

full record »

Denniss, Jeffrey

Tannery operator on the Cooks River.

full record »

Dickson, John

Engineer who brought an early steam engine to Sydney in 1813, and established large grazing properties and manufacturing works.

full record »

Dixson, Hugh 1810-1880

Tobacco manufacturer who founded Dixson Tobacco Co, later Dixson and Sons, in 1839.

full record »

Dixson, Hugh 1841-1926

Businessman and philanthropist who built his father's tobacco business into an Australia-wide company later merged with others to become British-Australian Tobacco Ltd. His philanthropic work supported many church, hospital and other charities.

full record »

Dixson, William

full record »

Businessman, collector and benefactor who bequeathed his collection of over 20,000 items of Australiana to the State Library of New South Wales, forming the Dixson Library.

Elliott, Joseph

Tobacco pipe maker who operated in Sydney in the 1830s.

full record »

Farleigh, John Gibson

Manufacturer, teacher and politician who rose from office boy to tannery owner and industry representative.

full record »

Fell, John

Shale oil manufacturer near Rose Hill.

full record »

Fowler, Robert

The owner of Fowler's Pottery, Camperdown, Robert Fowler took an active role in civic affairs and was Mayor of Sydney in 1880.

full record »

Garthwaite, John

Tanner who established a business at Lidcombe in 1877.

full record »

Geddes, J

Early tanner in the Botany area.

full record »

Gentle, Josiah

Brickmaker who established his business at St Peters in 1893.

full record »

Goodlet, John Hay

Timber merchant and philanthropist who established a sawmill and wharf in Erskine Street, a brickworks at Granville and a pottery at Surry Hills.

full record »

Goodsell, Alfred

Member of the Goodsell family, early brickmakers in Sydney.

full record »

Goodsell, Frederick John

Early brickmaker and businessman in St Peters.

full record »

Goodsell, Henry Wesley

Member of the Goodsell family, early brickmakers in Sydney.

full record »

Goodsell, John

Brickmaker who established his business at St Peters in 1848.

full record »

Goodsell, John Wesley

Member of the Goodsell family, early brickmakers in Sydney.

full record »

Grubmeier, Heinz

German immigrant who pioneered millet broom making in Australia, who developed and patented the flat, triangular shape still in use today.

full record »

Grubmeier, Rebecca

German migrant who founded Commonwealth Brooms which continued the work of her husband Heinz, a highly skilled broom maker.

full record »

Hale, William

Tanner in the Botany area.

full record »

Hallstrom, Edward John Lees

full record »

Manufacturer and philanthropist who revolutionised food storage, particularly in the outback, with his kerosene powered refrigerator. This was diversified to Silent Knight upright models which ran on gas or electricity.

Harrison, James

Journalist, newspaper proprietor and pioneer in the refrigeration industry.

full record »

Hattersley, George

Cabinetmaker.

full record »

Hayes, Patrick

Entrepreneur whose business interests ranged from brick making to ferry companies.

full record »

Herford, John W

Tanner who became involved in local government in Botany.

full record »

Hunt, Robert Fellowes

Chemist who was appointed at the newly established Sydney branch of the Royal Mint in 1854 to direct melting and refining operations.

full record »

Irving, Clark

Merchant, politician and pastoralist with extensive land holdings in northern New South Wales though well known in Sydney through his involvement in businesses which promoted the region.

full record »

Jones, John

Saddler whose success enabled him to purchase land which he named after his birthplace in England. He bequeathed his estate to the Wesleyan Methodist Church which used it as the site for Newington College.

full record »

Jordan, John

Cabinetmaker who worked from 280 Pitt Street from the 1850s until 1879.

full record »

Kemble, Francis

Company promoter with a passion for sugar companies who correctly foresaw the increased demand of the new colony and drove the establishment of the first sugar mill.

full record »

Kirk, Rupert

Early settler at Longueville who established one of the first soap and candlemaking factories in the area.

full record »

Knox, Edward

Danish born sugar refiner and banker.

full record »

Krupp, Bertha

German industrialist who became the sole proprietor of the Krupp family's industrial empire from 1902 to 1943.

full record »

Lanceley, Edward Robert

Brickmaker who owned several brickworks both individually and in partnership from the 1870s to the 1920s.

full record »

Leak, Jonathan

Convict and potter who became one of the most successful manufacturers in the colony, producing bricks, tiles, bottles, jars and clay pipes.

full record »

Leggo, Charles William

Organ builder who created instruments for a number of Sydney churches.

full record »

Lever, William

British co-founder of Lever Brothers soap manufacturers, who constructed a factory in Rozelle and visited Sydney in 1914.

full record »

Linney, Charles

Brickmaker who established his business in Auburn.

full record »

Lord, Simeon

full record »

Emancipist whose skill as a wholesale merchant was followed by commercial success as a retailer, auctioneer, sealer, pastoralist, timber merchant and ultimately a manufacturer.

Louden, A

President of the Boot, Shoe and Slipper Manufacturers' Association of New South Wales in the early 1900s.

full record »

Ludowici, Charles

Manufacturer of industrial leather belts at Lane Cove.

full record »

Ludowici, John Charles

Tanner from Prussia who, with his partner Albert Radke, moved their tannery from Balmain to the banks of the Lane Cove River in 1858.

full record »

Luland, F

Tanner who established a business in the Botany area.

full record »

Lupton, F

Tanner who established a business in Botany in the 1880s.

full record »

Macintosh, John

Ironmonger and City councillor who supplied the ironwork for the Garden Palace Exhibition Building in 1879.

full record »

Marshall, George

Convict who built a successful business as a blanket maker and clothier.

full record »

Meggitt, Harold

Linseed oil manufacturer.

full record »

Mort, Thomas Sutcliffe

full record »

Auctioneer, wool merchant and industrialist who invested in a wide range of industries and technology including refrigerated transport and marine engineering, and became a rich man held in high esteem.

Muller, Fritz

Businessman and manufacturer who developed his small sheetmetal workshop into a large manufacturer of car, refrigerator and aircraft components.

full record »

Newnham, Charles

Brewer and businessman.

full record »

Norris, Isaac

Proprietor of a ginger beer and cordial factory.

full record »

Olding, George Henry

Coach builder who founded GH Olding & Sons that operated at Parramatta Road Glebe until the 1960s. His version of the belt and reel surf lifesaving device was officially introduced in 1906 and in use until 1993.

full record »

Pearson, TE

New Zealand-born industrialist who manufactured sandsoap.

full record »

Pemell, James

Businessman and magistrate.

full record »

Peters, Frederick Augustus Bolles

American-born pharmaceuticals salesman who emigrated to Sydney and began commercially producing ice-cream, the first person in Australia to do so, founding the Peters brand.

full record »

Radke, Albert

Tanner who, with John Ludowici, moved their tannery business to Lane Cove.

full record »

Reid, Andrew

Scottish importer who became a partner in James Hardie & Co. in 1896, then sole proprietor in 1912, and built the company into a prosperous industrial enterprise.

full record »

Ritchie, Robert Adam

Engineering manufacturer and politician who moved from agricultural engineering to lucrative contracts supplying government rolling stock.

full record »

Robey, Ralph Mayer

Merchant, grazier and politician whose involvement in the early sugar industry was embroiled in litigation.

full record »

Sands, John

Printer, engraver and stationer who founded a family business which survived from 1837 to 1970. For many years the business operated at 374 George Street.

full record »

Sims, James

Brick and pottery manufacturer in Lidcombe.

full record »

Smart, Thomas Ware

full record »

Businessman and politician who ran several successful businesses, from auctioneering to real estate agent, banking and flour milling.

Sprod, Charles

Engineer who operated the asbestos boiler-covering factory in Glebe which was destroyed by fire in 1909.

full record »

Starkey, William

Ginger beer and cordial manufacturer who lived in Dulwich Hill.

full record »

Stephens, William

Shopkeeper and ironmonger.

full record »

Tebbutt, EJ

Tannery operator at Canterbury.

full record »

Todman, George Frederick

Businessman who entered the tobacco industry as a boy and rose to become managing director. He also held extensive property holdings and was a generous benefactor to several hospitals.

full record »

Toohey, John Thomas

Brewer who with his brother James purchased several established breweries in the 1870s before opening the Standard Brewery on the site of the old Albion Brewery in Elizabeth Street.

full record »

Tooth, Edwin

Brewer, pastoralist and merchant who with his brothers established Tooth & Co brewery and managed pastoral leases in the colony and Tasmania before retiring to England.

full record »

Tooth, John

Brewer who over-extended his pastoral ventures and became bankrupt in 1848. He was the uncle to the successful Tooth brothers.

full record »

Tooth, Robert

Brewer, pastoralist and merchant who had over 600 employees.

full record »

Vickery, Ebenezer

Ironmonger, merchant and philanthropist whose success in the coal and insurance businesses and large real estate portfolio enabled his generous support of the Methodist church.

full record »

Wade, William Glenn

Electrician whose interest developed from youth club radio construction.

full record »

Walder, Sam

Sail and tentmaker who expanded the family business and prospered by making tents for the army during World War I, before a career in politics. He served in State Parliament for a decade and was Lord Mayor of Sydney in 1932. He served in numerous philanthropic, political and charitable organisations He was knighted in 1933.

full record »

Walker, John

Clock and watchmaker who returned to London to manage his father's business in Regent Street.

full record »

Walkley, William

Oil company director who supervised the building of oil storage facilities at White Bay Balmain and the first oil shipments from the United States and the Middle East.

full record »

Walters, FJ

Owner of boot factories in Sydney's inner suburbs.

full record »

Wilkes, Thomas

Potter who established his business at Lane Cove in 1886.

full record »

Wilshire, Austin Forrest

Tannery operator and soap manufacturer on Brickfield Hill with his brother James Robert Wilshire.

full record »

Wilshire, James

full record »

Free settler who built a successful tannery, soap and candle making business on Brickfield Hill.

Wilshire, James Robert

full record »

Sydney-born tanner and politician who advocated an end to transportation and the establishment of responsible government. He was elected Sydney's second Mayor in 1843.

Wunderlich, Ernest Julius

Metal goods manufactuer who, along with his two other brothers, established Wunderlich Ltd.

full record »

Wynne, Richard

Merchant who made his fortune importing building materials.

full record »

de Russett, Alfred Montagu

Businessman in the Fairlight area.

full record »

den Hartog, Anton

Dutch businessman who established Australian subsidiary of Philips Industries.

full record »

van den Broek, Issac

Successful Dutch immigrant to Australia who established a factory in the 1860s

full record »

ACI Glassworks

Glass manufacturing works that at its peak in the late 1960s had 33 buildings on a large site later redeveloped for dense housing.

full record »

Aerated Water Factory Darlinghurst

Soft drink factory in Palmer Street Darlinghurst.

full record »

Albion Brewery

Brewery constructed at the corner of Albion and Elizabeth streets Surry Hills for Samuel Terry. It was to become part of Toohey's Brewery before being demolished for office blocks.

full record »

Alcan factory Granville

Site of aluminium production during World War II.

full record »

Bennett's boot factory

Boot factory operating near Sydney Meat Preserving Works in Lidcombe in 1890.

full record »

British Motor Works

Car assembly factory built on the Victoria Park racecourse site at Zetland, and operating from 1950 until 1975.

full record »

Brookvale brickworks

Brickworks using clay from quarries on Beacon Hill which became a medium density housing development after its closure in 1996.

full record »

Bullock's Brick and Pipe Works

Manufacturer of fire bricks and pipes at Asquith, forced to close because of Depression.

full record »

Burwood Brickworks

Brick company which supplied the bricks for many of the houses in the suburb before closure in the 1930s when the Depression brought a decline in construction.

full record »

Clyde Oil Refinery

Crude oil refinery established in the 1920s. Processing will cease there in 2013 and it will become a fuel import facility.

full record »

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation factory

Aircraft manufacturing factory established at Lidcombe during World War II.

full record »

Convict lumber yard, Parramatta

Workshop in Parramatta for convict craftsmen which, along with the yard in the city, was central to the economic development of the colony. The sawpits and blacksmith's shop manufactured boards, fencing, doors and spades and by 1820 had over 344 convict workers and over 40 overseers. In the 1820s the site moved closer to the Charles Street wharf.

full record »

Duck River Brickworks

Brickworks established in 19th century by Charles Linney.

full record »

Eastwood brickworks

Former brickworks undergoing redevelopment as a residential area.

full record »

Edworthy Cycle & Motor Works

Manufacturer of cycles and motor cycles in Lidcombe and in Leichhardt from 1896 to 1963.

full record »

Excelsior Brickworks

Brickworks which developed from a small 1873 brickyard forming a continuum with the adjacent Burwood Brickworks.

full record »

Gore Hill Brickworks

Early brick manufacturing business at Gore Hill.

full record »

Government lumber yard

full record »

Official government lumber yard and workshop on the southern corner of Bridge and George Streets that employed convict labour. Established about 1789 after an earlier yard on Bennelong Point was destroyed by fire, the yard was enlarged and improved by successive governments. In 1832 when the yard closed and the works moved to a smaller site next to Hyde Park Barracks it was providing employment for about 183 convicts. The lumber yard was an important early centre of manufacturing - well as blacksmiths, sawyers and carpenters it employed wheelwrights, tin smiths, tool makers, brass and iron founders, coopers, gunsmiths and wheelwrights. Clothes and shoes were also produced there.

Halvorsen boatshed

Boatshed where Halvorsen launches, cruisers and yachts were built at Putney for most of the twentieth century.

full record »

Judd's Brickworks

Brickworks in Oatley that operated from the 1880s until 1972. The site was subsequently used by the council as a pole storage depot, a storage and preparation facility for electrical power poles until 1981 when the St George Institute for Education of built.

full record »

Lever Brothers Factory, Balmain

Soap factory at White Bay founded by Lever Brothers Ltd. After closure it was redeveloped as a housing estate.

full record »

Lustre Hosiery factory

Clothing factory on the border of Darlinghurst and Paddington.

full record »

Robertson's coach factory

Coach factory in Pitt and Goulburn Sts owned by John Robertson. By the late 1880s the coach factory itself had been taken over by Kwong Chong's boarding house.

full record »

Rosemorrin copper smelter

Copper smelting works established in the 1840s at Woolwich on land granted to Samuel Onions in 1837.

full record »

Scotland Island salt works

Salt works established by Andrew Thompson in 1806.

full record »

Shell Refining Terminal

Oil refinery site on the eastern side of the Greenwich peninsula.

full record »

Small's Chocolate factory

Chocolate factory in Bridge Road Stanmore, established 1921. In 2001 the building was converted to apartments known as The Chocolate Factory Apartments.

full record »

Starkey's ginger beer factory

Ginger beer plant established in Elizabeth Street by William Starkey which became the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

full record »

State Clothing Factory

Government sponsored commercial clothing manufacturer.

full record »

Sunbeam factory

Factory to manufacture small household appliances established in 1910.

full record »

Sydney Smelting Company

Tin smelting factory established on the waterfront at Woolwich which moved to Alexandria in 1967.

full record »

Top Dog Men's Wear Production Centre

One of the first factory sites to open in Dee Why.

full record »

Villawood munitions factory

Factory which was established by the Commonwealth Government in 1941 to produce munitions during World War II.

full record »

Wright's glue works

Factory using animal by-products from the Sydney Meat Preserving Works at Lidcombe from 1890.

full record »

Wrigley's Chewing Gum factory

Confectionary factory in Asquith industrial area.

full record »

Aerial view of the Australian Window Glass factory at Alexandria c1940

full record »

By

Edward William Searle

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-vn4654562]

Albion House and Albion Brewery, Surry Hills c1840

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a623016 / PX*D 123, 5c]

(St Lawrence Temporary Church, in the residence of IT Hughes, Esqre)

Australian Sugar Company's Works, Canterbury c1842

full record »

By

Frederick Garling

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a128247 / DG SV1A/13]

(Dixson Galleries)

Blackfriars sugar refinery, undated

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a737004 / PXA 6914, p 2 (detail)]

(Mitchell Library)

Brick chimneys St Peters 2008

full record »

By

Contributed By

Private collection

Brick factory, St Peters c1940s

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an10740670]

Businesses on lower George Street in 1848

full record »

Includes J Fearnley, corn factor; J Ewen, mast maker; Dawson, ship smith; H Stone, hair cutter; JG Raphael, clothier & Draper

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[Dixson Library Q84/56 ]

(Opp p.17 (detail), 'Sydney in 1848 : illustrated by copper-plate engravings of its principal streets, public buildings, churches, chapels, etc.' from drawings by Joseph Fowles)

Canterbury Refinery Sydney 1894

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a737004 / PXA 6914, p 2 (detail)]

(Mitchell Library)

Colonial Sugar Works, Chippendale 1868

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1528154 / DG V*/Sp Coll/Elyard/2]

Colonial industries - Dixson's Twist Tobacco Manufactory 1864

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 16 September 1864, p 12)

Cover of 'Buzacott country gates and fences : catalogue no. 164' 1938

full record »

Contributed By

Sydney Living Museums

[Call No: TC 631.27 BUZ/2]

(CAROLINE SIMPSON LIBRARY & RESEARCH COLLECTION)

Dixson's Twist Tobacco Manufactory 1864

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 16 September 1864, p 12)

Employees of Speare's Brickworks, St Peters

full record »

By

Contributed By

Marrickville Council Library and History Services

[000\000195]

Entrance to Tooth & Co. Kent Brewery, Broadway 1930s

full record »

Contributed By

City of Sydney Archives

(SRC3372. Originally part of CRS 44/256)

Foster 'Dry Brick Press' advertisment

full record »

Contributed By

Private collection

George Foster and Sons, St Peters c1914

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

Goodlet and Smith pottery, Surry Hills 1871

full record »

By

Charles Percy Pickering

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a089502 / SPF/502]

Goodsell's Brickyards, Newtown April 1883

full record »

By

Reuss and Halloran

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1528196/ M2 811.1827/1883/1]

(Mitchell Library)

Government Stores Department Clothing Factory Branch, Leichhardt September 1971

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[d2_44028 / GPO2 44028]

(Mitchell Library)

Government lumber yard 1813

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[PX*D 65 f17 (detail)]

(from 'View of part of the River of Sydney in New South Wales, taken from St Phillips Church yard' in 'Views in New South Wales', Sydney : Absalom West, 1812-1814)

Greek girls working at the factory of Australian Optical Industries making sunglasses for local and overseas markets 1964

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A12111, 1/1964/27/51]

Hydraulic press at Dixson's Twist Tobacco Manufactory 1864

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 16 September 1864, p 12)

Ice making room in Mort & Co's Meat-Preserving Works, Darling Harbour 1876

full record »

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

[IAN12/06/76/88a]

(Illustrated Australian News 12 June 1876, p88)

James Robert Wilshire 1856

full record »

Contributed By

City of Sydney Archives

[000\000441]

(NSCA CRS 54/5)

James Wilshire, public servant and manufacturer, c1860s copy of c1800 portrait

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a4366074 / P1/1974]

(Mitchell Library)

John McCormack and unidentified woman assembling aircraft cowling in Wunderlich factory, Redfern 1943

full record »

By

Wunderlich Limited

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a727004 / PXA 355, 803]

(Mitchell Library)

Letter from R Dawson & Co, Australian Iron Works, to the City of Sydney requesting permission to remove moulding sand from Sydney ...

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Contributed By

City of Sydney Archives

(A-000296984)

Letter from Richard Dawson, Australian Foundry to the Chairman of the City of Sydney Lighting Committee offering to supply cast iron ...

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Contributed By

City of Sydney Archives

(A-000280544)

Mr E Fowler's Pottery, Camperdown 1865

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 16 October 1865 p 5)

Mr WH Paling's new establishment in George Street 1883

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 7 July 1883, p9 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page5786854)

Neilson Slipper Factory, Broadway 1945

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Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[NRS4481 St26848]

Nestle's factory seen from company wharf, Parramatta River 1918

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By

Arthur Ernest Foster

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-vn3068240]

Nicolle and Mort's Patent Revolving Freezer 1899

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By

Eugene Dominique Nicolle

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a128802 / A 2751]

(Mitchell Library)

Phillip Guerin's factory, Surry Hills 1878

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Australian Town and Country Journal, 27 April 1878, p800)

Processing 23inch television picture tubes, Phillips Electric Industries 1960

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By

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A1200, L37059]

Sir William Walkley

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Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an24039978]

Squire's Brewery, Kissing Point

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928850 / V1A/Ryde/5]

(Mitchell Library)

Sugar Works at Canterbury c1845

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a623006 / PX*D 123, 1c]

(Mitchell Library)

Sweating room at Dixson's Twist Tobacco Manufactory 1864

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 16 September 1864, p 12)

The Camperdown Potteries and Alderman Fowler, new Mayor of Sydney 1880

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 24 January 1880 p 9)

The Karitane Products factory at 72 Buckingham Street 1930

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Contributed By

Private collection

(Source: 'Truby King, the man: a biography' by Mary Truby King,George Allen & Unwin, London 1948, facing p 316)

The Standsure Brickworks, Marrickville 1922

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Contributed By

Marrickville Council Library and History Services

[brickworks06_w.JPG]

(
The Standsure Brickworks claimed to be "Marrickville's oldest factory". Thomas Daley established the company in 1886. From the 1922 Diamond Jubilee of Marrickville)

The Sugar Mill, Cooks River 2005

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By

Contributed By

Marrickville Council Library and History Services

[File: 002\002529]

The old Sugar Mill, Canterbury c1885

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a7746046 (detail) / DL PX 148, 132]

(Dixson Library)

The pottery works of Messrs Fowler and Son at Camperdown 1880

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From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 24 January 1880 p 9)

The staff assembled on Australia Day, G H Olding Coach Building Works, Parramatta Rd, Glebe 30 July 1915

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Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A6988, 50/16]

Two women operate a detoluator machine at the Commonwealth Explosives Factory, Villawood c1944

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Contributed By

Australian War Memorial

Unknown brickyard

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Contributed By

Private collection

Workers outside Thomas Daley's brickworks Marrickville c1916

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Contributed By

Marrickville Council Library and History Services

[000\000193]

Miss Elizabeth Killinger talks about her father's tannery on the Georges River, interviewed 1986

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Miss Elizabeth Killinger was born in 1899 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Miss Killinger's family was of German extraction and she talks here about her father's tannery on Ritchie's Creek [now Brickmakers Creek] on Georges River, which he established in the very early twentieth century.
Transcript

INTERVIEWER: And what did your father do in Liverpool?

ELIZABETH: He was a tanner.

INTERVIEWER: Whereabouts was your father's tannery, can you tell me a bit about that?

ELIZABETH: Yes, it was it was on the Ritchie's Creek I think they called it. If you came out from Liverpool, if you walked along Moore Street and then across Flowerdale Road, the road ended. Then we had our own private Ã¢â‚¬â€œ we called it a track but it was really a road Ã¢â‚¬â€œ and our house was just inside, oh not inside, about halfway between the road, Flowerdale Road and the creek, and then the tannery was a bit up from the creek. He had to pick a good spot where the water was suitable and there was a big water hole there and the creek came down through from round Hoxton Park way and down. And it never went dry at all. We had a couple of very heavy droughts and there was always water, he always had water, 'cause there was no city water around us at that time. He saw the land, it was sold by auction and he bought fifteen acres.

INTERVIEWER: So whereabouts did he learn his trade?

ELIZABETH: He learnt his trade in Germany, with his uncle in Wartenberg.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Miss Elizabeth Killinger for 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Mr Eddie Saunders remembers a blacksmith's workshop in Liverpool, interviewed in 1986

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Mr Eddie Saunders was born in 1903 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' He remembers the unexplained disappearance of a building wall in Liverpool on a site that once housed a blacksmith's workshop.
Transcript

EDDIE: In the Liverpool paper there was a bit of an article about when they built the ANZ Bank, or when they put additions onto it, there was a brick wall they built and it disappeared. They couldn't understand why it disappeared, and I know where it disappeared into.

INTERVIEWER: Where did it go?

EDDIE: There was an old well there. On the back side of the blacksmith's shop [where the bank building now was] was a tyreing fire where they used to heat the tyres to put on the wheels [of carts], you know, they'd rebuild the wheels, or put new spokes in, or all sorts of things, and fix the wheel up.

And when they heated the tyres up they had to cool them down, and they had a well there. A big lump of a well too. And they used to put a bucket on a rope, throw the bucket down in the water, drag it out and go around the tyre and cool it down so it wouldn't burn the [wooden] wheel. That's where the wall disappeared [into the well]. The bank couldn't understand it. I could've told them but I wasn't going up to the bank to tell them that.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mr Eddie Saunders, from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith)

Mrs Enid Borowsky talks in 1986 about working conditions in Liverpool's Challenge Woollen Mills c1930s

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Mrs Enid Borowsky was interviewed, with her husband Carl Borowsky, in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“1960 ' project. Here they talk about working conditions in the Challenge Woollen Mills, a major employer in the Liverpool area.

Transcript

INTERVIEWER: What was it like working in the Woollen Mills, what were the conditions like?

ENID: Oh good, quite good.

INTERVIEWER: And how about the wages?

ENID: Oh well, you were on piece work.

INTERVIEWER: What's that?

ENID: Oh well, you'd be making blankets or flannel, and it all depends on how many you did a day you'd get so much for it. The more you'd done the more money you got.

CARL: Any piece rate's an incentive to slavery, that's what I reckon.

INTERVIEWR: Was it competitive?

ENID: Oh yes. Yes, sometimes you'd have run out of the wool. They used to bring it around to you, the boys, and if you ran out and there wasn't enough, some of them would rush in to grab it, to get it.

INTERVIEWER: What section were you in?

ENID: In the weaving and the looms.

INTERVIEWER: What sort of work were women doing in the Woollen Mills, were they in particular sections or not?

ENID: Yes, there was weaving, were mainly women on the winders and from there they'd go to the warehouse, where they used to roll the blankets and all that sort of thing. I was up there at one stage when they put me on to, a chap there made a machine that they rolled the blankets. You see them in cellophane when they come out? And they made this machine that folded them and put them in cellophane and I had that job, I had to do that, but I was on and off there for years.

INTERVIEWER: When would you have started there approximately?

ENID: I might have started when I was about thirteen or fourteen.

INTERVIEWER: Did you want to work there, at that age?

ENID: Oh, I wasn't worried about it, it didn't matter to me.

CARL: As I said a while ago, you had no choice, you went where your parents told you to go, that was it. It's not like today: 'If I don't like it I'm going home.' There was none of that, your parents put you to work and that's where you stayed.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mr Carl Borowsky and the Borowsky family in 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Mrs May Rae recalls her father's work for Challenge Woollen Mills, Liverpool, interviewed in 1986

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Mrs May Rae was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' She recalls her family's immigration to Liverpool in New South Wales was due to her father's skilled work in woollen mills.
Transcript

INTERVIEWER: Mrs Rae, I was wondering if you could tell me when you first came to Liverpool?

MAY: The year I think would be about 1911, and we arrived in December. We left England on the 1st of November and I was four and a half that day - and my father was brought out here to help with all the spinning mules [complex machine for spinning wool or other fibres] in the Challenge Woollen Mills.

INTERVIEWER: And where did you live when you first came here?

MAY: Well, we got a house on Campbelltown Road, which is up above Atkinson St, now I think Kentucky [Fried] Chicken are up there now, and we were there for twelve months, and then we got a new home built at the end of Nagle Street, just where Atkinson Street joins Nagle Street, and then my father was given a house on the woollen mill property and he lived there until just before he retired.

INTERVIEWER: So your father worked at the woollen mills?

MAY: Well yes, because he came out to install it [the machinery]. See not many people knew how to work woollen mills and he'd always been in that field in England, and that's why he came out here.

My uncle, his name was Nathaniel Hutchinson, he was the one that sent for my father to come out because he was in the same work.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mrs May Rae in 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Secondary industry