Name/TitleJohn Danks factory, South Melbourne: interior, c. 1910
About this objectThis photograph has been taken inside one of the John Danks & Sons factory buildings located at Moray Street, South Melbourne. The image shows a number of car chassis displayed in rows. Danks did not manufacture cars or car parts, but "Danks Workshop South Melbourne" has been written by Selby on the border of the slide.
John Danks (1828-1902) arrived in Australia with his brothers in 1857 and set up a plumbing business in 1859, which grew into a company supplying and manufacturing a variety of plumbing and engineering products such as brassware, pumps, windmills and bells.
From 1859, the company's first premises were in Bourke Street in the city, but then expanded to Moray Street north, South Melbourne, in the early 1870s. A newspaper report of a visit to the Moray Street factory in 1894 described the "immense capital laid down in materials and premises."
Following John Danks' death in 1902 his son Aaron (1861-1928), later Sir Aaron, led the company.
One of the many glass slides purchased from retailers or specifically made for illustrated lectures given by Isaac Selby between c. 1930 and c. 1955 to raise money for the Old Pioneers Memorial Fund.
For more information about this image contact Royal Historical Society of Victoria.
MakerGunn's Slides (Firm)
Maker RoleSlide Maker
Measurements8.2 x 8.2 cm
Period1910-1920
Object TypeGlass slide
Subject and Association KeywordsSelby, Isaac, 1859-1956
Subject and Association KeywordsSouth Melbourne (Vic.)
Subject and Association KeywordsEngineering firms
Subject and Association KeywordsMetalwork and metalworking
Subject and Association KeywordsJohn Danks & Sons (firm)
Subject and Association KeywordsDanks, John, 1828-1902
Subject and Association KeywordsDanks, Sir Aaron Turner, 1861-1928
Subject and Association KeywordsAutomobiles
Named CollectionImages collection
Object numberGS-BCS-71
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved