Photograph - Workers, Cardboard department, J Kitchen & Sons, 1920s

Historical information

This photo has been in the Hegarty famly collection since the twenties. It shows a group of workers from the Cardbox Department of J Kitchen & Sons Pty Ltd, of Ingles Street, Port Melbourne. These workers made boxes for soap by hand, i.e. presentation boxes for Christmas gifts.

There are three sets of sisters in this photo: Lily and Alma Eddy, who travelled from Coburg; Mabel and Florrie McPherson and Alice and Myrtle Mott, all of Cruikshank Street.

Mrs Myrtle Mott Bennett of Box Hill, was able to identify Millie Robinson (front row, 2nd from left) of Graham Street, Alice Mott (back row, 3rd from left). She is 2nd from left in front row. After all these years, it was hard to remember who was who!

Alice Mott started working at Kitchen's at 14 year old, and her younger sister Myrtle started there at 15 years, having worked for a year at Swallows. Myrtle was to spend 15 years there prior to her marriage in 1939, and received a gold watch for long service She feels that working at Kichens was a bit more prestigious than Swallows.

John and Jim Bradley were the foremen and were real gentlemen!

Physical description

Copy of photo of twelve young workers from cardboard department f J Kitchen & Sons, Ingles Street.



Also an attachment (.02) written by Barbara Gardiner which lists all the people in the photo.

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