Historical information
The Bendigo Ordnance Factory began operating in 1942, producing heavy artillery and naval guns. In the late 1990s the then Federal Government-owned facility was sold to the multinational Thales, which continues to operate the factory today.
This Bendigo Historical Society collection of glass negatives includes some slides of women working in the munitions factory. Seven slides were included in an album that was prepared for Dr Edith Summerskill who visited Australia in 1944 as part of an Empire Parliamentary Delegation. The album included photographs of Australian women working at the factory during WW2. A copy of the album is in the Collection of the Australian War Memorial.
Physical description
Box 2 of 3, Glass Slide Negatives of the Bendigo Munitions Factory, later known as the Ordnance Factory and then the Australian Defence Industries. Each negative is sealed between two pieces of glass. The edges are sealed with thin pieces of tape. The slides are contained in three wooden boxes with hinged lids and grooves (slots) to house them.
