NRS-15449 | Photographic slides of a fire at Herrings factory [Board of Fire Commissioners]

Full description

These colour photographic slides show a scene at the G. Herring Pty Ltd, a plastic button manufacturer located in Dunning Avenue Rosebery which was destroyed by fire on 16 November, 1952. It is understood that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit, the result of a severe thunderstorm. Adjacent businesses Smith Brothers Pty Ltd (box and case manufacturers) and Ralph Symonds Ltd (plywood and veneer manufacturers) also sustained damage in the blaze. Eight Brigades and salvage squads attended the fire.

The series consists of eighteen aperture cards each containing two identical photographic colour slides which show the fire being extinguishing by firemen working from the ground and from surrounding roofs. Some slides show the burning factory with people watching from the surrounding streets. All of the slides are identified by the number '38' and they are accompanied by one plywood and one metal guide card labelled '38 Herrings Fire' suggesting that they were part of a collection of slides maintained either by the donor or within the Board of Fire Commissioners.

These slides were donated to the Board of Fire Commissioners by Mrs R. Moss on 6 July 1988. There is no indication of Mrs Moss's interest in the fire. She may have been an employee, the spouse of the employee, one of the observers of the fire or simply have come into possession of the slides.

REFERENCE
Board of Fire Commissioners. Major Files. Fire at G. Herring Aust Pty Ltd, 16/11/1952. State Records 20/14850