Meadowbank Manufacturing Company was an Australian manufacturer in

Meadowbank, New South Wales Meadowbank is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Meadowbank is located 15 kilometres north west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Sydney region. Meado ...

History

Mellor Brothers, a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n firm, established factories in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

(Meadowbank Manufacturing Co) and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

(Braybrook Implement Co) in 1890 to manufacture agricultural equipment. Braybrook was taken over by

Hugh Victor McKay Hugh Victor McKay (21 August 1865 – 21 May 1926) was an Australian industrialist who is known for heading the company that developed the Sunshine Harvester, arguably the first commercially viable combine harvester. He subsequently establishe ...

in the early 1900s and that site became the

Sunshine Harvester Works The Sunshine Harvester works, was an Australian factory making agricultural equipment founded by industrialist H. V. McKay, and with engineering development headed by H.B. Garde. History Early years Having established an agricultural impl ...

. The company purchased the 95 acre Isaac Shepherd "Helenie" estate on the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...

adjacent to Meadowbank station. This property had plenty of timber, building stone and sand to construct the factory buildings, with enough left to sell to offset costs. The company purchased the Mellor patents for its stump jump plough. The company grew to be one of the largest engineering companies in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

along with

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

Tulloch Limited Tulloch Limited was an Australian engineering and railway rolling stock manufacturer, located at Rhodes, New South Wales. History In 1885 Robert Tulloch founded Phoenix Iron Works in Pyrmont. In 1913 the business was incorporated as Tulloch's ...

and

Ritchie Brothers Ritchie Brothers was an Australian railway rolling stock and tram manufacturer based in the Sydney suburb of Auburn, New South Wales, Auburn. History In 1857, Robert Ritchie took over the blacksmith business of Joseph Whiting of Parramatta. In ...

. It was renowned for hiring and training many returned servicemen after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was floated on the

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

in 1923 with capital of £100,000 in £1 shares. The company closed in 1930 and in 1938 an auction of all remaining assets was held.

Products

Original products included the manufacture of stump-jump implements, strippers, windmills, pumps, horse-rakes, wheat separators, ploughs, harrows, scarifiers and other agricultural and general implements. The firm later produced tramcars and railway rolling stock, assembled

Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

s, and manufactured a range of stationary engines. It manufactured over 600 O class trams, which were not only used in

, but also

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

and

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. It manufactured many different types of rolling stock such as brake vans, coal wagons, Bradfield suburban carriages, 12-wheel carriages for the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differe ...

and sleeper carriages for the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the easter ...

in 1915. There was a large fire in 1908 that totally destroyed the carriage shop and some completed railway carriages ready for delivery, as well as many uncompleted carriages and trams. This resulted in 150 men losing their jobs. Stationary engines were made in several sizes for general use, initially copies of the Scottish Melvin. The

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

purchased both horizontal and vertical engines for use on the Trans-Australian Railway for pumping water into overhead tanks for the steam locomotives.NAA Adelaide

Manufacturing facilities

Land at Meadowbank adjacent to the Main North line was cleared, a railway siding built and a tram road made to the wharf. The house built by the manager, originally called Bartonville (now The Laurels) survives. This industry resulted in a growing number of houses occupied by company employees.

Demise

The Meadowbank Manufacturing Company was closed due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In 1929, there were large lay-offs of men and, by September 1930, the company had closed. Ryde Council acquired the land for a planned sandstone quarry but the

State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

took it over and built Meadowbank TAFE, and the balance wassubdivided for housing.

Gallery

Image:Staff of the Meadowbank Manufacturing Company around 1930.jpg, Meadowbank Manufacturing Company around 1930 Image:Meadowbank Works, Meadowbank around 1915.jpg, Meadowbank Works, Meadowbank around 1915 Image:Meadowbank Manufacturing Company Advertising from the Pastoralists Review.jpg, Company Advertising from the Pastoralists Review

References

{{Reflist Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Defunct rolling stock manufacturers of Australia Australian companies established in 1890 1930 disestablishments in Australia Tram manufacturers