The Need for a Foundry
Registered on 27th April 1938, Eastern Metallurgical Founders Pty Ltd was a fully owned subsidiary of W. G. Goetz & Sons, deregistered by ASIC on 3rd July 1998.
In 1948, owing to the increasing difficulty of obtaining castings for the machinery being manufactured and for the new types contemplated, W. G. Goetz acquired an interest in a small foundry at 7 Pickett Street, Dandenong (see advert below). Between registering the name in 1938 and becoming involved in the Pickett Street foundry, founding work may have been undertaken at Goetz’s Hall Street, Spotswood site, although no evidence of this has come to light.
Above: Pickett Street, Dandenong. Hugh Murray & Son. Agricultural harrows manufacturer, moved to Dandenong in 1915 (from Buln Buln). Nowadays the factories in the photo occupy from No. 1 to No. 17 Pickett Street. It seems that Eastern Metallurgical Founders may have shared the foundry with Hugh Murray & Son, perhaps in the buildings pictured. Hugh Murray Agricultural Equipment still occupy the buildings today.
1960 photo, http://olddandenong.blogspot.com 1960s
Below: Among Eastern Metallurgical’s forming directors were
L. H. Murray and T. Raisen (see note below).
The Age 28 April 1938, p.7
Wartime Tenders
Above: From the Commonwealth Gazette no. 207, 16th October 1941, p. 2301.
‘Contracts Accepted’ for munitions.
Above: From the Commonwealth Gazette no. 115, 16th April 1942, p. 929.
Department of Supply and Development Tenders
Above: another tender for the Department Of Supply
Construction (newspaper, Sydney). 5 August, 1942, p.11
Employment at Pickett Street
Situations Vacant at the Pickett Street works.
The Dandenong Journal, 10 April 1946, p.11
Below: Advertisement in the Dandenong Journal, 26 January 1949, p.13
The “Boys To Learn Trade” advert had previously been published in The Dandenong Journal on 5 May 1948, p.10 – same wage of £9 per 40 hour week…. not bad considering the Basic Wage in Nov 1950 was £8 2s. (ANU “Reflections on the evolution of the minimum wage in Australia: Options for the future. J Rob Ray 2013. p.17. Link)
Dust and Tar
Below: It seems that the Pickett Street site had problems with complaints of of dust and tar nuisance. The Dandenong Journal, 23 February 1949, p.7
A Death At Work
Below: Under the “Personal” entries of the “Spring Vale Happenings” page of the Dandenong Journal, 21 January 1942, p.3, a note about employees William* – “Mr. Raisen”, and son* “Thomas Raisen”. William’s retirement was not a long one, as he died four years later on 24th May 1946 (The Dandenong Journal, 29 May 1946, p.4 and 5 June 1946, p.5).
The “late Mrs. E. Raisen” was Elizabeth Anne Raisen “who died at Spring Vale from heart failure” on 11 January 1942. Two of her pall-bearers were “Messers L. Murray… D. Murray…”, probably of Hugh Murray & Son, with whom it seems that Eastern shared the foundry in Pickett Street (see note near top of page).
Elizabeth’s husband William*, the “Mr. Raisen” referred to, was a “leading employee of the Eastern Metallurgical Founders, of Pickett St., Dandenong”. Dandenong Journal 14 January 1942, p.12. Thomas was one of the couple’s five sons* (three lived locally, but two lived in Wales, UK).
*The Dandenong Journal, 29 May 1946, p. 4
Below: Grim news about the death of Tomas Raisen at the Pickett Street foundry.
The Dandenong Journal, 8 August 1951, p.1
Greaves and Grace Streets, Dandenong
In 1949, the owners of the Pickett Street property ‘commenced proceedings for ejectment’ of Eastern Metallurgical, and in view of this Eastern Metallurgical purchased land in Grace Street (now Cheltenham Road), Dandenong and commenced the building of their own foundry.
Above: This faded article from The Dandenong Journal, 29 March 1950, p. 16 reads “Writing relative to new foundry in Greaves St., Dandenong, J. K. Wardrop, architect, advised that the Eastern Metallurgical Founders Pty. Ltd. intend to make portion of the private road known as Greaves St., and asked if council would supply levels and some degree of supervision; the company would then form the road in conformity with council requirements. – To be advised that council’s requirements in connection with private street construction is constructed to council’s standard specifications, but if the company desires to make a trafficable road, council will offer no objection on the understanding that any work carried out will not be work to the satisfaction of council as regards private street construction at cost of owners.”
The site was on the corner of Grace street (Cheltenham Road) and Greaves Street (now Carroll Lane), opposite what was the Dandenong Saleyards (1958 – 1998). The site is currently occupied by a Coles Express Shell service station.
Above: UBD Street directory Edition 10, 1965. Map 84. The 1966 Edition 1 Melway shows Cheltenham Road continuously to the railway underpass; no mention of Grace Street.
Click image for larger view.
Above: View eastward alongside Cheltenham Road, November 2020. The grass area is where the Dandenong Saleyards was located until 1998; the distant Shell service station on the corner of Cheltenham Road and Carroll Lane occupies the site where Eastern Metallurgical Founders was located. Unfortunately, no old photographs showing the foundry have been discovered.
Click image for larger view.
For architectural plans, see the following pages:
Grace St. Dandenong foundry 1951
Grace St. foundry Addition 1962
Below: A letter from Eastern Metallurgical Founders to the National Australia Bank, Dandenong, dated 11th April 1967. The letterhead is old stationery stock, still showing the foundry’s Grace Street address, rather than Cheltenham Road. The registered address is Goetz’s Hall Street Spotswood premises. The letter is signed by Chairman and Managing Director Otto Goetz and three other directors. Click image for larger view.
Raising Funds for a New Foundry
During a 1951 shareholders meeting, W. G. Goetz directors asked shareholders present to subscribe to an issue of £35,000 in Cumulative Shares commencing on 6th April that year, to raise funds to complete the construction of the Grace Street (Cheltenham Road) foundry and to ensure supply of raw materials.
Below: Memo to shareholders present at an early 1951 meeting (exact date unknown).
Click image for larger view.
Below: Cumulative Shares application form. Click image for larger view.
Below: Notices of Consent for the share issue from the Commonwealth of Australia, 19 January, 1951. Click image for larger view.
Apparently the share issue was a success as Goetz posted a healthy profit for the year to 30 June 1951. From The Argus, 11 September 1951, p. 11
Below: Apparently the Dandenong West Progress Association were unimpressed with sealing of some local roads and emissions from an Eastern Metallurgical furnace chimney and “the burning of a tar mixture for coating cast pipes, on the easement at the rear of these premises.” Dandenong Journal, 15 December 1948, p.8
Employment At Grace Street
Below: Situations vacant ad for 20 – 35 y.o. labourers at the Grace Street foundry.
The Dandenong Journal, 27 January 1954, p.19
Below: Just need one more labourer, and no age restrictions this time!
The Dandenong Journal, 17 March 1954, p.19
Below: Another ad seeking labourers for the Grace Street foundry.
The Dandenong Journal, 30 June 1954, p.3
Below: The Boy Scouts Association 7th Australian Jamboree was in full swing at ‘Challenge Valley’ in the Dandenong Police Paddocks Reserve from 31 December 1964 – 10 January 1965. The Jamboree had its own newspaper, ‘Jamboree Daily’, published by David Syme & Co., publishers of The Age newspaper. Eastern Metallurgical contributed sponsorship as an advertiser, along with a host of other local businesses. Jamboree Daily, January 1965, p.7
Below: From The Age, 20 October 1976, p. 29
Eastern Metallurgical Founders was among many Dandenong area businesses which made a donation to radio station 3DB’s Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal of 1951. Notice below Eastern’s listing (highlighted in yellow) is Hugh Murray Agricultural Equipment, with whom Eastern may have shared a foundry in 1948 (see note at top of page)
Dandenong Journal, 4 April 1951, p.7. Click image for larger view.
Below: Letterhead from a letter to the Lonsdale Street Dandenong branch of the National Bank of Australia, dated 11th April 1967. Note the address ‘Grace Street, Dandenong’. According to street directories of the time, the portion of Cheltenham Road known as Grace street was renamed as Cheltenham Road sometime around 1966. From then onwards, the foundary’s address was 51 Cheltenham Road (see map near top of this article).
Click image for larger view
Below: An advertisement in the Dandenong Lions Club Recipe Book, 1971 or ’72.
Keels, yachts and tall ships
Eastern Metallurgical Founders cast a number of keels for ocean-going racing yachts involved in the Sydney to Hobart races. In 1995, the company cast the keel for the replica tall ship Enterprise, the original of which brought first settlers to what would become Melbourne in 1835. For a full article in the 28 January 2009 Berwick Gazette about Eastern Metallurgical Founders involvement in the project under the management of Bob Street, click this link.
ASIC Details
Name: EASTERN METALLURGICAL FOUNDERS PROPRIETARY LIMITED
ACN: 004 224 677
Registered date: 27 April 1938
Deregistered date: 3 July 1998
Status: Deregistered
Company type: Australian Proprietary Company
Class: Limited by shares
Previous State Number: VIC C0021592E
Deregistration become official
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. P12, 3 July 1998, pp. 3, 6