Talk shines light on changing role of factory

From making ammunition for the war effort to decades later employing more than 2000 people to make fridges.

Weapons and Whitegoods author, Elizabeth Edwards will delve into the life and times of those who first crossed the gates when the building was a small arms factory in 1941 to the last Electrolux employee who walked out of the main gates in 2016, at the Orange Regional Museum on Saturday.

“Many people know much of the story of Electrolux but Ms Edwards will detail what a significant contribution the factory, and its employees had in shaping the city of Orange,” Museum manager Alison Russell said.

“The face of Orange would look very different if hundreds of migrant had not flocked here in 1949 to work at the Emmco factory.

“With a short fall in housing in the city, Factory management decided to house the migrants in tents or in boarding houses.

“A Commonwealth Hostel located next to the factory was opened in 1952 and provided a temporary home for employees for a number of years.

“The migrants then made Orange their home, opened restaurants serving food from their home country, many opened small businesses or applied their skills in other way and really changed the course of Orange, its CBD and its economy.”

Currently on display at Orange Regional Museum is a 1956 Westinghouse refrigerator and the last fridge off the factory line in Orange in 2016.

There is no question that manufacturing and Electrolux were a large source of employment in Orange but by the time the factory had closed, health, retail and education had long ago taken the lead on the list of employment sectors.

This lecture will delve into the varying contributions generations of factory employees made to the community.

The 2pm lecture on Saturday is a free event but bookings are advised, call 6393 8444 or go to https://electroluxlecture.eventbrite.com.au