An old Automatic Totalisators Machine Shop

There are elements about this image that give the impression it is inside a house. Zooming in on a higher resolution copy of this image, the taller source of light visible near the top of the image to the right of centre looks like a front door. The door has two tall panes of glass in it. To the right of the door there is another pane of glass in what looks like a fixed side panel from which the door either opens or is hinged. Across the top of the door is a short wide skylight and another is over the side panel window. On the right hand side of the side panel there is a hat and coat hanging up in what would presumably be a vestibule. To the left of this doorway, is another source of light which is through an archway and is in another room which I fancy for no particular reason could have been a kitchen. Additionally, near the top left corner of the image there is a whitewashed brick archway which looks into another room which has a circular intense light source, probably a bulb, near the left hand pillar of the archway. A lot of things are on the floor in this room through the archway and what looks jackets hanging up seen past the left side of the pillar in the foreground. Spanning the whole bottom of the arch is an artistic wrought iron balustrade with a flower pattern, which certainly looks very out of place in a factory. Oh, and the archways themselves look rather grandiose for a factory, even though they are a strong way of implementing wide openings as seen in this image!

This is a postscript in 2025 seven years since this page was last modified. I have left the previous paragraph in this page to demonstrate just how wrong one can be when trying to interpret hidden information in these photographs with little to no associated information. What I have interpreted as looking like a house now seems to be something very different. I have added a description of this finding at the bottom of this page titled The June 2025 revelation thanks to ATMOM so as not to alter the chronological flow of it.

This image also shows several long wooden control levers which disengage the drive belt of a particular machine from the drive shafts near the ceiling. One can clearly be seen in the image above without any zooming or higher resolution. The handle of one is seen to the left of the nearest turner seated behind what looks like a lathe. He could reach this handle with his right hand without standing up. The top of this handle disappears off the top of the image as it is in the roof equipment that this disengagement takes place. The belt driving his lathe can be seen descending from an out of view drive pulley near the ceiling passing to the right of his face, down to a driven pulley on his lathe. Another one of these large levers can be seen below the top left corner of the image close to the left hand edge. The dark coloured belt can be seen rising from the machine near ground level towards the ceiling and running off the left hand side of the image. Immediately to the right and parallel to the belt is the control lever which is a lot brighter colour. Again the turner operating the lathe can reach the handle from his seated position.

In the machine rooms of my time each machine had its own electric motor. These old machine rooms had ceiling space mounted drive shafts with pulleys and belts connecting to each individual machine. Although the ceiling drive shafts seen in these photos appear to be driven by large electric motors, I think this concept probably stems from a time when the main drive shafts in factories were driven by steam engines. I do not mean to suggest that this post dates the steam era, as steam technology was still very much alive and well at this time, particularly on the railways and no doubt still powering many factories. I suppose it is not beyond the realms of possibility that this factory may have still had some steam powered equipment however it is not apparent from any of the photos I have. I think that had this drive method endured to the modern day the OH&S staff would have done a lot to ensure no one could accidentally get any body parts jammed between any belt and pulley. Something that is prevalent in these photographs is the need for a ladder. One can be seen to the left of centre of the upper half of this image, standing on the right side of the roof pillar which has the partially visible clock on the left hand side of it seen suspended on the archway wall behind. The ladders are probably used to rearrange the belts on the drive pulleys and to replace a belt that has slipped off a pulley, also possibly adjust belt tension and or perform maintenance work on this ceiling equipment like lubricating and repair.

In 2018 Neville Mitchell, an ex Automatic Totalisators Limited engineer and manager and the best company historian I know, wrote the following about the Alice Street Factory. His time in the area however was after Automatic Totalisators Limited had vacated the Alice Street Factory and moved to the new one in Chalmers Street near Central Station:

I remember the Alice street area as I worked at Stromberg Carlson's factory in Bourke St Alexandria, {1953-1962} I would catch the bus at St Peters Railway station to get to Bourke Street the bus took a zigzag rout through to Mitchell Road ,obviously I would have passed by the ATL factory.

Coincidentally when Stromberg Carlson folded up the building was sold to Felt & Textiles who occupied it until it was destroyed by fire many years later.

Some buses from St Peters Railway Station took a rout that passed by many other factories on its way to Bourke Road which is to the east of St Peters.

The Krysler Radio & Television, Nylex, Baird Watson Furniture, Cabinet makers {J8 & J10 wooden cases},were among many smaller plants in what was even in the 1950's a very run down area.

There was much later a bus that serviced the Bourke Road factories directly, CIG being a major employer the NSW Motor Registry, NSW Wool Stores, Stromberg Carlson, Magnavox, just to name a few. These bus routes included other large factories sited towards Zetland, Roseberry, Botany.

The daily bus fare was two pence each way!

The previous image in the Photo Gallery

I believe the photograph shown in the above image, which is a reduced version of the previous image in the Photo Gallery of these pages, was taken in the same building as the one shown at the top of this page. I have included this image here so it can be compared and contrasted with the image at the top of the page. The first connection I noticed was the arches that can be seen around the windows on the right hand side of the image above, which look the same as the archways in the far wall on the left hand side of the image at the top of this page. When looking at the construction of the archways by zooming in on higher resolution copies of these images, the size and shape of the bricks and their arrangement look exactly the same.

The first thing that led me to believe that these photos actually overlap was an unusual plank in the image above, that descends to the right from a large pulley near the top of the third roof pillar from the left, at an angle of nearly 20 degrees below horizontal to below head height when standing, on its way to what looks like a large electric motor on the bench near the windows and the third archway pillar from the right. This is significant as it has a high likelihood of somebody walking into it. This actually is already a very early OH&S solution as I think it is protecting the unwary from a greater risk of tangling with a drive belt running just above the plank. This plank can be seen above the centre of the image above. It is well above the heads of the group of three people standing close together behind the first turner and lathe in the centre foreground. In the image at the top of this page, this same plank can be seen in the upper right quadrant descending to the right below the large pulley and well above the head of the man standing in the foreground and extending off the right hand side of the image. The drive side of the belt can be seen between the plank and the pulley. The slacker return side of the belt can be seen drooping from the upper side of the big pulley and converging with the plank towards the right as it comes from the much smaller pulley on the motor.

The nearest machinist on the right hand side of the image at the top of this page, is looking down at a milling machine table. That same milling machine can be seen in the image immediately above, where a machinist is leaning on it, behind the turner in the central foreground. The nearest turner on the left hand side of the image at the top of this page is sitting at what appears to be a lathe. This lathe can be seen in the image above behind and to the left of the prominent central foreground lathe and turner. The lathe that appears in both images is immediately to the right of the box seen attached to the right hand side of the nearest pillar on the left hand side of the image above and the turner's head appears at the top right hand far corner of the box. Examining the lathe and the milling machine mentioned, in high resolution versions of the two images above, it is clear that both images are showing the same machines.

One of the differences between these two images is that the spot where the wooden box is standing, seen between the first turner at his lathe and the first machinist behind him with his arm resting on his milling machine in the image above, has a machine which looks like a small milling machine standing at that spot seen at the bottom of the image at the top of this page to the right of centre. Another difference is that the wall or notice board with all the papers attached to it, which presumably are drawings and specification sheets, seen on the left hand side of the image above, is not evident in the image at the top of this page. There is someone seen standing in front of this information board/wall in the image above, reading one of the sheets. He is slightly obscured by a drive belt.

The drive shaft pulleys near the ceiling in the two images above, the wooden pillars, the brackets near the top of the pillars, the boxes attached to the pillars, the arrangement of the pillars and the look of the floor when comparing high resolution versions of these images all seem to be consistent between the two.

In conclusion, the above two images come from photographs which were taken in the same building at different times, as some of the layout has changed with time. The man on the left of a well dressed pair who seem to be observing the scene, located to the left of the machinist in a white shirt and wearing braces with his left arm up and resting on a milling machine at the centre of the image above, I have nicknamed ATMOM (Automatic Totalisators Man Of Mystery) as described in other Photo Gallery pages relating to this factory. I have deduced he is a visitor to the factory. He is dressed like no one else I have seen in my photo collection on this subject, in a Mandarin Collar, cravat suit and hat with a handkerchief in his breast pocket. He also appears in another factory photograph, that shows him in the same outfit, that was clearly taken inside one of the Alice Street factory buildings. As a result I think it is reasonably safe to conclude that the two images above also show the inside of an Automatic Totalisators Limited Alice Street factory building.

The June 2025 revelation thanks to ATMOM

I have added the image immediately above titled Assembly of Julius Tote Adders for Longchamps for referring to in this new information. There is a full sized version of it accessible by returning to the photo gallery index by clicking on the image at the top of this page and scrolling down to the image thumbnail showing the image above. I have made a profound discovery in the photo at the top of this page thanks to ATMOM rekindling interest in the Alice Street Newtown factory photos. It has revealed that the majestic probably sandstone building appearing over the roof of the tin shed style factory building in another photo shown in the Photo Gallery with associated text starting with The earliest factory staff photograph I have, is not only co-located with but is actually connected to the tin shed style factory building which is prominent in that other photo. The photo shown in the image at the top of this page was taken in the elegant looking building mentioned and I have discovered there are glimpses of the tin shed style factory building seen in the added image above from the elegant building image at the top of this page. On the left hand rear wall in the image at the top of this page there are four archways seen. The right hand part of the second archway from the left is obscured by a pillar rising from and abutting the right hand side of the foreground lathe in the bottom left corner of the image. Looking through the visible left hand half of this second archway, there are open windows seen on top of a cubicle with light shining through them with a dark coloured door on the right hand side with coats and hats seen hanging on the left hand side of the cubicle. There is a ghostly figure of a man seen there who looks transparent because he moved out of the scene whilst the camera shutter was open for exposure due to the long exposure time required for these old films. When I first noticed this I immediately recognised this as part of the tin shed building of this factory. This can be seen in the immediate image above titled Assembly of Julius Tote Adders for Longchamps. The mentioned cubicle is seen attached to the side of the left hand wall near the far corner of the Adder Assembly room. The open windows can be seen above the cubicle allowing the light in that can be seen through the left hand side of the second archway in the image at the top of this page and by zooming in on them the open windows can clearly be seen just as they are in the image immediately above without zooming in. The dark doorway seen through the archway is also clearer in the image immediately above. Additionally the two coats and hats hanging on the near side of the cubicle are clearly visible in the image above and can be seen through the archway in the image at the top of this page. By zooming in on the archway in the image at the top of this page, the cords and possibly straps seen dangling near the corner of the cubicle between the coats and the door in the immediate image above, can also be seen. The archway that we are looking through in the image at the top of this page is out of view of the image immediately above, but would have been in view had the camera been positioned a few more degrees to the right, and the out of view archway we have been looking through is close to being directly across to the right from the cubicle in the image above. There are other features in the room in the image above that can be seen through other archways seen in the image at the top of this page.

What I find particularly amusing is a feature I described as an artistic wrought iron balustrade with a flower pattern across the first archway seen in the image at the top of this page, below the horizontal bar mainly to the left of the pillar that divides the background archway in two and to a lesser extent to the right of the pillar where the background is further obscured by the vertical lathe drive belt. I now know that what seems to be an iron bar right across the lower part of the left hand archway in the image at the top of this page, performs the same function as a similar bar seen running across all the archways in the right hand wall seen in the second image in this page titled The previous image in the Photo Gallery. This creates yet another link between the first two images in this page. Below the iron bar in the image at the top of this page, the mentioned balustrade with a flower pattern, actually are the backs of the large adders being assembled for the Longchamps project sitting on the tables seen right along the right hand side of the image immediately above, to the right of which is the out of sight wall with archways which can be seen from the other side in the image at the top of this page. I can clearly see this now in a high resolution version of the image at the top of this page. Also through the left hand side of the first archway on the left in the image at the top of this page, the coats seen hanging up on the far wall underneath the continued row of windows correlate pretty well with the coats seen hanging on the left hand wall about half the way down from the left hand side of the image immediately above, on the way to the cubicle. Additionally in the image above something looking like a long plank runs horizontally across and near the tops of all the windows, in stark contrast with the unblocked light from the windows. Also near the left hand wall what looks like two vertical roof support pillars can be seen both in places where coats are hanging on the walls. Each pillar has a plank of wood attached to it below the height of the left hand wall that rise up towards each other at approximately 45 degrees to horizontal with a projected apex somewhere in the dark roof space where if they meet it would be at 90 degrees. The horizontal plank running across the tops of the windows and the two converging planks can also be seen through the left hand archway in the image at the top of this page. In that image the horizontal plank blocking light from the windows is clearly visible. The left hand rising plank can be seen rising in front of the far wall from the lower left hand edge of the arch then continuing to rise to the right across the windows in the background and comes close to reaching the height of the bottom of the horizontal plank at the left hand edge of the lathe drive disengagement lever previously mentioned, for the turner at the left hand side of the image. The right hand rising plank can be seen against the background window rising to the left above the top of the far wall from the upper right hand side of the same arch and then disappearing behind the right hand side of the same lathe's drive belt and is seen crossing the horizontal plank between the two sides of the drive belt.

And then there is what I suspect is a tool-case! In high resolution copies of both photographs I can see the same tool case on a table. First through the left hand arch in the image at the top of this page the case is directly below the bright light seen on the left hand side of the arch, which can just be made out in this image by zooming in on it. The top of the case and the handle appears above and from behind the head of the machinist seated behind his machine on the left hand side of the image and close to the near side of the wall with the archways. He is behind the foreground turner with his lathe in the bottom left corner of the image and facing the same direction. I can also see that case on the third bench on the left hand side of the image immediately above. Similarly I can just make out that case in the image above by zooming in on it. Looking at the first man standing near the right hand far side of the second bench wearing a white shirt and braces and looking down at something he is holding with both hands, the case is seen on the bench behind him. Actually two handles can just be seen, the case sits laterally across the bench and its handle is on the left, and the close by right hand handle belongs to a smaller tool bag sitting longitudinally along the bench. Returning to the man wearing a white shirt and braces and looking down, another man's head can be seen to the right of him peering over his shoulder. If that second man leaned forward a little and down his forehead would rest on the top of the handle of the case. Next have a look at the third archway from the left in the image at the top of this page that has a ladder obscuring the view of the left hand half of it. To the right of the ladder through the archway some coats are seen hanging up and to the right of the bottom of them at the bottom of the tall white oblong shaped section and above the head of the man standing on the right side of the ladder, a five digit drum counter display unit can best be seen in a high resolution copy of that image, but is discernible in this image. That can just be seen in the image immediately above when zooming in on it. In that image, the windows to what looks like an office are clearly seen across the back wall. Below the left hand window of that office and sitting on a bench in front of it, that same five digit drum counter display unit can be seen. If you wish to see what a drum counter display unit looks like and also have a look at ATMOM click on the image at the top of this page to return to the Photo Gallery Index and scroll down to the last image thumbnail in the Newtown Factory Group and select the thumbnail with the associated text starting with Another image of a Workshop in the Alice Street Automatic Totalisators Limited factory. Now returning to the same place in the image at the top of this page, we can see inside what I called a tall white oblong shaped section, a wooden roof pillar on the left with what looks like a black metal pipe crossing the back of the pillar and rising to the right and passing behind what looks like a vertical metal bar parallel to the pillar then disappearing behind the archway wall. Now returning to the image immediately above, from this perspective we can see what I have just described is behind the drum counter display unit because the viewing point was off the right hand side of this image. Moving left from the left hand office window near the far corner of the room, we first come across the vertical metal bar which is parallel to the roof pillar on the left and has what looks like a significant pipe behind them close to the ceiling rising from left to right, which is exactly what we saw in the image at the top of this page, vertical pillar on the left of a parallel bar with a crossing pipe behind rising from left to right. In the fourth archway in the image at the top of this page a source of light can be seen that I have described in the first paragraph under the image as the taller source of light visible near the top of the image to the right of centre looks like a front door, are the doors at the right hand side of what I have called the office at the rear of the room as seen in the image immediately above.

As a final observation I mentioned the iron bar running across the first archway in the image at the top of this page and along all the archways in the second image in this page. When I first saw this bar across the first archway in the image at the top of this page I thought its purpose was to keep the archway from being a thoroughfare however it seems to be, that it has at the time of the photo or had prior a different function, perhaps a pipe. In the second image in this page follow the iron bar from the right hand side of the photograph up and to the left to a lamp that looks like it is suspended on top of this bar. In a high resolution copy of this image it is blatantly clear but can also be seen by zooming in on the lamp that the bulb of the lamp is almost sitting on a left protruding stubby thicker section of pipe. This protruding section stops above what at one time may have been a basin but now has a wooden top to it which seems to be used as a table top with odds and sods on it including a white block of something that might be a bar of soap. If it was a basin this iron bar must be or have been a water pipe. The counterpart to this bar in the image at the top of this page has a similar T intersection. If you follow that bar from the left hand side of the image at the top of this page, it passes behind a belt connecting the ceiling drive shaft to a machine below and then passes behind one of those long drive belt disengagement levers dangling down from the ceiling and parallel to the belt, which is a much lighter shade than the belt. Now following the pipe further to the right about the width of the lever it comes to an inverted T intersection. The stem of the T rises high up to the roof and disappear between two ceiling support beams. I think this excludes this pipe as being a pedestrian traffic control implement. The two things that come to mind are either a conduit for wiring or a water pipe however I do not get the impression that tidy wiring would be a priority in this factory so water might be more likely. It leaves me with a question. Do the milling machines seen in the machine shop photos above need water?