1951 – 1960
Above: The old fire station in King Street. Above right: Apple packing Below right: The Hastings Coolstores
CELLOPHANE FACTORY During the 1950s there was a factory on the corner of Church and Victoria Streets, Hastings, that made cellophane tobacco pouches. These pouches were made by the cellophane sheet being folded so as to form a pouch and then each side of the pouch was sealed by sewing it together on industrial sewing machines, of which there were more than 20 in the factory. At this time, the art of heat sealing cellophane had not been mastered. The daily output of pouches was in the thousands. Mr Bill Wilson was the manager of this factory for most of its life. ACTON ENGINEERING In the early 1950s Mr Bill Row manufactured aluminium folding chairs in High Street Hastings. These chairs were almost identical to chairs on offer now.
Hastings hosiery mill fire
Reported in The Herald on 12 June 1954 FIVE firemen injured at Hosiery Mill fire, Hastings. This sock factory/hosiery mill came to Hastings around 1944 as a decentralized industry. Nine groups of businessmen (locals) formed a Pty. Ltd. Company of some 15 share-holders. The first manager was a Frankston Councillor, Mr Percy Gaskin, who lived in High St, Hastings. At this time, Hastings was a part of the Frankston Shire. Later managers were Mr Fred Gregory, Mr Harry Craig and possibly others. The small factory came to Hastings with a family called Hanna who is understood to have operated at Coburg. This small enterprise provided employment for 10-15 local people for about 20 years until the share-holders found it uneconomical to continue. Originally there were five knitting machines, the numbers had increased to around 20 machines when the factory closed. The factory stood on the corner of Victoria and Church Streets.
Above: The Hosiery Mill in Hastings. It was situated where Coles currently stands and burned down in 1954. Top right: The original bowling club in Hastings, circa 1953, also where Coles is now. Right: Victorian Woollen Company wool mill in Hastings. Western Port News 10 April 2012 Special Edition
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