In the years after WWII the availability of long haul trucks freed manufacturing industries from their dependence on the railhead in Melbourne allowing them to take up opportunities to scale up their businesses in the green field sites on the outskirts of the city.[1] One of the first to take up such an opportunity was Moulded Products Pty Ltd, later known as Nylex, which set up its headquarters on the Nepean Highway in Mentone. The site commenced production in 1946 and over the following decades an extensive industrial park grew on the site with many saw-tooth production spaces, a laboratory complex and administrative buildings spread across the site by 1963.[2]
Nylex closed its factory in Mentone in 2006 and all we can see today of this landmark industrial site is the iconic Nylex sign and illuminated digital clock – thought to date from the 1970s. Unlike the well-known Nylex neon sign in Richmond, this sign ‘features no neon, instead utilising incandescent light globes to display the time and temperature and red acrylic light-box lettering...’.[3] Nylex was a large local employer and its presence was influential in the growth of local industry. While there were few other examples of early industrial sites in the municipality of such scale, the complex was demolished being deemed of little architectural significance.
However, the story of large industrial sites such as this is not limited to one of ingenuity, creativity and enterprise. Heavy industry has a darker side. During the operation of the site the Nylex factory was the subject of resident concerns around possible air and beach pollution issues.[4] For instance, the Environment Protection Authority Annual Report for 1983–1984 noted, “For many years this plant was the subject of complaints for nearby residents.”[5] In 2004, Nylex was found guilty of discharging 15,000 litres of a plasticiser used in plastic production from the Mentone site into Port Phillip Bay, which forced the closure of Mentone Beach and led to a Fisheries warning in the area.[6] The article notes that: “The EPA and Magistrate were critical of the company's inaction and complacency and failure to identify significant operational risks at the site.”[7]
So, the Nylex sign prompts a range of narratives that focus on tangible and intangible aspects of the site: post war industrial innovation; contributions to the economic prosperity of the region through employment and development; as an example of architectural heritage; but, also the impact of major industry on surrounding residential areas and the wider environment. One could argue it encapsulates the range of heritage themes explored in this tour. Further, it highlights the frailty of industrial heritage sites in the municipality. Somewhat worse for wear, and currently not operating, the sign is located on private land there is still debate about who will bear the cost of restoring the sign to its former glory.
I feel it is fitting to end this tour on what is probably the most visible expression of the post-war industrial boom within the City of Kingston – a prominent corporate symbol by a busy arterial road. This site seems a world away from the natural, post-industrial setting at Bald Hill Park. I hope, in taking this short tour, you will see the breadth and richness of our industrial heritage and the great potential it offers to help us understand who we are.
Thanks for listening.
[1] Anon. ‘Nylex Factory’, City of Kingston Heritage Database [currently offline], citation no. 32, City of Kingston Heritage Study Place Identification Form, 2001, Bryce Raworth Pty. Ltd.
[2] Anon. ‘Nylex Factory’, op. cit.
[3] Adam Dimech, ‘Nylex Clock (Mentone)’, Melbourne Neon: Discovering Melbourne’s Neon Heritage [website], 2017, http://www.adonline.id.au/neon/nylex-clock-mentone/
[4] Mike Williams, ‘Nylex Corporation Limited’, emelbourne: The City Past and Present [website], School of Historical Studies, University of Melbourne, 2008, http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01072b.htm
[5] Environment Protection Authority (Vic.), EPA Annual report 1983/84: Working together in a balanced environment, EPA (Vic), F D Atkinson Government Printer, p. 24, reproduced at: http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/papers/govpub/VPARL1982-85No156.pdf
[6] Anon., ‘Nylex faces hefty fine if guilty of oil spill’, The Age [online], 14 Mar 2003, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-03-14/nylex-faces-hefty-fine-if-guilty-of-oil-spill/1817076; Allens Linklaters, ‘EPA Cases: Nylex fined over water pollution’ E&P News October 2004 [website], 2017, http://www.allens.com.au/epn/oct04/vic.htm
[7] Anon., ‘Nylex faces hefty fine if guilty of oil spill’ op. cit.
