Welshpool Munitions Factory

Statement of Significance

Welshpool Munitions Factory (fmr), including a factory building with corrugated roof (1942), has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

The place is associated with the manufacturing of ammunition and its association with the military during World War Two;
The place represents an example of factory buildings in the State, and contains
several important items of equipment from the early period of operation;
The place provided much needed employment during the post war years,
including immigrants;
The place was important as a site for tractor manufacturing which assisted the
Western Australia’s agricultural industry; and
The place has significance with its relation to the establishment of Chamberlain
John Deere, being a worldwide agricultural machinery corporation.

Physical Description

The former munitions factory site was built on a circular shaped site which loops from Welshpool Road to the southwest to Tomlinson Road to the southeast. The site has been subdivided into various lots and only one original building of the former munitions factory remains to date, being located on 9 Adams Drive, Welshpool.

The original factory building which remains is constructed of corrugated roof with gabled ends and custom orb sheeting to each elevation and remains as a factory for the metal fabrication purposes.

History

A plan was established in August 1939 for the expansion of native ordnance production in the threat that war may cut Australia off from the rest of the Commonwealth. Six small arms munitions factories were later built around the country, with the sixth and last factory being built in 1942 in Welshpool. The Welshpool munitions factory operated between 1942 and 1945, and was named Small Arms Ammunition Factory No.6 (MW) which manufactured .303
rifle ammunition.

After its closure, the old munitions factory became available in 1947 for use by private industry and was offered by the government to the Chamberlain family. Chamberlain Industries Pty Ltd converted the former munitions factory to manufacture and market agricultural tractors and implements.

On 18 May, 1949, the first Chamberlain tractors rolled off the assembly line at Welshpool. These tractors produced were 40k models, containing 40 horsepower kerosene fuelled, twin cylinder, horizontally opposed engines. They weighed about four tonnes and were ideal for the needs of Australian farmers of that era.

In 1952, the family began producing implements with the all-welded Chamberlain scarifier, followed a year later by the first Chamberlain disk plough. The need for specialised seeding equipment saw the introduction of the Chamberlain combine seeder in 1963. In 1955, the kerosene tractors gave way to the diesel models.

Chamberlain products were commanding wide acceptance in Australian farming and export markets, culminating in the 1964 Export Award, and produced about 25 per cent of the 13,000 tractors bought in Australia each year.

To meet the rapidly increasing demands for product, a comprehensive $3.5 million expansion and refit plan was undertaken in 1978. The Welshpool manufacturing site had been completely redeveloped and a new office complex built by the end of 1982.

The redevelopment included a fully mechanized Furan moulding line, replacing 6 conventional green sand pinstrips and four green sand roll-over machines, and two new 4.5 tonne electric arc furnaces and a 6 tonne induction holding furnace.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the complete tractor manufacturing site had a total of 1500 employees, with most being immigrant workers. The rural downturn of the 1980s significantly reduced the farm equipment market and in 1986, the manufacture of the famous tractors ceased. During the downturn, a merger was negotiated with Deere & Company, now based in Illinois, doing business in more than 160 countries and globally employing about 37,000 people.

In 1991, Bradken, a cast and prefabricated manufacturing company, moved into the former Chamberlain’s factory site, and operated until its closure in 20066 . In turn, the former Chamberlain’s site was subdivided and only a portion of the original munitions factory workshop remains to date.

Integrity/Authenticity

Low

Condition

Poor

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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