Review: Book, Comeng - A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 1: 1921 - 1955

Premise From the dust jacket: "The history of Commonwealth Engineering spans some 70 years, and its story is a window into Australia's industrial and manufacturing development from the end of the First World War through to the early 1990s. At its peak the Commonwealth Holdings empire was the largest manufacturer of railway rolling stock in the Southern Hemisphere, having an order book for rolling stock exceeding that of any firm in the western world. It continued to grow in size until, in December 1982, it was listed at number 48 in the top 150 companies in Australia. By then it had almost 7,000 employees. The sheer range of products produced by this one company was truly extraordinary: motor car and bus bodies, ambulances, trams light rail vehicles, passenger trains, diesel rail cars, freight vehicles, bogies, industrial and mainline locomotives, vehicles and machinery for the steel industry, portable and fixed cranes, earth moving equipment, curtain walling for high rise buildings, bridges, oil refinery equipment, ships, aircraft hangers, pontoons, fibreglass components, mining equipment, industrial fans and compressors, gearboxes, sewage treatment plants, furnaces, ovens, dryers, electric power tools, ventilation equipment, scientific instruments, iron and steel castings. And so the list goes on!" Initial Impression Wow. Stunning. It isn't often I use words like that to describe a reviewed product. From the moment this book arrived competently packed in the post within its custom made cardboard protective sleeve I thought - 'this is nicely done'. On opening the book I was greeted by hundreds of magnificent photographs and drawings, well researched authoritative text including original work, first hand accounts, and extracts from media publications of the time. Published by: Rosenberg Publishing http://www.rosenbergpub.com.au/ Author: John Dunn Format: A4 Hard Cover, glossy paper, black and white with some colour photographs and drawings, 316 pages. Cost: AU$59.95, Postage: $8.00 ISBN 1-877058-42-4 Where To Get It: Rosenberg's web site, or book stores.

Presentation

Features:

• The history of the various companies that eventually became Comeng  is represented chronologically with important events covered.
• A nice representative mix of the main corporate players and the workers throughout the organisations chequered history in both words and pictures.
• First hand accounts related in the author's words.
• Well researched from the limited archival material available and by visiting those that worked for or with Comeng.
• Colour drawings of the internal features of The Royal Train.
  
• Photos of many people who worked for the organisation
• Formal groups
• Individual formal portraits
• Portraits of people at work (many of them candidly taken as they worked)
  
• Photos and plans of many items of the diverse product and service range at all stages of construction - from skeletons to completed products
  
• Car bodies
• Bus bodies and buses
• Trams (electric and steam)
• Railway locomotives (electric, diesel, rail car/bus and steam)
• Railway rolling stock
• Mining equipment
• Aircraft hangers
• Pontoons and their military uses
• Product testing.
  
• Photos and site plans of the main locations of the organisation over its history
• Camperdown (Sydney) NSW
• Granville NSW
• Rocklea QLD
• Dandenong VIC
• Basendean WA
  
• Photos of the work activities throughout the organisation demonstrating methods of construction
  
• Steelwork (buildings and coach building)
• Timber and woodwork
• Tin smithing
• Sheet metal panel beating
• Machining and Tool making
• Assembly
• Painting
• Fitting
• Product Testing
• Sign writing
• Trimming (upholstery)
• Stores
• Transportation
• and even Gardening
  
• Photos of the products being used around the world
• Mining
• Military
• Railways
• Tramways
• Buses
• Street scenes
  

Challenges:

Overall impression I'll repeat my initial words - Wow. Stunning. Now that I've read the book from cover to cover I am even more impressed than I was when I opened the box and flicked through. An amazing amount of research and effort has gone into the production of this magnificent work. The publishing and printing skills of Rosenberg present the content wonderfully. I would definitely buy this book. I have read a great many industrial archeology and industrial heritage books - putting it very simply, this is the best one I have had the pleasure of encountering. I cannot wait for Volume 2. This book would make an outstanding present for anyone who worked at, or had family members who worked at Commonwealth Engineering (or Waddingtons) at any time through its history. The book provides an insight into the daily lives of the workers with excellent representation of both white and blue collar workers with text and pictures throughout the book. While I could not guarantee that you'll find your loved-one somewhere in this book, it is likely you would at least find someone they knew. This book is compelling for so many readers: I would suggest it for those compiling family history, researchers into Australian industry, restorers of railways, tramways, buses, trucks and cars, and modelers of the same. It would make a great addition to your collection of Australiana coffee table books. At $59.95 it is worth absolutely every cent.