Saturday traffic in Sydney is busier than weekday peaks these days and that is saying something. This is reflected in new government policy of weekend clearways on Victoria Road at Rozelle with clearways on Saturday and Sunday between 08:00 and 20:00. Weekend clearways will roll out to other congested roads if the trials are a success.

I was out that way this afternoon, doing research on AWA...

I did a similar thing recently and took photos of a few places. I might do this again soon. I know there is a radio factory near the Philips joint in Mallett Street. I just cannot remember which building though. There is an RAHS plaque on it though so it is just a matter of tracking it down.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

From post #22: The Peek Freans factory doesn't appear to have its clock tower yet.

I ascertained today that the tower was added after WW2.

Image link for old Meadowbank photo is working for me again, must have been a temporary problem. Good to see updated snapshot. Doesn't look too bad! (due to superior construction back then no doubt). Curved window panes on corners? would be very difficult to replace glass. Don't know how all those windows at the back (old photo) are doing today though?, depends on the area.

The Meadowbank building is still in use by "Vince & Roz's Gym", so I guess it's being maintained to some degree. I get over that way occasionally, so I might try to get some better photos.

Don't know how all those windows at the back (old photo) are doing today though?, depends on the area.

Depends on how pro-active the security officers are. There's a few abandoned factories in this area with plenty of window frames and not much keeping the pigeons out. Such factories are also being used by illegal dumpers/fly tippers leaving everything from fibro to fridges.

I live in Ryde so I will head down there tomorrow with my fisheye lens and try and grab a front-on shot of the place.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Talk about a nostalgia trip!
These were all companies I visited as a fresh faced, callow salesman in the 1960s .Another factory was the STC site in Moorebank Ave., Liverpool and going to visit them seemed such a long drive.
Harold

Another factory was the STC site in Moorebank Ave., Liverpool

I remember driving out to that place circa 1970 to buy a special switch for which particular project I cannot recall.

Is the building still there?

I had a look at a satellite photo before but couldn't see anything that would give a clue.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Is the [STC] building still there?

Long gone. It was a huge site on Moorebank Ave, running from Newbridge Ave to (I think) as far as Helles Ave, with the Georges River behind it.

I guess Liverpool Library or Council Archives may have photos.

Shame about the factory being gone. Speaking of photos...

First couple are self-explanatory. They are of the Australian Totalisators building as it is as of this day. Unmaintained but in use by several fitness mobs as the floor space would provide ample room for classes and gym equipment. These businesses are also located in a growth area.

Third photo is of the substation that provides power. On the building close by there is remnants of the original point of attachment for 240/415 volt cables however these would have been superseded by the substation, perhaps when AWA took over the business and expanded it.

Fourth photo also highlights a sign of the times, though unrelated to AWA. Those blocks of flats are on the other side of the Parramatta River at Rhodes, located where CSR, Union Carbide, Berger Paints and other industrial companies once operated factories. It took at least ten years to remove and treat soil contaminated by the manufacturing operations of many companies once located in that area. When the nearby Olympics precinct was constructed the government also dredged all (well, most) of the heavy metals out of the Parramatta River and it is possible to fish in many places these days.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Below is a story reporting on a fire at STC Liverpool.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/18260413

Here are some links to photos of production at STC Liverpool. I can't relocate the photos here due to copyright restrictions.

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=72007
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=17356
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=17350
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=17352
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=72005
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=72004
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=72003
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=72006

The cable-making operation would have consumed a lot of the floor space. Going by the photos, STC also made televisions and valves. Never seen an STC valve myself - were they given another brand name?

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

STC were huge in Aust by the look plant photos!

A complex corporate structure (ITT owning autonomously managed? UK & Aust operations.)

Once saw an STC branded Western-Electric ribbon microphone (was puzzled at the time by this)
Also saw a late 70s Aust-designed STC solid state PABX, worked good.

"Never seen an STC valve myself"
They might have been Brimar (STC UK?) may have seen them in STC TVs (never cared for their TVs when I had to fix them in shop, but mechanical quality was reasonable)

AFAIK, only AWA and Philips manufactured valves in Oz.

AFAIK, only AWA and Philips manufactured valves in Oz.

That's what I thought. Maybe STC made certain types in low volumes only for their own use. Then again, the photos could be British Brimar jobs though it would seem counter-productive to test valves on a production line and then once more before fitting them. Some more research will deliver the answer I suppose.

STC were huge in Aust by the look plant photos!

STC made around half of the rental telephones issued to customers by the Postmaster General's Department (with AWA making the rest). They also built radio transmitters and indeed radios. They also had a factory in Alexandria. I will try and get a photo of that building before the end of the week. STC also made some specialised equipment - as mentioned elsewhere, I own a hospital piped music system manufactured by them, pictured below.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

I own a hospital piped music system manufactured by them. I will also get a photo of this tomorrow.

IIRC, you've posted a photo of that on here somewhere.