The Kelly St Classics sheds.
Avoca, Victoria.
© Mark Playdon
© Mark Playdon
The Kelly St Classics workshops and garage moved from Pyramid Hill in Victoria's north to Avoca, at the foothills of the Pyrenees in central Victoria in March 2019.
From the brand new, purpose built premises in Pyramid Hill (see here) which were becoming very cramped, we took on some huge, but very old and decrepit, premises that operated from the 1940s to the 1970s as a textile screen printing works. The Textile Arts Pty Ltd premises consisted of a large timber-framed, fibro-clad shed measuring approximately 45m x 12.5m (the original Textile Arts Pty Ltd premises built in the 1940s), subsequently added to in the 1950s with the steel-framed, aluminium-clad structure (approximately 35m x 12.5m) and a timber-framed, aluminium-roofed joining shed about 35m x 6m.
There was a lot of rubbish left behind from the various owners through the decades, including the latest owners who used the large fibro shed for growing marijuana, having built an elaborate pine-framed structure within the shed complete with hydronic system, and countless huge growing lights and silenced blower fans, all fed with stolen 3-phase power. We informed the local police when we realised what had been happening, but they deemed it a 'past' crime and didn't particularly care!
There is still a lot of work to be done, particularly on the termite-affected timber uprights in the fibro shed, and badly corroded guttering in the valleys between the various sheds, but it is now functioning at least, with the fibro shed being the garage, the steel/aluminium shed being the workshop, complete with 2 hoists, and the centre shed for storage of parts, materials and future projects.
The fibro shed finally cleaned - some of the pine framing for the previous drug
growing operation can be clearly seen.
The
steel/aluminium shed, after a lot of clearing and cleaning, but with
screen-printing benches still to be removed.
The wiring was very derelict and dangerous! Over 350 metres of new wiring has
been installed to date, along with modern safety switch control boards,
single-phase and 3-phase power points throughout, and LED lighting.
2
used 3-phase hoists were purchased. Firstly this classic Australian 2-poster Molnar...
...and then a 4-tonne 4-poster Tecalemit which I retrieved from a closing-down
premises in Melbourne.
From another factory closing down (in Rowville) I purchased these used
stillages...
...which live in the centre shed and store a huge stock of parts, all nicely in
order and off the floor.
New LED lighting makes all the difference. I converted the old fluoro fittings
to LED tubes, and installed some retro-looking 150W bay lights as well, with the
three rows individually switched.
Retro-style LED bay lights (150W each) light the garage area nicely.
There are many hints to the sheds' past life, with many employees leaving their
mark. Up to 40 employees worked at Textile Arts at any one time.
The
Gilbern comes in for a service...
...while the Mini is being prepared for a
respray.
The workshop back
door.