Vietnamese regufee worker with drill at Nissan factory, Clayton, 1979
The Clayton Business Park, in Clayton South, was for some time a site of automobile assembly and manufacture for the Volkswagen and Nissan brands. Volkswagen assembly began in 1954, using the Martin & King factory on Centre Road. Martin & King, railway and car coach builders, built the factory in 1951 and in 1952 announced a plan to assemble knocked-down Jowett Javelin cars at Clayton, but
Jowett ceased production in of the type in 1953 and
Locally built Volkswagen content rose to 95% before losses in the late 1960s saw a renewed emphasis on imported components and direct Volkswagen Australia management of the site give way to Motor Producers Ltd, a Volkswagen subsidiary, 1968. This company diversified the output of the Clayton plant to feature other marques, including Nissan Datsuns and Volvos. In 1976, Motor Producers Ltd and the Clayton factory were sold to Nissan, which, despite significant investment in the site, closed the factory in 1992.
Although outside the City of Monash, the site was within one of Monash's predecessors, the City of Oakleigh. Clayton, and later Clayton South, was the suburb's name during its time as a major vehicle production line. See locale on Google Maps.
TitleImmigration - Vietnamese refugees working at the Nissan Factory, Melbourne
Source: national Archives of Australia
Date range: 1979 - 1979
Series/Control symbol: A6135, K14/9/79/2
Item ID: 11783629
Vietnamese regufee worker with drill at Nissan factory, Clayton, 1979
The Clayton Business Park, in Clayton South, was for some time a site of automobile assembly and manufacture for the Volkswagen and Nissan brands. Volkswagen assembly began in 1954, using the Martin & King factory on Centre Road. Martin & King, railway and car coach builders, built the factory in 1951 and in 1952 announced a plan to assemble knocked-down Jowett Javelin cars at Clayton, but
Jowett ceased production in of the type in 1953 and
Locally built Volkswagen content rose to 95% before losses in the late 1960s saw a renewed emphasis on imported components and direct Volkswagen Australia management of the site give way to Motor Producers Ltd, a Volkswagen subsidiary, 1968. This company diversified the output of the Clayton plant to feature other marques, including Nissan Datsuns and Volvos. In 1976, Motor Producers Ltd and the Clayton factory were sold to Nissan, which, despite significant investment in the site, closed the factory in 1992.
Although outside the City of Monash, the site was within one of Monash's predecessors, the City of Oakleigh. Clayton, and later Clayton South, was the suburb's name during its time as a major vehicle production line. See locale on Google Maps.
TitleImmigration - Vietnamese refugees working at the Nissan Factory, Melbourne
Source: national Archives of Australia
Date range: 1979 - 1979
Series/Control symbol: A6135, K14/9/79/2
Item ID: 11783629