Australian Knitting Mills area Richmond

This is an area rich with signage near Richmond station in Melbourne. It is enclosed by Tanner Street, Punt Road and some small streets leading through the station to Swan Street, the heart of the Richmond Station and Lennox Street, and Dimmeys department store. It has been a close community over the years and was a firmly working class area for a long period. Many cottages still exist.Residents of Melbourne can easily view the Australian Knitting Mills and related firms such as Slonim and Henry Bucks, Mens Outfitters. Much of the area can be see from on high at the Richmond Train Station and then down at the street level going through the station to the platforms or around the back streets searching for a great hand crafted  coffee.

See below for some information about Australian Knitting Mills and other companies in the area.

In August of 1899, Thomas Murray and Co established a small knitting mill in Richmond. Mr F. F. Robinson joined the firm in 1902 and it was incorporated as Thomas Murray and Co Pty Ltd soon after. To keep up with production demands, the mill grew to three times its original size in a few short years. In 1908 the manufacture of Golden Fleece woollen underwear begun and the factory extended its production to include bathing suits. In 1910 and was renamed the Australian Knitting Mills Ltd. The AKM complex was at the centre of the Stewart-Tanner streets industrial  area from 1912 when the supply for World War One uniforms provided an opportunity for its expansion. The complex had another major building addition in 1922-5, the same time that the 'Golden Fleece' and 'Kookaburra' brands were established.

At this point I'm unsure how J Slonim fits in but there was a range of products going through the area including underwear, hosiery and lingerie. J Slonim is apparently still a going concern in hosiery and lingerie and J Slonim Pty Ltd., was listed as trading in brassieres, girdles and allied lines in a Manufacturers directory in 2011, domiciled at Stewart St Richmond. The Henry Bucks building was also in Stewart Street near the AKM building shown here and was well known in the city of Melbourne also, as Mens Outfitters at the high end. Henry Bucks was from Yorkshire and started a business in clothing in 1890 in Melbourne. In 2014 it remains a family run firm and has a strong presence in Victoria, SA and NSW plus overseas links.