Comments by Fin Stewart on the ELMA Light Bulb Factory in Australia

(June 6, 2006)

The Electric Lamp Manufacturers Association factory started in 1931 as a shareholding of Philips (Holland), Osram-GEC (England) B.T.-H. (British GE) (England), with minor participation by English Siemens/Ediswan. Original equipment was partly supplied by Philips and GEC. They started making bulbs at a factory in Newcastle, 150 km north of Sydney, in 1931, with the brand names Philips, Condor, Mazda., Osram, Siemens and Ediswan. In 1942 Crompton became a shareholder and this name was added to the makers.

At the very beginning most of the lamp parts were supplied by Philips in Holland, such as filament mountings, some E27, E14 and E12 and BA15D bases and brand printing. The early double coiled filament bulbs were flat and were also had a distinct Dutch look about them. The Osram rough service bulb [AR007] has a British style filament. In larger bulbs, the "Jaeger" method was used for tipless lamps (see the clear 200 watt bulb [??]). I am not sure, but about 1935–38 the old plant was discontinued and bulbs became more standardised.

Lamps came in boxes and there were several designs from 1931 to 1938. From then until boxes were discontinued in 1950, there was only one print design for each brand. Lamps such as small types and a few special types were put in paper covered wrappers. Early in WW2 it was not possible to get B22 bases from the UK because of the war and for a short while these were imported from the US.

The factory only made general lighting service lamps but did make fluorescent tubes from 1948 and a small range of auto and flashlight bulbs from 1961 to 1964. The factory closed in 2004.