| Place | Oceania: Australia, Victoria, Melbourne |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL23940.003 |
| Collection type | Technology |
| Object type | Optical equipment |
| Physical description | Glass, Metal |
| Place made | Germany |
| Date made | late 1930s |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
8 cm lens for Agfa 'Movex' 16 mm movie camera: John Thyne Reid
Description
8 cm lens for Agfa 'Movex' 16 mm movie camera. The lens is marked, 'AGFA - KINE - ANASTIGMAT 1:3.5 F=8CM 3 1/4IN 499983'.
History / Summary
An 8 cm lens to suit the Agfa 16 mm movie camera used by John Thyne Reid, born 15 October 1903 at Randwick, Sydney NSW. His father owned James Hardie Pty Ltd. He developed an aptitude for business at an early age and in 1923, started working for Hardie's in Sydney. In 1932, he was sent to the Melbourne branch of the company and, by 1936, rose to the position of manager.
When the Second World War started, his elder brother Andrew Thyne Reid enlisted (in December 1939) with the Ordnance Corps where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Reid's father, Andrew Reid died in 1939 and for the duration of the war, John Reid ran the company.
Reid, who was a keen photographer, took this footage of the 17th Brigade, 6 Division marching through the streets of Melbourne - there is a possibility that his brother was among those marching. When his brother returned they shared the running of Hardie's until Andrew's death in 1966; after that, he ran the company and its holding companies exclusively until his retirement in 1974.
In 1974 he was knighted. Sir John Reid died in 1984.