Connor Shea Factory
Fourth Avenue Sunshine

The Connor Shea company started when four disenchanted men working for the McKay Massey Ferguson Company decided to leave and start up their own agricultural machinery company.

 

The four men were Leslie "Les" John Shea , Tom Connor, Charles Thomas "Tom" Dealy and Edward "Ted" George Waters. They then partnered up with the Albury based businessman Jim D. Phillips.

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They decided to design and manufacture a completely new machine called the Chisel Plow. They went onto designing, developing and manufacturing Disc Drill, Wideline Seeders, One Way Plows, Cultivators, Dra-Mac Pallet Rackers, etc.

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The factory in Fourth Ave, Sunshine was located on 7.8 hectors of land with buildings covering more than 17,000 square metres. Another 3.6 hectors in Bacchus Marsh was later purchased for their expanding business.

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The company started to export machines to New Zealand and later counties in African and Europe.

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In 1978, the company was acquired by Clyde Industries and the two groups were combined to form a Clyde Division known as Connor Shea Napier. This amalgamation created the most prominent agricultural machinery manufacturing operation in Australia.

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Ref: Charles Thomas Dealy 1988

Ref: Connor Shea 25 years in the field

Photos: Connor Shea 25 years in the field

Photos: S&DHS