HMSS 0125 Max Hill Papers

ACT Heritage Library Manuscript Collections

HMSS 0125 MAX HILL PAPERS 

Scope and Content Notes 

Call Number HMSS 0125
Collection Max Hill Papers
Date Range 1949-1977
Quantity 0.17m (1 manuscript box)
Access Conditions open
Copying Conditions only for research and study
Related Collections HMSS 0364 ACT Potato Marketing Board
 

Max Hill was born in 1919, son of market gardener Reuben Hill and wife Eileen, and worked in the family business R. Hill and Son. He held several management positions in other businesses, notably District Producers Co-operative Society and the Greenhills Camp and Conference Centre. Max has been much involved with hockey as well, as a player, referee and administrator. He has written several books about these interests, including A Personal Story of the Life and Times of District Producers (Can) Ltd 1949-1977, ACTHL H 338.64209947 HILL; Dare to Dream, 2007, about Greenhills Centre, ACTHL 254.706 HILL; A Fabric of Friendship, 1998, about Canberra hockey, ACTHL 796.355 HILL.

During and after World War 2, the State governments set up potato marketing boards to control what was then an essential industry, with the ACT nominally under the control of the NSW Board. Max and others decided that the ACT growers should control their own marketing through a co-operative, and in 1949 the District Producers Co-operative Society Ltd was formed with Max as Managing Director for the initial three years, then Chairman.

The Co-operative extended its interests into marketing other produce and farm supplies, and in 1953 erected their own building at the Canberra railway station. On 24 July that year the Co-operative was converted to a public company, District Producers (Canberra) Ltd. In 1965 they moved to Fyshwick and, since the ACT was becoming less agricultural and more suburban, redeveloped the company to supply the building industry.

By 1968 it was experiencing financial difficulties due to a downturn in the building industry, and over the years 1973-1977 it became a subsidiary of S. Hoffnung and Co, a British firm with a long presence in Australia. Under a Scheme of Agreement managed by trustees representing the creditors, District Producers traded out of its financial difficulties and ultimately repaid all debts. Max’s connection with the firm ceased in 1977.

During the Scheme of Agreement period, from 1970 to 1977 the company established and operated a small hardware store in the Jamison Centre, affiliated with Mitre 10, and in 1971 it built a second centre in Phillip, known as BBC Hardware and part of the Hoffnung Group. Later, this was bought by Paul’s Home Improvement Centre, trading as Magnet Mart, which in 2013 rebranded as Home Hardware.

This collection consists of Max Hill’s records of District Producers, including BBC Hardware, for the period of his involvement with the company.

Box List

BOX
NO.

DESCRIPTION

QUANTITY

DATE RANGE

1

DISTRICT PRODUCERS – MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

·         District Producers Co-operative Society (Canberra) Limited, ca 1949

·         District Producers (Canberra) Limited, 1953

·         District Producers (Properties) Pty Limited, 1971 (draft and final copies, including minutes of the meeting to establish the company and of the inaugural meeting)

1 file

1949 – 1971

 

 

 

 

1

DISTRICT PRODUCERS – ANNUAL AUDITED ACCOUNTS

·         District Producers Co-operative Society (Canberra) Limited, 1949/1950 – 1952/53

·         District Producers (Canberra) Limited, 1953/54 – 1974/75 (missing: 1961/62, 1964/65)

2 files

1949 – 1975

 

 

 

 

1

DISTRICT PRODUCERS – BOARD AND DIRECTORS’ MEETING PAPERS

·         Board meeting papers 1959 – 1970; correspondence is included for 1968-1970

·         Directors’ reports 1961 – 1966

·         Directors’ meeting papers and correspondence 1973

1 file, 2 folders

1959 – 1973

 

 

 

 

1

DISTRICT PRODUCERS – DIRECTORS CORRESPONDENCE

1 folder

1971

 

 

 

 

1

DISTRICT PRODUCERS –  FINANCIAL PAPERS

·         Monthly summary of accounts, 1964 – 1968

·         Monthly cash flow reconciliation, 1972 – 1974

2 folders

1964 – 1974

 

 

 

 

1

SCHEME OF AGREEMENT

Papers from this period include correspondence, minutes of meetings with creditors and trustees, financial papers dating from the early 1960s, lists of creditors and shareholders, annual general meeting papers and minutes, directors’ reports.

Companies involved include District Producers, BBC Hardware, Hoffnung Group, Bulk Buyers Limited

2 files

1962 – 1977

 

 

 

 

1

BBC HARDWARE (CANBERRA) LTD

Includes annual general meeting papers and minutes, financial papers, correspondence

2 folders

1971 – 1978

 

 

 

 

1

S. HOFFNUNG AND CO – MERCHANDISING MEETING MINUTES

1 folder

1974