Report dated 19 March 1946 Dept of Labour inspection

Printing establishments, like other industrial facilities, were subjected to periodic inspection by the Department of Labour. A by-product of the 1880s and the Sweating Commission after which substandard working conditions in the printing trades were targeted, the inspector's reports offer a fascinating insight into contemporary occupational health and safety issues. Wright and Carman's premises on 177 Vivian Street at the corner of Walter Street were considered inadequate in almost all respects. Wartime restrictions deferred all but essential maintenance, but as Wright's reply indicates, the building was erected in 1914 and was never really suited to its present use, despite the firm expanding to take in an adjacent cottage and numerous plans put in front of the City Engineer for a temporary structure bridging the two.