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The Irish contribution to Victorian politics, law, medicine, education, engineering and public administration is well known. So is the saga of countless Irishmen who built and maintained roads, bridges, railways and dams, often under appalling conditions, and toiled on farms and in factories. The labour of a myriad of Irishwomen in domestic service is equally well recognised. However, a perception persists that few of the Irish had the skills or inclination, or would risk their money by setting up manufacturing plants.

In fact, immigrants from practically every Irish county and culture established a wide range of manufacturing businesses in Victoria during the nineteenth century. Although not all were successful many Irish-owned businesses not only survived, but also prospered.

The number of Irish-born manufacturers was not proportional to the Irish population in Victoria, but the individual and collective contribution and legacy of these industrial pioneers to the colony's social, civic and industrial life deserve recognition. Through the complex fabric of Victoria's manufacturing history runs a clearly discernible emerald strand.