Thomas Trood - Gippsland Cordial and Aerated Water Factory & Gippsland Hop Bitters, Sale, Victoria.

Although Thomas Trood’s Gippsland Hop Bitters is amongst the most sought after of the region’s bottles, there are a number of others associated with his lengthy career in the beverage industry.

Starting out in Sale (Victoria) in partnership with his brother John Trood during the 1860s, Trood Brothers, as the business was known, produced a range of soda, aerated water and cordial products, but in September 1870, advertised that they had dissolved their partnership “…by mutual consent…”

Continuing the business on his own account, his soda, aerated water and cordial market continued to expand to include cordials such as Ginger, Orange and Quinine Wine, Sarsaparilla, Fiji Lime Juice, Lime Juice Cordial, Ginger Brandy, Raspberry Vinegar, Lemon Syrup, Liqueurs and sauces. In 1886 it was reported that “Messrs Thomas Trood and Co., aerated water and cordial manufacturers, have introduced a novelty into this district in the shape of patent bottles for their aerated waters. The invention, which has been in general used in Melbourne for years past, does away altogether with the old-fashioned cork, being provided in some cases with glass, and in others with wooden stoppers, which are easily pushed into the bottles. These bottles, whilst preserving the contents equally as well as those formerly in use, are of special value at race meetings and other large gatherings, where time means money to the publican, as they are easily and quickly opened.”

Thomas Trood, Sale, embossed Hamilton patent.

Taking advantage of public demand, Thomas announced in 1883 that he had installed “…a complete ice-making plant at his factory in Macalister Street…” and commenced production using an abundant supply of water “…by means of a pipe laid on from the artesian well…” With the machinery capable of turning out around two tons per week, the Gippsland Times pointed out that “…Mr Trood, by his enterprise, has thus supplied a great want experienced during the summer months…”

Sketch of a Thomas Trood, Sale, Turner patent

Around July 1884, Thomas added hop bitters to his list of beverages, utilising the locally grown crop and Sale artesian mineral well water. Production was initially carried out at his Raymond Street, Sale, factory (formerly the State School). A report noted that “It is a very short time ago since Mr Thomas Trood, who has carried on the business of a manufacturer of aerated waters and cordials in Sale for many years, decided that there was good reason to believe that the Bop Bitters manufacture would pay if properly carried out…” It was claimed that the factory was larger than any other building in the Victorian colony devoted exclusively to the manufacture of hop bitters.

Advert in the Australasian Sketcher, 1888.

Adding that “We are always glad to notice the introduction and development of new industries…especially when they are of such a character as to benefit workmen in other trades as well as to supply the means of livelihood to those engaged more particularly in the production of the commodity…”, the reporter proudly pointed out that “The certificate of the Government analytical chemist, Mr Johnson, which appears on ever bottle, is sufficient guarantee that nothing deleterious enters into the composition of the company’s bitters…”

Thomas also employed a unique method of recycling in his Sale factory, drying the spent hops to use in packaging between the bottles before transportation to the many outlets. With ten men kept employed at the factory to turn out around 3,000 cases of Gippsland Hop Bitters a month by mid-1885, it was said that the product was to found in every hotel throughout the Colony. Although, by that time, the plant had already been enlarged, it was recognised that “…if the business continues to grow at the present rate [it will] require to be enlarged yet more…”

By August 1885, publications as far away as Perth and Brisbane were promoting Gippsland Hop Bitters, one reporting that “The Gippsland Hop Bitters Company hit the taste of the Victorian and New South Wales public when they introduced their Hop Bitters onto the market. We are assured they are made from pure hops…Messrs Perkins and Co. are the Brisbane agents…”

Aqua cabin shaped Gippsland Hop Bitters showing the "health and purity" trade mark.

Detail of the cabin shaped Gippsland Hop Bitters embossing.

Output increased so dramatically that by 1886, it was found necessary to establish a Melbourne bottling depot, with the Bitters manufactured at Sale and shipped by rail in 60 gallon casks to the city repository. There, the output was bottled at the rate of 300 a day, and after corking, “The bottles are passed over to the labellers, who ornament each one with the very handsome label…bearing the trademark of the firm, in which Fame, represented by a flying hand, is carrying a bottle of Gippsland Hop Bitters, from which issues ‘health’ and purity’ (in the form of vapour); while the sun, placed in the background, stands as an emblem of magnificence…” Additional labels featured a certificate from an analytical chemist stating that he examined the Bitters and found them “…remarkably pleasant to the palate and excellent as a general tonic and promoter of appetite…”; along with another stating that “…the firm enjoys the patronage of His Excellency Sir Henry Broughan Loch, K. C. B., Governor of Victoria…”

In less than a year, production had continued to expand to the extent that the firm needed to build an entirely new and extensive premises on Fitzroy and Cowell Streets, Fitzroy, a feature of which was a central archway running right through the building to allow empty drays to enter at the rear, load their cargo and then leave by the front. At a cost of about £8,000, it laid claim to the best of its kind yet constructed in the Victorian colony.

Impressed stoneware Gippsland Hop Bitters demijohn

Impressed detail of a Gippsland Hop Bitters demijohn.

 By 1887, it was stated that Trood’s Gippsland Hop Bitters was a “…household name, not only in Victoria, but throughout the whole of Australasia, with wholesale agencies in each of the colonies, and others developing in India and South Africa…” and late that year Thomas made the move from Sale to Melbourne, the residents of the town gathering at the Club Hotel to wish him “…continued success in the future…” and present him with “…a valuable marble clock…”

Although production at his Melbourne factory continued, Thomas sold his Gippsland Cordial and Aerated Water Factory in 1889 to Henry France, who advertised that he “…is enabled to supply the choicest Cordials, Soda Water, Lemonades, &c…”

Advert from the Gippsland Times, 1898.

 Thomas lived until 1924, when, at the age of 90 years, he passed away at Prarahan.

© Angela George

The Resch brothers, brewers & aerated water manufacturers.

Popular with both beer drinkers and bottle collectors today, Resch’s is an Australian immigrant success story.

Edmund Resch arrived in Australia from Germany in 1863, probably with his younger brother Richard, and after spending time on Victorian and New South Wales mine fields and as an hotelier in Queensland, he and Richard bought a cordial and aerated water factory in bustling Wilcannia in 1877. Business flourished and in 1879 the pair opened the Lion Brewery in the township.

Edmund Resch.

Four years later, the brothers expanded their activities by taking over Cootamundra’s Burton Brewery. Originally established by Mary Jane Rochester, Henry Morton and Frederick Henry Jackson in 1881, the new owners renamed it the Lion Brewery in line with their earlier establishment and in December 1883 advertised that “…for cleanliness, condition, fullness of the palate, great keeping qualities and mellow vinous flavour, our ales cannot be surpassed.”

Resch's Cootamundra Lion Brewery in 1886.

In 1882, a third brother Emil arrived in Australia after serving a brewing and malting apprenticeship in Germany and following a short stint in Melbourne, moved to Wilcannia to join his siblings. By 1885, their expanding business empire also boasted branches at Silverton and Tibooburra, but in August that year, the partnership was amicably dissolved, with the various holdings split up between the brothers.

Richard continued the Cootamundra and Tibooburra businesses, and after trying unsuccessfully in 1888 to sell the former brewery, carried on until 1903, when he relocated to the Clarence River Brewery at Maclean. Operations ceased around 1915.

Resch's Wilcannia embossed Lamont.

Edmund carried on at Wilcannia until 1892 when, after installing a manager to oversee operations, he moved to Melbourne intending to retire. This was short lived, however, and three years later he relocated to Sydney to take over management of Allt’s, a brewing, wine and spirit company, on behalf of a banker who had supported him in his early business activities.

After purchasing Allt’s Brewery in 1897 for more than £65,000, Edmund went on to acquire the New South Wales Lager Bier Brewing Company Ltd’s Waverley Brewery business and plant in Redfern three years later. Together with his sons Edmund and Arnold and his accountant/manager John Alvarez, he embarked on major construction works to centralise activities on the Dowling Street, Redfern site. Directories show that he also continued to operate his Wilcannia business until at least 1909.

Promoting himself between 1904 and 1914 as “brewer by appointment to His Excellency the Governor-General”, Edmund became so successful that his brewery’s output secured much of the State’s market. In 1906, Resch’s Ltd was incorporated with a capital of £150,000.

Resch's crown seal embossed beer.

Resch's embossed crown seal beer.

Despite, or perhaps because of his German roots, Edmund contributed generously to Australia’s war effort after the outbreak of WWI, as well as paying his sixty-odd enlisted employees the difference between their service and civilian wages. Nonetheless, he was not immune to the 1916 War Precautions (Alien Restriction) Regulations that required all non-British subjects aged fifteen and over to register their whereabouts. In November 1917, he was arrested and interred at Holdsworthy, near Liverpool, home of Australia’s largest war internment camp, despite having been a resident of Australia for more than fifty years.

Edmund Resch's internee shot.

When Edmund died in 1923, his estate was worth more than £316,000.

Resch’s Waverley Brewery was taken over by Tooth and Co in 1929, Edmund’s family exchanging the business for shares in the parent company. However, despite Tooth’s also disappearing under the banner of Carlton and United Breweries during the 1980’s, Resch’s Draught and Pilsner remain popular beers in New South Wales right through to the present day.

Following the 1885 partnership dissolution, Emil took over the Silverton branch of their Lion Brewery and by 1888 was producing more than 90,000 gallons of the amber liquid annually. That year, he established a cordial factory at Broken Hill, and soon after opened a brewing and aerated water works at Menindie.

After moving to the Victorian capital in 1898, Emil became general manager of the Melbourne Brewery and Distillery Ltd (Victoria Brewery). In 1902 it was remarked that "In Mr. Emil Resch, the general manager of the Victoria Brewery (The Melbourne Brewing and Distillery Limited), East Melbourne, the company is to be congratulated upon possessing so capable a manager. The firm has at various periods been under different management, but at no time has one worked more conscientiously to study his employers' interests than the present manager. As his name implies, Mr. Resch is a German. Born in Wurttemberg in 1860, he was early apprenticed to the brewing and malting business. Like the majority of Teutons, he was taught the meaning of the word "thoroughness" by commencing at the bottom of the ladder - the coopering department, in this instance - and working his way up through all the different branches, before becoming proficient as a practical brewer. In 1882 he left his native town, determined, if possible, to establish for himself a good position in the colonies. After a short stay in Melbourne, he went on to Broken Hill and Wilcannia, but eventually decided to stay in the Silver City, where he still owns the business he then took over. In proof of his thoroughly efficient management, it is only necessary to point to the ever-increasing output of the two businesses under his control..." Emil continued to operate his Broken Hill and Silverton businesses until at least 1909.

Emil Resch Broken Hill all way pour codd.

Emil Resch Broken Hill all way pour codd.

Emil Resch Broken Hill dump blob top transferred ginger beer.

In 1905, Emil, along with W. L. Baillieu and C. L. Pinschof representing the Victoria and Carlton Breweries, entered into discussions with Nicholas Fitzgerald, Montague Cohen and others that ultimately led to the 1907 establishment of the Carlton and United Breweries Pty Ltd. Emil, by then part owner of the Victoria Brewery, incorporated his business into the merger in exchange for shares in the new company, going on to serve as the first general manager of Carlton and United Breweries (CUB) between 1907 and 1914. Like his older brother, however, Emil fell victim to the rise in anti-German sentiment in Australia after the outbreak of WWI, and after being given a payout, was relieved of his position at CUB.

When Emil died in Kew in 1930, he left a wife, a son and five daughters along with an estate sworn at more than £30,000.

© Angela George

Starkeys Ginger Beer, Cordial & Aerated Water manufacturers.

Most collectors will have at least a couple of Starkey's bottles in their collection, & as one of Australia's longest running ginger beer, cordial & aerated water manufacturers, not to mention the largest ginger beer business in the Southern Hemisphere, there are certainly plenty of variations to choose from.

W. S. Starkey / T. Field double stamped dump blob top ginger beer.

Business founder William Starkey probably arrived in New South Wales as a convict on board the Lord Sidmouth in 1819. After securing his Certificate of Freedom in 1834, he turned his attention towards the ginger beer manufacturing trade, establishing a factory in Elizabeth Street, Sydney, between the Three Tuns Inn & Professor J. Clarke’s saloon of dancing around 1838.

Starkey "S" in star impressed dump blob top ginger beer.

Sydney Morning Herald, 5 December 1856.

By 1850, the business had grown to such an extent that it became necessary to relocate to larger premises. To that end, the move was made to a site in Castlereagh Street, Sydney. Situated between Rowe & Moore Streets, thoroughfares no longer in existence, the factory was described as "...a large, substantial building, & in every way adapted to the purpose for which is was erected."

William Starkey "WS" in star impressed dump blob top ginger beer.

Starkey's dumb blob top skittle with "star and key" trade mark.

Starkey's crown seel skittle with "star and key" trade mark.

Ten years later, William took his son John into the business, & together they continued to build up trade until in 1875, William stepped down & John took over in his own right. He immediately turned his attention towards the erection of yet another factory at 164a Phillip Street. It was noted in 1899, more than a quarter of a century after construction, that "...these works are prominent for their extent, & certainly have not been surpassed for good arrangement & excellence of manufacturers even by more recent factories. The various buildings were erected from Mr. Starkey's own designs, & nothing short of a thorough practical experience of that which was required could have so well worked out the plan."

William Starkey "WS" in star impressed dump blod top ginger beer.

William Starkey "WS" in star impressed dump blob top ginger, made by Mashman, Chatswood, potter.

Browsing through old directories, it is evident that father & son were associated with a number of different Sydney addresses. During 1858-59, William Starkey is listed as a ginger beer manufacturer at 151 Castlereagh Street. By 1861, W. & J. Starkey, cordial, ginger beer & aerated water manufacturers, are listed at the same address, while in 1867, John Starkey is noted as a lemonade & cordial maker at 140 Phillip Street. Four years later he is listed as a soda water manufacturer at 138 Phillip Street & in 1873, he is noted as a cordial manufacturer at the same address. The same year, William A. Starkey is noted as a ginger beer manufacturer at 147 Castlereagh Street.

Starkey's tan "S" in star dump blob top impressed ginger beer.

John Starkey embossed Sydney codd.

John Starkey embossed Sydney codd with lion, star and key trade mark.

John Starkey embossed Sydney codd with lion, star and key trade mark.

John Starkey embossed Sydney codd with lion, star and key trade mark.

Starker's "star and key" trade mark transferred crown seal ginger beer, made by Fowlers potters.

Starkey's "star and key" trade mark transferred dump blob top ginger beer.

Starkey's "star and key" trade mark transferred dump blob top ginger beer.

Starkey's "star and key" trade mark transferred dump blob top ginger beer.

Starkey's "star and key" trade mark transferred dump blob top ginger beer, made by Fowler's potters.

The Castlereagh Street premises was closed down in 1891 when the business merged with that of Messrs Brogden Brothers at 158a Phillip Street. James & John Thomas Brogden had been operating as ginger beer & lemonade manufacturers in Sydney since 1884, but from 1891 traded as W. Starkey & Co. J. Brogden is recorded as the company manager at 62 Castlereagh Street.

Starkey's amber dump crown seal ginger beer.

With a workforce that grew to number more than forty people, the available lines expanded to include ginger beer, lemonade, soda water, ginger wine, gingerade, bitters, cordials & syrups.

Starkey's Ltd crown seal with "star and key" trade mark.

Starkey's Ltd crown seal with "star and key" trade mark.

 The company also showed an unusual concern for the well being of their employees & in 1899, it was remarked that "...the majority of the hands [from the firm's early days] are now gone over to the majority. The few remaining ones, whose health will permit, are in the employment of the present firm. The work given to them is, of course, merely formal, for which the old people receive good wages. This is as it should be, & it is gratifying to know that such consideration is given to those who have worked & struggled to nearly the end of life's journey."

Large and small Starkey's Ltd crown seals with "star and key" trade mark.

The firm became known as Starkey's Limited in 1912 & continued to operate until the 1950's when it was purchased by Shelley's & subsumed into their operations.

Starkey's Ltd soda syphon with "star and key" trade mark.

© Angela George