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.”
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| 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…”
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| 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.
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| 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…”
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| Aqua cabin shaped Gippsland Hop Bitters showing the "health and purity" trade mark. |
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| 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.
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| Impressed stoneware Gippsland Hop Bitters demijohn |
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| 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…”
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| Advert from the Gippsland Times, 1898. |
Thomas lived until 1924, when, at the age of 90
years, he passed away at Prarahan.
© Angela George
