Cordial 5 – European history of the Richmond River

A History of Aerated Water & Cordial Manufacturers of the Richmond – Part 5

John Eric JOHNSON

John Eric Johnson was born 15 June 1900, a son of Julius Lawrence and Mary Johnson (nee Sharpe). His father was born in Sweden at Grebstatt in 1866 and was a seaman who spent long periods at sea. He was shipwrecked at Byron Bay in 1883 and is reputed to have been the second pilot at Ballina on the retirement of Captain Easton assisting boats across the Ballina Bar.

Eric was educated in Ballina and spent his early working life at the Ballina Slipway and as a boiler tender at the Pineapple Cannery. In 1926, Eric and his younger brother Charles Gordon took over the aerated water and cordial manufactory from Charles Crockett and operated under the trading name of Johnson Brothers. The partnership between the brothers only lasted a few years before Eric began running the business in his own right. On 20 November 1940, Eric married Essie Gordon Howarth, and the couple had three boys.

Johnson brothers became renowned in the district for their ginger beer, which was brewed for 12 months before it was bottled into crown seal stone bottles. The product was that good that it won a gold medal at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. The stone bottles were abandoned when a bacterial disease, known in the trade as ‘rope’ spoilage, was found and as a consequence, glass bottles were used in an effort to rid the disease from the factory. [Passiona was always prepared with fresh ingredients for next day sale.] Eric also possessed a strong belief in the medicinal properties of molasses and sold copious amounts of it as well as vinegar from his cordial manufactory. Eric maintained the aerated water and cordial business in Ballina until he sold out to Raymond Charles Spencer in 1950. He remained in Ballina until 1956 before he relocated to Queensland where he operated a mixed general store at Surfers Paradise prior to his retirement at Southport in Queensland where he died in 1985.

Roland Wavertree LANCE

Roland Wavertree Lance was born in 1858 in Parramatta, the son of Thomas Edward and Mary Anne Lance (nee Watford). His father brought the family to the Richmond River and Thomas Edward Lance managed Bungawalbin Station which, at that time, ran some of the best fat cattle in northern N.S.W. Roland married Jane Brown on 6 July 1879 at Myrtle Creek station and they had three children. Electoral rolls from 1881 to 1888 list him as occupying a residence at Bungawalbin Creek. Roland’s sister Florence Castell had married Charles Stamford in 1875 and coincidentally, both men were to play an important role in supplying aerated waters and cordials to the residents of the Richmond River.

By 1892, Roland was the proprietor of the Excelsior Aerated Water and Cordial manufacturer at Woodburn, probably taking over the business previously operated by David Pollock, who had relocated to Casino in 1891. Roland remained in Woodburn for almost twenty years until 1909 and was assisted in the cordial factory by his eldest son, Thomas Edward Lance. There are no known embossed bottles from his time in Woodburn, so it is reasonable to assume he used generic unembossed bottles.

Roland and his family then moved to Sydney and settled in ’Bayview’ on Karella Road Cremorne where he remained in retirement before relocating again to the eastern suburbs of Sydney in the 1920’s to Bondi Beach. He died on October 20 1929 and was interred in the Botany cemetery.

William LANE

William was born on the Macleay River in 1868, the son of Thomas and Christina Lane (nee Nance) and grew up in a large family with eleven siblings. By 1890 he had an established residence and cordial manufacturing in Hay Street, Port Macquarie and is listed in electoral roles as a cordial manufacturer until 1900. In 1892 he married Eva Jennings and had four children. The Port Macquarie cordial factory was bought by John Robert Wheeldon who was married to William’s sister Lilias Eva Lane.

The Lane family then moved to Lismore, where a further four children were born between 1902 and 1907. The NSW Census of 1901 reveals William Ivey Lane residing in Conway St with three males and four females in the household and a cordial factory next door. It is highly probable that his first venture in Lismore in late 1900 was in partnership with Elizabeth Burtinshaw, who was the daughter of Spencer Milton Cottee. It is unlikely that she provided financial backing for the business but her involvement was more likely to have been in providing the land for the fledgling cordial factory to commence operations. That land was situated in Conway St with Elizabeth Burtinshaw as the owner. The business was registered on 20 July 1903 as a cordial manufactory with William Ivey Lane as sole proprietor. William Ivey Lane remained on the site cornering Keen and Conway Streets at Lismore until 1912.

He then purchased land in King Street on 27 September 1912 and set about building new premises. An article appearing in The Northern Star on 22 November 1912 describes the new cordial factory in great detail, with 12 foot corrugated iron walls and the building itself being 60 feet by 40 feet. The floor was 4 feet off the ground and a principle roof was adopted to avoid any impediments on the floor space. The building was illuminated with eight gas lights. Plant machinery consisted of a soda water machine, a four horsepower national gas engine, automatic and manually operated bottle filling machines, and a crown seal bottle capping machine.

William’s wife Eva unfortunately died in 1915, leaving him responsible for raising and caring for the family. He was remarried in 1920 to Ethel Maude Brown, who was born in 1880 in the Shoalhaven district.

William Ivey Lane remained in the cordial manufacturing business in Lismore until 1924 before moving to Tamworth where he successfully ran a pharmacy in Peel St, known as Lane’s Pharmacy. He retired to Sydney in 1938 where he died in 1944 at Burwood, an inner western suburb of Sydney.

Charles Nicolai LAURITZEN

Charles Nicolai Lauritzen arrived in Australia on board the British Duke in 1881 aged 29 years. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, a son to Soren Jepsen and Hansigne Nicolene Lauritzen, about 1852. He trained in the Danish Navy qualifying for his Captain’s certificate in 1873. Charles came to Australia after joining the British Merchant Service.

By 1886, Charles was on the Clarence River at Maclean where he married Mary Gibson Bathgate. It was also in this year Charles became a naturalised Australian on 15 February 1886. Charles took up farming at Warregan Island on the Clarence River before he moved to North Queensland where he was the manager of a sugar plantation in the Herbert River region. Charles and his family then moved to the Richmond River at Broadwater around 1894 with their two children. Captain Charles Nikolai Lauritzen then joined the North Coast Shipping Company on the paddle steamer the City of Grafton for a brief period. The NSW census of 1901 shows Charles residing at Broadwater with a household of four males and three females. Charles was a labourer working at the bottled water sugar mill and at one time a secretary of the Broadwater Jockey Club in 1902. It was around late 1902 that he became the proprietor of the Champion Steam Aerating Water and Cordial Factory at Broadwater after John George Balzer relocated to Byron Bay.

Charles maintained the cordial factory providing aerated water and cordials until about 1907. In December 1906 he advertised the cordial business for straight out sale as a going concern so it is probable the business was sold sometime in 1908 to Thomas George Lovett who had been at Wardell previously in the aerated water and cordial manufacturing business.

Charles and his family moved to Cleo Glee, where he operated a dairy farm from 1915 until 1924. During this. He was also involved in selling disc plough attachments. Charles had patented the device, which he claimed cleared and ploughed land in one operation and was invaluable in breaking up old paspalum fields. This was followed by another move to Queensland where he continued farming in the adjacent areas of Capalaba, Salisbury and Mt Gravatt from 1925 until 1938. Charles was a great advocate for sun dials using one personally and erecting others at local schools in Edenville and Coffs Harbour. His death was recorded on Coffs Harbour on August 18, 1940.

George Alfred LEWIS

George Alfred Lewis was born in 1855 a son of Matthias and Mary Lewis (nee Tate) on the Clarence. Matthias was transported to Australia in 1830 on the ‘Florentina’ and given a certificate of freedom. His parents selected land at Ballina in 1863 where Matthias operated a general store.

On 1 August 1881 George married Isabella McCurdy whose father Boyd was an early cedar getter. During their marriage the couple had six children. By 1882 George owned freehold land at Ballina and had commenced business as a carrier. By 1883 George was a book seller, stationer, tobacconist, firewood supplier and carrier living on River Street.

By 1886 George had taken over the aerated water and cordial factory established by Henry Watson. In his new enterprise on River Street, George advertised kola champagne, ginger beer, cider, lemonade, football punch, soda water, ginger ale and lime juice as well as Worcestershire sauce. His son Matthias Boyd also helped in the factory. He produced aerated water and cordials in Ballina until early 1912. His time as a cordial manufacturer in Ballina spanned over a quarter of a century.

The Lewis family donated bibles to the local church as well as cedar fittings and a christening fount. George was president of the Ballina Turf Club, treasurer of the Ballina hospital and served as an alderman on Ballina Council from 1904-1908. He operated as a commission agent in town before leaving. When he left the dignitaries of Ballina gave him and his family a rousing farewell. George moved to Inverell farming on the Warialda Road between 1915 and 1919 before finally retiring to Marrickville in Sydney living at ‘Oliveville’ in Glen Street. He died in 1923 in Sydney and was interred in the Woronora cemetery.

Albert Charles LEWIS

Younger brother of George Alfred Lewis, he was born on the Richmond River in 1864.

By 1884 he was employed in the fledgling aerated water manufactory setup in Ballina by Henry Watson and managed by Edward Solomon. In 1887, Albert married Hanette Cecilia Berger and in July of 1887 he purchased the cordial factory in Lismore on Molesworth Street from Tickle and Son stating his manufacturing experience in the aerated water and cordial business with Solomon and Co. His entry into the cordial manufacturing business would appear to be short lived, as he then became the proprietor of numerous hotels in Lismore including Dean’s Hotel and Best’s Hotel in the late 1880s before returning to Ballina by 1891/1892 as the proprietor of the Ballina Livery Stables.

Albert Charles Lewis from his stables, supplied forage for the police forces, conveyed mail from the post office to the Wharf and operated a coach service. By 1897 he was running the Occidental Hotel in Ballina before leaving the Ballina district in 1899 bound for Queensland, where he operated a cordial factory at Childers in the early 1900s. In the mid 1900’s, Albert was a licensed victualler in hotels around Brisbane, including the Federal Hotel and the German Bridge Hotel. In his application for licenses, Albert stated he was married with no children. From 1913 until 1946 Albert had numerous changes in occupations including working as an agent, carrier and furniture salesman in different suburbs of Brisbane.

John Daniel LINK

John Daniel Link was born in 1870 a son of Daniel Meldnor and Maria Friedericka Link (nee Nicholai) in Queensland. In 1910 he married Flora Palmer who was a daughter of John Palmer and Mary Ann (nee McKinnon). Flora’s mother remarried Charles James Lovett after the death of her first husband in 1879. Flora was a sister to Annie Wise Palmer who married James Jerome Devney and a step sister to Thomas George Lovett. The family relationship between the Palmer girl’s husbands and their step brother saw all three involved in aerated water and cordial manufactories on the Richmond River.

John Daniel Link’s occupation was initially in carpentry where he worked in the Brisbane suburb of Fairfield. When he arrived at Woodburn prior to 1916 he was still working as a carpenter. By 1920 however he had assumed responsibility for the running of the cordial manufactory at Woodburn having taken over the business previously operated by his brother-in-law James Jerome Devney. In January 1921 he purchased the land on Richmond Street Woodburn where the cordial factory was located. John remained in the aerated water and cordial manufactory until the end of 1922 before his death was recorded in Queensland on 7 December 1922. His 20 ounce stone ginger was the only one of its kind produced in the Northern Rivers area that was embossed.

His widow Flora then sold the cordial business to Leslie Olive. In a strange twist in the journey of life Flora was remarried in 1928 to Joseph Davidson Cameron who had previously been working as a cordial maker for Arthur George Phipps in Ballina around 1914. Flora died in Sydney as Flora Cameron in 1961.

Lismore Cordials

Lismore Cordials was registered as a company on 26 June 1929 with capital of twenty thousand pounds from its subscribers that included the major cordial manufactures operating in Lismore at the time. The subscribers included Christy Wilkins Balzer, William Martin Glynn and their wives. On 29 September 1930 the company took up a lease on land previously leased by William Edward Bryant on Keen Street Lismore and with Bryant as the manager of the operation in its initial stages possibly due to the fact that the new company was using the old Bryant’s cordial works site as its new headquarters. When William Edward Bryant left Lismore to pursue opportunities as a publican at Murwillumbah the general running of the Lismore Cordials business was taken over by William Martin Glynn. Bill made a point of personally visiting all the corner stores and hotels that carried Lismore Cordials and he remained committed to providing these business with the best service he could possibly deliver.

One outstanding line carried by Lismore Cordials was their Lemon Soda made from freshly squeezed Lisbon lemons sourced from Gayndah in Queensland. The lemons were all hand cut and squeezed in the factory to maintain the freshness of the product.

Lismore Cordials renewed the lease on the property up until 1964 when it was sold to Robert Trevan who was involved in the sale of Ford manufactured motor vehicles before it was acquired by the New South Wales Ambulance Transport Service Board. After the sale of the Keen Street site Lismore Cordials moved to Wyrallah Road Lismore in 1965. It was a move that Bill took reluctantly but one that was enthusiastically embraced by his son Hilton Edward who actively promoted the move. Hilton, who was more commonly known as Gerry, had commenced working in his father’s cordial factory from about 15 years of age. He was born in Maclean on the Clarence River in 1923 and grew up attending Lismore High School with ambitions to be an engineer but was called up in 1941 and joined the army before entering the air force as a wireless air gunner. He remained in the air force for 5 years and was discharged after the end of World War II.

On his return Gerry went to work in the cordial factory. When Gerry’s twin sister was married and left the business, the vacant position of clerk was occupied by Mary Croke. Eventually Gerry married Mary in Lismore on 5 November 1948 and the couple had three children. In the early 1970s on the retirement of William Martin Glynn, the everyday running of the cordial manufactory fell to Gerry. Work in any of the aerated water and cordial factories was dangerous at times and Gerry lost the tips of two of his fingers at the first joint in the machinery. He was also badly cut on the face when an exploding soda syphon sprayed broken glass in his direction. Mauri Brothers and Thompson were the major suppliers to Lismore Cordials of brewer’s yeast, bottles, baker’s supplies and essences. The acquisition of Schweppes franchise brought with it many changes at Lismore Cordials. Under the conditions of the business arrangement Lismore Cordials ceased production of their own dry ginger ale and although they still continued to market their own lemonade the business was beginning to look more like a franchise of Schweppes. Schweppes provided supermarkets directly and in 1981 Gerry finally closed his association with the cordial industry and retired after selling the business to Bill Munro. Hilton Edward Glynn died on 4 February 1995.

Thomas George LOVETT

Thomas George Lovett was born in 1883 a son of John James and Mary Ann Lovett (nee Palmer) in Woodburn. It was his mother’s second marriage. She was previously married to John Palmer, (nee McKinnon) and had four children with John, but he died in 1879. The four children became stepsisters or stepbrothers to Thomas, his brothers and sister, Kate. The children of Mary Ann from both marriages were destined to appear in the most unlikely places amongst the cordial makers of the North Coast of N.S.W.

Thomas’ earlier working life was spent as a labourer in Wardell before he became a cordial manufacturer operating at Wardell in 1908. Thomas married Mary Ann Johnson in 1908 but she died later that same year.

In 1909 he had moved to Broadwater as a cordial manufacturer before he relocated again to South Woodburn in 1911 purchasing the cordial manufactory on Richmond Street. He remained in South Woodburn and till 1913, when he sold the cordial manufactory to James Jerome Devney, his brother-in-law. James was married to Thomas Lovett’s step sister, Annie Wise Palmer. Thomas then returned to farming at Wardell with his second wife, Leticia Jane (nee Tyler) whom he had married in 1910.

Thomas George Lovett enlisted in the Army on 10 May 1917 and embarked on October 31, 1917, bound for the Western Front. His military records show he enlisted at 33 years, 11 months, and he was a farmer from Wardell, married with four children. Private Thomas George Lovett, AIF number 3723 in the 49th battalion was wounded in action and hospitalised with gas poisoning. He was discharged after his arrival in Melbourne on 27 March 1919 as being medically unfit. On his return, Thomas continued farming at Wardell until about 1926. He then embarked on a period as a storekeeper in the village of Wardell prior to moving into Lismore and establishing himself once again as an aerated water and cordial manufacturer situated on Casino Street in 1931. His crown sealed aerated water bottles carried the slogan, Try it and Lovett. He remained as a cordial manufacturer until 1938 assisted by his son Arthur George. The cordial factory was then operated by William Charles Balzer.

Thomas resided in Lismore as an auctioneer until 1963. His death was recorded in April 1972 at the age of 89 years.