Cordial 7 – European history of the Richmond River

A History of Aerated Water & Cordial Manufacturers of the Richmond – Part 7

John QUIGLEY

John Quigley was born in 1856 in Ireland a son of Patrick and Catherine Quigley (nee Gleeson). About 1875 he sailed from Nenagh in Ireland to Australia aged nineteen years old arriving on the City of Agra. John Quigley of Irish Catholic extraction, who expressed strong political views regarding Irish home rule appeared on the electoral roll of 1884 living at Bolivia NSW and working on the railway line that was under construction. By 1885 John was operating the Australian Hotel at Sandy Flat near Tenterfield. He then entered into a business partnership with Thomas Ryan at Tenterfield as an aerated water and cordial manufacturer. This partnership was dissolved in April 1887 and the cordial business was carried on by Thomas Ryan. Thomas had married Mary Quigley at Tenterfield in 1885. John then ran the Australian Hotel at Fairfield (Drake) in 1888.

John married Mary Dwyer from Bolivia in 1888 at Tenterfield where his occupation was listed as cordial manufacturer. John and Mary had a daughter in Tenterfield before moving to Lismore. In August 1890 he announced in the Northern Star that he intended opening an aerated water and cordial manufactory in Lismore.

Whilst in Lismore John & Mary had a further six children; four boys and two girls who were born between 1891 and 1905. John acquired land in Lismore on the corner of Park and Dawson Sts in 1892 and it is more than likely that this was the site of his cordial manufactory after moving from Keen Street. He remained in business in Lismore until 1909 operating the factory for 19 years. The aerated water equipment he had embossed on his marble bottles, blob top soda bottles and internal thread bottles to make them highly collectable because of the pictorial images. John was one of only two cordial manufacturers to use pictorial images on his bottles on the N.S.W. north coast. The business was sold and John commenced farming at Tuncester where he remained for 3 years before moving the family to Toowoomba in Queensland.

In 1913 his first venture in Toowoomba was as a licensed victualler operating the School of Arts Hotel in Ruthven Street for a brief time but his wife Mary disliked John working in the liquor trade so he once again established an aerated water and cordial manufactory on Fogarty Street Toowoomba. He operated the business in Toowoomba from 1915 until 1926. He retired at Toowoomba and operated a market garden before eventually dying in 1935. He was buried in Toowoomba.

William Alfred ROGERS

William Alfred Rogers was born in 1869 in the Macleay River district of N.S.W. a son of William Charles and Ann Rogers (nee Hennessy). By 1900 William was operating a theatre company in Grafton and travelled along the Clarence River visiting the small towns with his show that produced vocal and instrumental records on the theatrephone. His troupe consisted of a comedian, pianist, balladist and a biograph expert. He was married to Jessie Maud Alcon Webb in 1903 in Grafton and moved to Lismore where he established himself in business as a stationer. His business operated as stationers, booksellers, newsagents and ran a circulating library by subscription in the area. This enterprise was also an agency for Harrington’s photographic goods, Horton’s seeds, typewriters and J.M. Maud’s B.S.A bicycles. He remained in this business in Woodlark Street until 1909.

He then entered the cordial manufacturing business by taking over the old and well established manufactory previously run by John Quigley. The enterprise was registered as manufacturers of cordials, mineral waters and ice with Alice Ester Morison listed as a person carrying on the business as well as William Alfred Rogers.

At this time Thomas Kidd from the Sydney Syphon Filling Works was appointed the cordial maker. The business underwent a name change and became The Richmond Aerated Waters & Ice works situated in 116 Dawson Street with W.A. Rogers as general manager and R.G. Williams as works manager. In 1912 William again changed the business name to Rogers and Company and operated the aerated waters and cordial factory until 1920. As well as supplying aerated waters and ginger beer he heavily advertised his range of cordials including pure lime juice, lemon squash, chilli punch, raspberry, pineapple and sarsaparilla sold by him as sar-la. William remained in Lismore as an insurance agent until 1926 before running a general store on Ballina Street for a few years. He then found employment as a bookseller from 1930 until 1935 after which he relocated to Casino selling insurance. By the late 1940’s William had moved to Sydney in retirement living in Padstow. He died aged 92 years at Glenfield near Liverpool.

Thomas RYAN

Thomas Allis Ryan was born in Tipperary, Ireland in about 1858. He migrated to Australia in 1876 arriving at Maryborough in Queensland on board the Indus. He married Mary Quigley in January 1885 at Tenterfield New South Wales with his occupation listed on the marriage registration as a labourer. The Tenterfield Star listed Thomas Ryan on the committee for athletic sports at Quigley’s Hotel on 18 December 1885 and on 2 June 1886 Thomas Ryan was named as the starter of the grand athletic sports day run at the Miner’s Arms Hotel near Tenterfield.

On 20 April 1887 the Tenterfield Star reported the dissolution of a partnership between cordial manufacturers John Quigley and Thomas Ryan and stated the business would in future be conducted by Thomas Ryan. Thomas Ryan remained in Tenterfield until at least the end of 1887 and possibly a lot longer as he started a line of coaches from Tenterfield to Fairfield (Drake) in May 1887. Thomas and Mary welcomed their first child James is 1886 who was born in Queensland, then a daughter Catherine, who was born at Tenterfield in 1887. Another daughter, Julia, was born in Queensland in 1891.
Thomas Ryan appeared on the electoral rolls in 1895 at Alstonville as a cordial manufacturer. This is supported by the fact that when George Thomas Ryan was born on 13 June 1896 his father was listed on the birth certificate as a cordial manufacturer at Rous Mill, a village on the outskirts of Alstonville. In February 1896 an auction notice appeared in the Northern Star for the bankruptcy sale of the entire contents of Ryan’s store which included the plant from his aerated water and cordial manufactory that he operated at Rous.

By 1898 Thomas Ryan had once again moved back to Queensland where another daughter, Mary, was born. The license of the Post Office Hotel at Chillagoe was transferred to Thomas Ryan in May 1901 and by 1902/03/05 electoral rolls list Thomas Ryan at Mount Garnet near Herberton on 11 June 1906.

It could be reasonably argued that Thomas Ryan holds a unique place in the history of aerated water and cordial manufacturers in Australia as the only person not to have embossed a place name alongside his business name on his marble bottles. This would have enabled him to continue using his own branded bottles at any location without the need to purchase new stock and quickly establish a new business in a new locality.

Raymond Charles SPENCER & Sons

Raymond Charles Spencer was born on 25 January 1893 at Maclean, a son of George and Martha Spencer (nee Law). He was one of eight children and lived in the Clarence River district. He married Marianne Unwin on 23 July 1917 at Goodwood Island on the Clarence River and shortly after his marriage moved to Empire Vale on the Richmond River where he farmed sugar cane. He remained a sugar cane farmer up to 1948 when the farm was sold. Ray had been a member of the Richmond River Cane Growers Association for many years, a master in the Masonic Lodge, an alderman on the Ballina Municipal Council and was reputed to have built the first corrugated iron barracks for cane cutters replacing tents. His work on the cane farm with draught horses made him a specialist in breaking in horses.

On 1 July 1950 he purchased the cordial manufactory in Ballina run by John Eric Johnson and commenced business as a cordial manufacturer with two of his sons, Charles and William, on the corner of River and Grant Sts Ballina. Charles was 21 at the time and William was 17 years of age. Raymond was an enthusiastic lawn bowler but on a bowling trip to Queensland was unfortunately killed in a car accident at Eidsvold on 10 July 1951 barely a year after taking over the cordial and aerated water factory. This left his two sons solely in charge of the factory with the responsibility of running it.
Charles was born on 15 February 1929 and his younger brother William was born on 14 February 1934.

Charlie and Bill built the business up manufacturing cordials and aerated waters filling bottles by hand using an eight head filler capable of filling ninety dozen bottles an hour. They worked in the cordial manufactory producing for three days and delivering their product to Ballina and surrounding areas in a 1948 Bedford truck for the remaining two days. Because of bottle breakages in the rear single wheeled truck, a new dual rear wheeled vehicle was deemed necessary so a 1952 a dual wheel Bedford truck was purchased capable of carrying three tons. The cordial factory was gradually converted to automatic machinery and by the 1960’s was fully automatic. The bottles used in the factory were gradually phased out from ceramic labels to OWB’s (one way bottle) or non-returnable (NRB’s). On Christmas eve the factory would have thousands of dozens of drinks ready for the holiday season.

The two brothers continued working the cordial factory in Ballina until 1968 when they amalgamated with Pilgrim’s cordials from Mullumbimby to form Nor East Drinks. The multi national companies had arrived and made no secret of the fact that they were capable of under cutting local prices in order to gain market monopoly. Nor East Drinks continued manufacturing their own aerated waters and cordials but as time passed the company became more of a distribution center until 1979 when the company was sold to William Burnett. Charles and William worked for wages under the new owner until 1988 when it was sold to Bruce Zietsch who dismantled the production facilities and the factory merely served as a depot. Charlie worked as a sales representative for the Zietsch Company and operated a juice run before retiring and William worked in a cleaning business. While on holidays in Finely, working on a dairy farm, William suffered a heart attack and died in July 1996.

Charles STAMFORD

Charles was born in Hedenham, Norfolk England in 1848 the son of William and Susannah Stamford. The English Census of 1861 shows Charles living with his family as a thirteen year old. He sailed to Australia when he was about 19 years old intent on making his fortune with the gold rush in full swing. He landed in Sydney and came straight to Richmond River where he found employment on Bungawalbin Station which was run by Thomas Edward Lance. The station carried some of the finest herds of fat cattle in Northern NSW. Being capable and resourceful, Charles became station manager of the estate and remained there for 18 years before the low price of cattle forced the owner to relinquish control. While there, Charles married the daughter of Thomas Edward Lance, Florence Castel, in 1875. The couple had six children between 1876 and 1888. An accident forced him to abandon pastoral pursuits when the wheel of a heavy timber junker fell on him injuring his spine. He moved to Coraki where he commenced business as an auctioneer and commission agent as well as continuing the manufacturer of aerated water and cordials from the established factory which had been operated by a variety of owners since 1880. His wife Florence Castel was in fact the sister of Roland Wavertree Lance who operated the cordial factory down the river at Woodburn.

Charles was a cordial manufacturer at Coraki from 1892 until 1909, as well as the council clerk for the Municipality of Coraki, secretary of the local School of Arts and deputy returning officer for State and Federal elections. He was described as a fine old English gentleman who took the reverses of life in a philosophic fashion. He died in Campbell Hospital on 6 April 1909. His funeral was the largest ever seen in Coraki with upwards of 80 vehicles and a long cavalcade of horsemen joining in the cortege.

Earl Phillip STARR

Earl Phillip Starr was born in 1909 a son of Alfred Henry and Margaret Jane Starr (nee Stewart). Alfred was the first baker in the town of Mullumbimby, circa 1902. Earl was educated in Mullumbimby and his first job was working in the Mullumbimby Star newspaper before he commenced work with William Bryant at the local cordial factory situated at the river end of Burringbar Street.

He purchased the aerated water and cordial manufactory from William David Bryant on 4 December 1930 and operated the business for the next fifteen years. Known as Twinkle, he embossed his crown seals and soda syphons with a star and the logo ‘Above All’. On 31 April 1934 Earl married Violet Ethel Mortimer and they had three children who all at some stage worked in the cordial business. Earl sold the cordial manufacturing business to Robert Pilgrim on 1 September 1945.

After selling the cordial manufactory Earl pursued various other enterprises including log hauling by truck, tomato growing, being the proprietor of a service station and ran the Ford dealership in Mullumbimby. He also operated a fish and chip shop, a delicatessen and had a small fishing boat operating out of Brunswick Heads. He was an alderman on the Mullumbimby Shire Council from 1951 to 1956 and enjoyed playing golf. He died in May 1961.

Thomas Francis SUPPLE

Thomas Francis Supple was born in Dublin, Ireland around 1850. He migrated as an assisted immigrant on board the Afghan which arrived in Australia in 1879 from London landing at Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

By 1883 Thomas had announced in the Northern Star that he was opening The Lismore Mineral Water Works and Cordial Factory adjacent to the Government Wharf. The only other cordial manufacturer operating in Lismore at the time was Christian Balzer who opened his aerated water and cordial manufactory in 1876. The business opportunity for Thomas was obviously something he saw as a distinct possibility but it failed to prosper and some six months later Thomas was found further south in Grafton.

In February 1884 an advertisement appeared in the Clarence and Richmond Examiner declaring Thos Supple as the manager of the Orient Mineral Water Cordial and Liqueur Manufactory. This particular foray into the aerated water business lasted less than three months as Thomas was declared insolvent in May of 1884 with liabilities more than seventeen times his assets.

Thomas Francis Supple died at the Sacred Heart Hospice in Darlinghurst, Sydney on 10 June 1903.

Robert THOMSON

Robert Thomson was born the only son of William and Elizabeth Thomson (nee Hughes) and the eldest of their four children. This was his mother’s second marriage as she was previously married to Robert Gallagher. The family settled at Wyrallah near Lismore and Robert was a shipwright. On 12 March 1883 Robert married Mary Jane Flynn, a sister of John Flynn. John had married Robert’s sister Jessie earlier in 1882. It is reasonable to assume Robert and John would have known each other from working in the shipyards at Coraki as both were shipwrights and the marriages between brothers and sisters cemented the relationship.

In the Northern Star newspaper Flynn and Thomson announced that they had purchased the Richmond River Aerated Waters and Cordial Manufactory at Coraki in 1881. The business had been established by Edwin Wren who had obtained the sole rights for Messrs. Barrett and Co’s patent stopper and aerated water machine. The partnership between Robert and John appears to have ended in late 1883 with John Flynn as the sole proprietor. Electoral rolls show Robert at Coraki in a freehold residence in 1882/1883. Robert then returned to Gundarimba following the death of his father in 1886 where he worked as a farmer until around the turn of the century.

On 5 April 1906 Robert purchased property on George Street Bangalow and commenced his aerated water and cordial manufactory in the town. He placed advertisements in the Bangalow Herald & Newrybar Advertiser and is shown in Sands Country Commercial Directories from 1908 until 1919 as a cordial manufacturer at Bangalow. The 1908 listing shows Thomson and Benn as cordial manufactures in Bangalow but the significance of Benn remains a mystery. However it is known that John Flynn his brother-in-law, who was his former partner in the cordial business at Coraki in 1881, was at Bangalow in 1906 and was residing at Opossum Creek. John’s younger brother William is listed in electoral rolls for 1908/1909 as a cordial maker at Bangalow so there is no doubt that both Flynn brothers played an important role in the establishment of the manufactory. The fledgling business would have faced fierce competition from existing and well established cordial manufactories in Lismore, Ballina, Mullumbimby and Byron Bay.

Robert’s wife Mary Jane died childless in 1913 whilst the cordial factory was still operating. Robert Thomson maintained the business until 1919 when it was sold to David James Boag. The factory site was sold on 30 June 1920 but Robert, who remarried in 1916, remained in Bangalow working as a labourer. Robert’s second wife was Minnie Carroll and was listed in electoral rolls for 1917 under her maiden name as a milliner in Bangalow. Minnie died in 1933 and at this time Robert was in Sydney where he lived in retirement at Parramatta until his death in 1941.

Reginald TRANTER

Reginald Warner Tranter was born at Stonehenge near Glen Innes on the New England tablelands. He was the seventh of nine children born to David Warner Tranter and Ellen Tranter (nee Knight). When the family moved to the north coast they settled on as dairy farm at Tatham near Casino.

Reg attended Greenridge Public School and after leaving school he drove trucks in his brother’s business at Beaudesert. At the outbreak of World War II Reg enlisted with his younger brother Frank on 12 July 1940 and was in Darwin when it was bombed by the Japanese. He also served in Borneo and Sarawak and was discharged on 1 February 1946 from the 2/47 transport platoon. He returned to Beaudesert after the war and learnt the soft drink trade from Harry Klumpp in the town.

In the summer of 1946 Reg and his brother-in-law Hugh Paynter established Richmond Cordials at 12 Rhodes Street in Lismore. In a hard hours work the new cordial manufactory could produce 18 dozen drinks and Reg set about canvassing the Lismore area for sales. Gradually the business grew, his partnership with Hugh was dissolved and new premises for the production of his aerated water and cordials were deemed essential.

Richmond Cordials then relocated to Union Street in Lismore in 1966 after Reg had purchased the franchise for the manufacture of Tristam’s soft drinks in the Northern Rivers area some six years earlier.

With the rise of multi-national companies, the gradual closing of corner stores and the opening of large supermarkets the days of locally operated cordial factories were numbered so Reg retired in the 1970’s. He spent his retirement with his wife Joyce (nee Bowden) whom he had married in 1947 and their children and grandchildren. He was an active member serving as the warden for the rector of the Anglican Church, teaching Sunday school, breeding Samoyed dogs, working with North Coast cedar to make furniture and grandfather clocks and being involved with music and dance schools and festivals. He died on 14 April 2007 in Lismore and was predeceased by his wife.

Henry WATSON

Henry Watson was born in 1840 at Clitheroe which spans counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire in England. In his youth Henry went to America and was living in the Southern States at the outbreak of the Civil War but had returned to England by 1861. He immigrated to Australia on board the Theresa which arrived in Queensland in 1862 from Plymouth, England. In 1864 he married Charlotte Thomasine Glascott who had also travelled to Australia on board the Theresa. The married couple went to New Zealand in 1867 settling in Poverty Bay on the north island of New Zealand but returned to Australia after the massacre of whites by the Māori chief Te Kooti.

By 1872 Henry and Charlotte had settled in Ballina where he found work as a carpenter and builder. He later operated a hardware store and by 1883 was dealing in plumbing materials, tin smithing, general ironmongery, cement and building materials. He was involved in the building of Lismore Court House, the Ballina Light House, numerous school buildings and held a license for the sale of explosive. Apart from his building work he was also heavily involved with the athletic sports days and his wharf was used for the Ballina regatta days held on the Richmond River. Both Henry and Charlotte purchased land in Ballina when town lots were released for sale.

In March 1884 Henry Watson converted his Victoria Hall into a manufactory for aerated waters, cordials, vinegars and sauces. The machinery in the hall was capable of turning out 400 dozen per day. An addition of 50 feet was made to the building and galvanised tanks were fixed to hold 10,000 gallons of water and preparations were made for the manufacture of ice. The management of the factory was conducted by Edward Solomon with whom he had formed a partnership and operated under the name of Solomon & Co. The partnership was mutually dissolved on 1 December 1884 and Edward Solomon formed a new partnership with Peter Gray.

Edward Solomon and Peter Gray took out a lease on the corner of Kerr and River Streets on the 1 December 1884 from Charlotte Thomasine Watson. The lease was discharged on 27 August 1886. Apart from electoral rolls listing Solomon in leasehold property at Ballina from 1885 until 1887 not a great deal is known about him. Peter Gray however was well known in the district having married Hannah Amelia Chilcott in 1867, operating hotels with his brother Bernard, farming at Emigrant Creek and signing the petition for the formation of the Municipality of Ballina in 1883. He was trustee for the Ballina racecourse, operated an oyster lease on the Richmond River and was a shipping agent for numerous shipping lines sailing from Ballina.

Following the discharge of their leases it is more than probable that this business was then operated by George Alfred Lewis who advertised himself as the proprietor in the Richmond River Express on 6 November 1886.

Henry Watson was declared insolvent in 1887 but remained in the building game and was responsible for the construction of a number of schools. Electoral rolls reveal Henry at Ballina until 1908 working as a builder and contractor.

Joseph YATES

Joseph Yates married Isabella Shaw in Queensland in 1891 and appeared on electoral rolls in 1892 at Mullumbimby in a freehold residence and proprietor of the Railway Hotel before moving into Byron Bay around 1894 where his occupation is listed as carpenter. Sands Country Commercial Directories list Joseph as a fruiterer and builder from 1901 until 1903. During this time his father John Yates was also residing with him. John died in 1907 aged 87 years.

As a hop and ginger beer manufacture Joseph advertised his wares in the local newspaper as early as December 1899. Alfred Boardman and Charles Herbert Cockbain were operating aerated water and cordial manufactories in Byron Bay around this time but neither has so far been found to have manufactured ginger beer so with the Temperance Movement gaining momentum Joseph saw an opportunity to supply the growing township with temperance beverages. By 1904 however William Edward Balzer was known to manufacture ginger beer and Joseph concentrated on his building and development activities.

Whilst living in Bryon Bay Joseph designed and built the Orient Coffee Palace which opened for business in 1909 and still stands as a landmark today. In 1894 he was the honorary secretary of the Byron Bay School of Arts, later to become the Literary Institute and made a life member in 1910 as well as President of the Citizens Association that expressed the concerns of the town to the council. Joseph was also involved in land purchases, leasing properties and involving himself in the town’s development.

Joseph remained in Bryon Bay until 1925 as an insurance agent but after Isabella’s death in 1926 in Queensland his whereabouts are unknown.

Samuel YOUNG

Samuel Young was born in Limerick Ireland on 5 Nov 1872, a son of William John and Annabella Young (nee Stenson), one of ten children. The family migrated to Australia on board the City of Agra which arrived in Hervey Bay, north of Brisbane, in 1876 when Samuel was a three year old. The City of Agra was an iron ship of 8533 tons and was captained by Thomas Young. The voyage took approximately three months. Samuel’s early life was spent in Queensland and electoral rolls for 1905 list him as a traveler residing in South Brisbane. His father was working in Brisbane as a cordial manufacturer and faced charges in the Central Police Court operating an illicit still in 1892 and was again facing charges of alleged adulteration to his malt vinegar in 1899. It was from his father that Samuel acquired the knowledge to make cordials.

Electoral rolls for 1906/1908 list Samuel as a cordial manufacturer in Lismore while Moore’s Australian Almanac show the firm of Turner and Young as cordial manufacturers in Lismore in 1907. His partner in the business was William Turner who was born in 1860 at Patrick’s Plans near Singleton in New South Wales and who married Margaret Elizabeth Flory in 1894 before moving to Lismore shortly afterwards.

According to the advertisement placed in the Lismore Chronicle in 1906 it is obvious the business concentrated on vinegars, baking soda and yeast type products for the bakery industry. Three long established cordial factories were operating in Lismore at the time providing aerated water, cordials and ginger beer. It made good business sense to avoid the strengths of the cordial factories and concentrate on proving other brewing products.

Samuel married Rose Degnan in 1906 in Lismore. Rose was working as a waitress/housemaid at the Imperial Hotel during this period. The business in Lismore was short lived and Samuel returned to Brisbane with his new wife. In 1913 electoral rolls show Samuel working as a fruiterer in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm where Rose gave birth to three daughters’ between 1907 and 1914 in Queensland.

At the time of his death in 1924 Samuel was performing as a show man and died under his stage name of Harry St Clair.