In the late 1800s and early 1900s, cordial making factories sprung up across central-west NSW. With modern single-use plastic bottles yet to be invented, many drinks were sold in glass or ceramic bottles, usually with a cork stopper or stamped metal cap. These particular ceramic bottles contained drinks that were produced by James Herbert Clarke’s […]
Milton Mudge probably felt a hint of pride each time a new batch of timber crates arrived, and he took down this stencil where it hung on the wall of his cordial factory in Milton. He painted the sides of the timber crates through the gaps in the letters, marking his name ‘M.J. Mudge / […]
Imagine the sweltering summer days in West Wallsend, when tired and dusty miners crowded into the Clyde Inn (est c. 1893) on Carrington Street to quench their thirst. Many ordered beer, but others had a taste for the fizzy lemonade, soda water, ginger ale, and ‘fruit champagne’, which the bar-keep William ‘Bill’ Smith (licensee 1899 – […]
To meet the growing demand for cordial and fizzy drinks, soft-drink factories established in many NSW towns and villages in the second half of the nineteenth century. The glass and ceramic bottles shown here were used by Heavener (later Ashelfords) of Blayney, Bathurst and Lithgow; and the Derwin Bros. at Carcoar and Cowra. They illustrate […]
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