The Stock Exchange of Melbourne was established in 1884 from competing exchanges that began in the 1860s. In 1987, it was absorbed into a new national body, the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).

Melbourne Stock Exchange Archives at the University of Melbourne
Minutes 1889-1922
Letter book 1893 - 1895
Official lists and quotations 1870 - 1960
Assorted Files 1890 - 1950s
Monthly Diary 1952 - 1962
Secretary’s Correspondence 1955 - 1963
Stock Exchange Official Record 1934 - 1968 (bound by year)
Newspaper cuttings 1906 - 1923
Applications for Listing 1897 - 1926
Listed Company Files 1918 - 1962
Listed Company Files 1964 - 1986
Delisted Company Files 1964-1992

Macquarie Textiles was originally formed under the name Amalgamated Textiles (Australia) Ltd. in Albury, NSW, in March 1923. The organisation's intention was to establish three woollen mills in the NSW area which could undertake the full process of woollen and worsted cloth manufacturing under one company. The Albury woollen mill began operating in 1925, followed by another in Orange, NSW in 1926, and the third in Goulburn, NSW in 1929. In 1956, the company changed its name to Macquarie Worsteds Ltd., closed the Goulburn mill, and moved their head office from Sydney, NSW, to Orange. Ascot Investments Pty. Limited took over Macquarie Worsteds in 1982, changing the name to Macquarie Textiles Pty. Limited. In 1987, the Macquarie group became subsidiaries of General Investments Australia Ltd. The Orange mill closed in 1989. By 1992, the company had acquired Foster Valley in Geelong, Aweave, John Vicars & Co., Warrnambool Woollen, and Onkaparinga Woollen Company, and in 1994, the organisation's name was changed to Macquarie Textiles Group Ltd. to better reflect their recent acquisitions. In 2013, it was announced that the Albury factory would be closed in favour of importing materials from China and India, with only the local warehouse left in operation. As of 2024, the business continues to operate under Macquarie Textiles Pty. Limited in Albury, NSW, after ceasing the Macquarie Textiles Group Ltd. name in 2021.

Onkaparinga Woollen Company originated in Hahndorf, SA in 1869 by two German brothers, Heinrich and Edward Kramm before moving to Lobethal, SA. The first mill, Lobethal Tweed Factory, opened in 1872, but experienced a troubled history with several closures and take-overs until 1883 when it reopened as the South Australian Woollen Factory. This venture proved successful for many years, and eventually the company renamed to Onkaparinga Woollen Mill Company in 1928. The Onkaparinga brand of wool blankets became iconic in Australian households, and gained worldwide recognition during the country's post-WWII economic and wool export boom. The company was owned under the Bardak Pty. Ltd. company, and traded as Onkaparinga Textiles Limited prior to being taken over by Macquarie Worsteds Limited in 1983. The company is also associated with the names Macquarie Woollen Textiles Pty. Ltd., and Macquarie Woollen Company Pty. Ltd. The Onkaparinga Woollen Mill closed in 1993 as production became outsourced. As of 2024, the Onkaparinga brand continues under the ownership of William A. McNeil & Co. Pty. Ltd.

In 1920, F B S Falkiner Snr purchased the property from George Osborne. His son, F B S Falkiner Jnr inherited the station in 1929. His grandson, B S Falkiner sold the property in 2014. Currently owned by Michell family.

The first patent application by the newly formed partnership Waters and Hart was filed in May 1859. The dominant partner was Edward Waters (1937 - 1917) who arrived in the Colony of Victoria from London in 1855. Subequent related businesses included Edwd. Waters and Sons (sic). Branch Offices we established in Sydney in the 1880s and Brisbane in the 1890s. The branches eventually became separate businesses.

On 1 May 1989, the company changed its name to Watermark Patent and Trademark Attorneys moved to 290 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn Victoria 3122.

In 2019 Watermark was fully integrated into intellectual property service provider Griffith Hack.

In 1835 John Tooth, who had arrived in New South Wales in 1828, and Charles Newnham opened the Kent Brewery in Sydney. In June 1888 Tooth & Company became a publicly listed company with capital of 900,000 pounds. In 1905 the Company acquired the New South Wales Malting Company's works at Mittagong. Over the next two decades the company acquired the Maitland Brewery (1913), the Castlemaine Brewery and Wood Brothers, Newcastle (1921); breweries in Wagga Wagga, Narrandera and Goulburn and in 1929 they acquired Resch's Limited. In 1977 the company acquired Wright, Heaton and Company and Penfolds Wines Limited and in 1978 Courage Brewery Limited. Tooth and Company was acquired by Carlton and United Breweries in 1983. The company's extensive collection of hotel properties were sold off from 1990. The company was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in 2010 after not having traded for many years. carlton and United Breweres were bought by Asahi Beverages in 2020.

The Peel River Land and Mineral Company (Peel Company) was formed in 1853 after gold was discovered on the banks of the Peel River. It was established by Act of Parliament in London to purchase the Peel River Estate (Goonoo Goonoo) from the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo). The gold mining activity was short lived. The Peel Company then concentrated on working sheep and cattle on the property. It also made early ventures into Queensland: Cashmere (near St George 1861-1873); Corona and Nile (near Winton 1875-1881) and Currawhillingi (NSW/Qld border 1881-1918) as well as Eagle Grange (NSW 1898-1918); Moorlands station (Tamworth); Avon Downs (NT); Mt Alfred and Mt Margaret stations (Qld). From 1849 the Peel Company laid out town lots in (south) Tamworth. From the 1870s farm lots were laid out in several subdivisions around the town. In 1909, 88,518 acres were resumed by the NSW Government for closer settlement; a further 17,500 acres in 1938 and 18,150 acres in 1952. The Goonoo Goonoo homestead block was sold in 1985.

The first General Superintendent of the Peel Company was Philip Gidley King (1854-1904) who was succeeded by his son, G B G King (1904-1910) and grandson, G M G King (1910-1930). They were followed by J F Holloway (1930-1932). From 1932 the AACo and the Peel River Land & Mineral Company were jointly managed in Australia. The companies together purchased a number of properties including Caldervale (near Tambo, Qld) in 1934 and the Coonamble Properties (Sandcycamp, Pillicawarrina and Narraway, NSW) in 1948.

In 1959 the AACo acquired the whole share issue of the Peel River Land & Mineral Company and the company was delisted from the London stock exchange.

The Australian Agricultural Company (AACo or The Company) was formed in London in April 1824. Its purpose was to raise fine woolled sheep and sell wool on the London market. The formation of the Company was supported by an Act of Parliament and a Royal Charter. Its directors and major shareholders included directors of the Bank of England, the East India Company and Members of Parliament; with assigned convicts given the roles of shepherding and general labour. The Company’s initial land grant was one million acres in New South Wales plus two thousand acres in Newcastle. After some uncertainty the land, in the colony, was in three blocks: 464,640 acres between Port Stephens and the Manning River (Port Stephens Estate), 249,600 acres on the Liverpool Plains west of Willow Tree (Warrah) and 313,298 acres at the Peel River south of Tamworth (Goonoo Goonoo). The AACo operated in four major NSW locations during the nineteenth century – Port Stephens, Tamworth, Quirindi, and Newcastle – and from the last quarter of the century also in Queensland and eventually in Northern Australia. Its interests expanded to include wool, wheat, cattle, coal and land sales.

Within a year of its formation the AACo also became involved in coal mining at Newcastle, taking over the government’s operations there. After protracted negotiations the Company’s first pit was opened in 1831.The discovery of gold in New South Wales on the Company’s Peel Estate led to the formation of the Peel River Land and Mineral Company in 1854. Between 1825 and 1862 the AACo, with the Peel River Land and Mineral Company, brought from Europe to New South Wales over 700 men to work either at the colliery in Newcastle or on the extensive pastoral estates at Port Stephens, Tamworth and the Liverpool Plains. The new arrivals were managers, skilled mechanics, shepherds, miners and labourers. The first group of employees was managed by the Company’s first Agent, Robert Dawson (Agent, 1824-1828). Dawson’s successors included Sir Edward Parry (Commissioner, 1830-1834); Henry Dumaresq (Commissioner, 1834-1838); Phillip Parker King (Commissioner, 1839-1849); followed by several General Superintendents with Jesse Gregson, the Company’s longest serving General Superintendent from 1875-1905.

In 1864 the AACo began the development of the Warrah Estate for sheep breeding, investing extensively in wells, bores and fencing. The AACo purchased Corona (near Longreach) in 1912; Bladensburg (near Winton) and Highfields (between Corona and Bladensburg) in 1915; Headingly (Urandangie) in 1916; before moving into the Northern Territory with the purchased of Avon Downs (Barkly Tablelands) in 1921. From the 1930s gradually phasing out sheep the AACo became increasingly involved in beef cattle, developing the Santa Gertrudis stud at Goonoo Goonoo and purchasing Rockhampton Downs (Barkley Tablelands NT) in 1948, Wrotham Park (near Chillagoe, Q) in 1963, Brunette Downs (north of Tennant Creek) in 1979.

In 1975 the London-based directors resigned and the Company’s tax domicile was transferred from London to Tamworth, NSW and then to Brisbane in 1985 following the sale of Goonoo Goonoo. From 1976 the Company’s name was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as the Australian Agricultural Company Limited. In 1995 Elders Ltd acquired the AACo and it was delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange. The Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Futuris Corporation Limited after Futuris took over Elders in 1997. The Company was re-listed in 2001.

In 1904, J C White and F C White became owners of the property of Brunette Downs. The Whites went into partnership with Alfred J Cotton in 1912 and bought out Cotton in 1928. The property was purchased by King Ranch's Australian subsidiary, King Ranch Pastoral Co Pty Ltd, in December 1958 and was later purchased by the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) for $5 million in 1979. As a subsidiary of the AACo, its managers included K J Warriner (1979 - 81), B Gough (1981 - 86), C I Paige (1986 - 87) and G F Wagstaff (1987 - ).

The company was registered on 30 October 1908. The company owned Mount Wood Station, near Tibooburra in New South Wales. Mount Wood Station was first taken up in 1883 by George Dorward and later the homestead and woolscour were built in 1897. Proprietors of the station were Moore, Dorward & Co (1893 - 1897); Moore, Dorward and Palmer (1905 - 1907) and later Mount Wood Pastoral Co Pty Ltd (1908 - 1973). Its Managing Director included Ian McLachlan (1950s - 1973). Mount Wood Station was incorporated into Sturt National Park after 1972. The company was deregistered on 16 January 1987.

Founded in Victoria as the Ancient Order of Foresters in 1849 to provide mutual support during illness and after death for members.
The company is member-owned and currently has over 80,000 members, for whom it provides investment and insurance services.

The Australian Mutual Provident Society was formed in 1849 as a non-profit, life-insurance company, and mutual society, with its first office located in Sydney.
George King was chairman for fifteen years from the 1850s. Richard Teece was general manager and actuary from 1890 and a director from 1917 to 1927.
As the company grew, offices were opened across Australia including in Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Darwin as well as regional centres such as Newcastle, Goulburn, Bendigo, Warrnambool, Maryborough, Townsville and Rockhampton.
In 1876, the company expanded to New Zealand and opened its first office in Wellington. An Auckland office was opened in 1960.
In 1998, AMP was demutualised into an Australian public company, AMP Limited, and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and New Zealand Stock Exchange.
In 1999, AMP launched AMP Banking, an online bank.
In 2003, the company demerged its UK operations, creating the Henderson Group.
On 15 November 2010, AMP announced a bid to merge its business with AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, with AXA acquiring AXA Asia Pacific Holdings' Asian business and AMP acquiring AXA's Australian and New Zealand business. The Australasian holdings included the former National Mutual business (established in 1869) which was demutualised in 1996. As part of this merger, the AXA brand was phased out of the Australian and New Zealand market by 2013.
In 2020, AMP completed the sale of its life insurance business AMP Life to Resolution Life.
In February 2022, AMP delisted from the NZX, consolidating its listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.
An additional arm of the AMP business is the global investment management company AMP Capital. AMP Capital manages real estate and infrastructure assets including shopping centres, airports and trains on behalf of funds and clients, while in public markets, it manages investments in equities, fixed income, multi-asset and diversified capabilities on behalf of clients around the world.

The United Ancient Order of Druids (UAOD) was founded in Victoria around 1862. By 1867 the Society had 11 Lodges in Victoria. The Order of Druids was originally a male society until a Juvenile Lodge was opened in Prahran in 1886 by the Loyal Canterbury Lodge. Other lodges were formed in South Melbourne, Footscray, and others in New Zealand. The first female Lodge was established in Launceston, Tasmania in October 1899. The Victorian Grand Lodge held the title of Grand Lodge of Australia and was responsible for the establishment of Druid’s House in Melbourne on 4 April 1927. The UAOD Friendly Society of NSW was demutualised in 2011.

The Ancient Order of Foresters, which originated in England in the mid 1700s, established its first branch (Court) in Victoria in 1849. Foresters was set up as a non-profit organisation, the founding principles of the Society being to provide financial and social benefits as well as support to members and their families in times of unemployment, sickness, death, disability and old age. The Society is now known as the Foresters Friendly Society and in July 1999 was incorporated as a public company limited by shares and guarantee.

The Friendly Society of Victorian Natives, was a mutual society formed in Melbourne in 1871. The Society changed its name to the Australian Natives Association (ANA) in 1872 following a vote to include white men born in the other Australian colonies. The Association's objectives were to "raise funds by subscription, donations ... for the purpose of relieving sick members, and defraying expenses of funeral of members and their wives, relieving distressed widows and orphans and for the necessary expenses of the general management of the Society."[Menadue, J A Centenary History of the Australian Natives' Association 1871 - 1971, Page 9]. The ANA provided strong support for the Federation of Australia, sport, afforestation, social well-being and the Federal Government's restricted immigration policy, later referred to as the White Australia policy. The ANA and Manchester Unity agreed to merge to form Australian Unity in 1990.

In 1879 the South Australian Government granted Charles Brown Fisher and J Maurice Lyons a lease over 15,890 square miles of land to form the cattle station, Victoria River Downs. Financial difficulties led them to take out a mortgage with R Goldsbrough and Company in 1886. After an attempt by the Northern Australian Territory Company Ltd to buy the land fell through Goldsbrough Mort and Company became the property's owners in 1887. In 1900 Goldsbrough Mort sold the station to a syndicate comprising Forrest Emmanuel and Company, Kidman Brothers, GS Yull and R and BJH Richards. The station was then bought in 1909 by Bovril Australian Estates Pty Ltd which sold the station to William Lionel Buckland in 1955. In 1960 it was sold to the Hooker Investment Corporation Ltd who in 1984 sold it to Peter Sherwin. Since 1989 the station has been owned by the Haytesbury Pastoral Company and is now managed by Janet Holmes a' Court.

Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF) had its origins in Manchester, England. It was established in Melbourne on 7 December 1840 when Augustus Greeves, a member of the MUIOOF in England, migrated to Australia and formed the first lodge, Australia Felix Lodge, with journalist Thomas Strode. By the late nineteenth century, Manchester Unity had an extensive network of lodges in metropolitan and country Victoria. The Society was governed by its Annual Moveable Conference (AMC) which, as its name implies, was held in a different Victorian country centre each year. Lodges sent delegates to the AMC, where they voted on policies and rules, and elected the new Board of Directors for the coming year. In 1993 Manchester Unity (Victoria) merged with the Australian Natives Association to form Australian Unity Friendly Society Limited, now known as Australian Unity Limited.

William Taylor (1818-1903) purchased nine runs, over around a decade from 1867, to form ‘Manfred’ Station. In 1867, he purchased the runs of Miparo of Manfred East and Miparo of Manfred West from Izett Stewart. In 1869, it was recorded that he had purchased Kilfera Block A from Charles Ryan. In 1876, Kilfera Block B, Kilfera Block E and Kilfera Block G runs were transferred to Taylor from James Graham. In the same year, Taylor obtained Darnick run, forfeited by Thomas Tenner for non-payment of rent; Kasserhill forfeited by Matthew Palmer and; Eildon run forfeited by J. H. Wheelwright.

‘Manfred’ Station’s ‘Kilfera blocks’ were four of 17 (blocks A-Q), which were originally taken up by Charles Ryan (1818-1898), of the Melbourne stock and station agents’ firm of Ryan and Hammond, as part of his ‘Kilfera’ Station. The Ballarat Star of 16 November 1864 reported:

A number of drays laden with stores, tools, and necessaries for the establishment of a back country station, belonging to Mr Ryan, of Ryan and Hammond, crossed the river [Murray] this week for the Kilfera (new) blocks, between the Lachlan and Darling.

‘Kilfera’ was named after Ryan’s birth place in County Kilkenny, Ireland and it was his second ‘Kilfera’ Station. His first was on the Broken River near Benalla in Victoria, which he took up in the early 1840s in partnership with John Atkins, and sold in 1846. Charles Ryan’s daughter was artist Ellis Rowan (1848-1922) - Christened Marian Ellis Ryan - famous for her paintings of Australian and New Guinean flowers and birds.

The establishment of ‘Manfred’ Station is sometimes incorrectly attributed to George Peter Desailly (1823-1876). George took up ‘Ticehurst’ Station in the Lachlan District that included Miparo of Manfred run, which appears to be the source of the confusion. ‘Manfred’ Station is in the Darling District and many kilometres to the west of ‘Ticehurst’. Further adding to the confusion; ‘Kajuligah’ Station, immediately north of ‘Ticehurst’, includes Miparo of Manfred East run and ‘Manfred’ Station also includes Miparo of Manfred East run.

William Taylor (1818-1903) was born in Glasgow, Scotland and arrived at Port Phillip in 1840. Soon after his arrival, he purchased a sheep-run on the Moorabool River, around 32 kilometres from Geelong. In 1844, Taylor and Dugald Macpherson took up 206 000 acres (83 366 hectares) of land in the Wimmera, near the present Victorian towns of Horsham and Nhill. The holding was subdivided in 1848 with Taylor naming his portion ‘Longerenong’. Dugald Macpherson worked with his younger brother Peter, who in 1873 bought ‘Paika’ Station north of Balranald, in partnership with Robert Bruce Ronald (1831-1907).

In 1861, Taylor bought Euston Station (Pastoral Holding No. 221, consisting of Boomiaricool and Nowung runs) and [Back] Boomiaricool Station (Pastoral Holding No. 60), in the Lower Darling Squatting District, from Edmund Morey (1826-1913). In 1846, pioneer squatter Morey took up land called ‘Boomiaricool’ around the current village of Euston, on the River Murray opposite today’s Victorian town of Robinvale. Morey moved to the Darling Downs in Queensland following the sale. Morey recorded his life experiences in a series of 14 articles titled ‘Reminiscences of a pioneer in NSW’ that were published in the Sydney Mail between 30 October 1907 and 29 January 1908.

In addition to ‘Euston’, [Back] ‘Boomiaricool’ and ‘Manfred’ stations; Taylor also owned ‘Marma’ Station (Pastoral Holding No. 61, consisting of Marma and Mundonai runs) and had a half-share with John Bertram in ‘Garnpung’ Station (Pastoral Holding No. 157, consisting of Garnpung, East Tarcoola and East Tarcoola Block A runs). All of those properties are in the semi-arid area between the lower Lachlan – lower Murrumbidgee rivers and the Darling River; north of the River Murray, in SW NSW. At various times, Taylor also had interests in ‘Police Point’ (1848) now ‘Illilawa’, near Hay, ‘Moonbria’, ‘North Abbotsford’, ‘Salisbury Downs’, and ‘Bootra’ stations in NSW, and became a partner in ‘Darr River Downs’ in Queensland, in 1888.

Alexander Thomson Creswick (1853-1939) purchased ‘Manfred’ Station from the estate of William Taylor, in 1909. Alexander was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of Henry Creswick and his wife Jane. His father was a partner in the wine and spirits business of D. S. Campbell & Co. and made a fortune from liquor sales during the gold rush; between 1851 and 1858. Alexander commenced studies at Melbourne University in 1872 but reluctantly left after a year to manage Liewa Station, between the Edward and Wakool rivers, which his father bought from G. A. and P. Mein, in 1873.

In 1900, Following the death of James Tyson in 1898, Creswick purchased his Tupra-Juanbung complex (650 000 acres), near the Lachlan-Murrumbidgee ‘junction’, and soon after bought adjoining ‘Tarwong’ Station from the estate of Peter Tyson. In 1906, he bought Thomas E. ‘Old Tom’ Patterson’s huge ‘Ulonga’ Station (that included One Tree Plain) with a large frontage to the Lachlan River, below Booligal. In 1911, he purchased ‘Moolpa’ Station that joined his original Liewa Station, north of the Edward River. He also owned ‘Trida’ and ‘Conoble’ stations, east of ‘Manfred’ that he worked as one property. He appears to have purchased ‘Kilfera’ Station from Ben Chaffey, or became a partner with him in 1919.

Creswick became one of the largest individual sheep owners in the history of Australia. By 1924, with the backing of Goldsbrough Mort & Co. Ltd., he had bought and sold over 30 pastoral properties and was shearing over 400 000 sheep. His requirements for retaining properties were that they had river frontages, and access to railways so that he could move stock to some of his widely scattered relief stations whenever drought threatened. In addition to the properties mentioned, at various times, Chreswick also owned ‘Mooloomoon’, ‘Keri Keri’, ‘Gunbar’, ‘Chilichil’, ‘Fairview’, ‘Yarrara’, ‘Coppabella’, ‘Merribindinyah’, ‘Arthursleigh’, ‘Bedford Park’, ‘Combogolong’, ‘Barham’, ‘Bullagreen’ and ‘Collaroy’, in NSW. In Victoria, he had ‘Bumbang’, near Robinvale, ‘Strathvean’, ‘Fernside’, ‘Bolinda Park’ and ‘The Nook’ Stud. In Queensland, he held at one time ‘Coongoola’, near Cunnamulla, ‘Keeroongooloo’, ‘Cooluliah’, ‘Tomoo’ and ‘St Helens’. He was also a director of the Bank of Victoria and Carlton Brewery, and from around 1900, bred hundreds of race horses.

Benjamin ‘Ben’ Chaffey (1876-1937) purchased ‘Manfred’ Station from A. T. Creswick in 1923. ‘Manfred’ was worked in conjunction with adjacent ‘Kilfera’ Station (purchased from Ralph Sadlier Falkiner in 1918) as Chaffey & Co. After ‘Kilfera’ was sold in 1925, the business became Manfred Pastoral Company – Goldsbrough Mort & Co. Ltd. appeared to be a major shareholder in both companies. Chaffey had previously (1906) purchased ‘Garnpang’ station, which like ‘Manfred’, had once belonged to William Taylor.

Benjamin Chaffey was the son of George Chaffey, who with his uncle William Benjamin Chaffey, came to Australia at the end of the nineteenth century to established a major irrigation settlement on the River Murray near today’s Mildura, Victoria. Benjamin was born at Kingston, Ontario, Canada and came to Australia with his parents as a 10-year-old, in 1886.

Ben Chaffey was a pastoralist and held a number of sheep properties during his life. He was also a successful ‘colourful racing identity’. Two of his best-known race horses were Whittier and Manfred. In 1922, Whittier ran second in the Caulfield Guineas and won the Caulfield Cup a week later. Whittier repeated his victory in the Caulfield Cup in 1925 and Manfred won in 1926. Whittier and Manfred were also Victoria Derby winners in 1922 and 1925, respectively. Chaffey was a member of the Australian Club and many racing clubs, and in 1930 he was elected chairman of the Victoria Amateur Turf Club. He was also chairman of directors of United Distillers Pty. Ltd., a director of Goldsbrough, Mort & Co. Ltd., and managing director of Manfred Pastoral Company.

On death of Chaffey in 1937, ‘Manfred’ Station was taken over by Goldsbrough Mort and Co. Ltd. and run by that company - and its successor formed in 1962 - Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort & Co. Ltd., until 1968.

‘Manfred’ was purchased by John ‘Jock’ and Kerry Harris in 1968.

The property of Alroy Downs Station was established in 1878 by W Lamb. It was subsequently bought in 1914 by J C H Schmidt of Goolburra, Queensland. Its first manager was F Story who commenced duties in 1914. From 1934 to 1936, Schmidt's son Rudolf managed the property. The station remained owned by the family company and was later run by Trevor Schmidt, who was also managing director of The Australian Agricultural Company from 1974 to 1988. It was bought in early 2004 by Peter Sherwin and later sold to Sterling Buntine in March 2008.

Alexander Elder founded a firm of trading and commission agents in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1840. In 1853 it became the partnership of Elder and Company and in 1855 Elder Stirling and Company. After 1863 the firm became Elder Smith and company. In 1882 Eldera Wool and Produce Company Ltd was established to acquire the auctioneering business of the firm but this was merged with the rest of the company to form Elder Smith and Company in 1888. In 1903 Elder Shenton and Company Ltd was formed in Perth, Western Australia, and this was merged with the main company in 1918. In 1910 Elders Trustee and Executor Co Ltd was formed as a subsidiary and remained a separate company until 1963 when it was merged with the parent company. In 1913 Elders Metal and Mercantile Pty Ltd was formed in conjunction with a number of associated companies to take over the metal section of the business and to carry on operations as general merchants. The parent company took it over in 1914.

In 1962 Goldsbrough Mort and Company merged with Elder Smith and Company Limited to become Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort Limited. This company continued until December 1981 when it merged with Henry Jones (IXL). The name of the new company changed to Elders IXL on 4 February 1982.

With origins back to the 1870s, the company was liquidated in December 1929, reconstructed and was registered in Victoria under the same name on 31 December 1929. Ballarat Woollen and Worsted Co. Ltd. was finally liquidated in 1978.

Registered in New South Wales in 1907, taking over the business of ice cream and American delicacy manufacturing carried on by F.A. Peters.

Yarra Falls Spinning Co Pty Ltd was founded between 1916-1917 by three UK textile manufacturers Sir Henry Whitehead, Mr Gates and Mr Hill. It was located it was Johnston Street Abbotsford. Its main business at that time was spinning, using machines and skilled labour which had come out from imported Yorkshire. During the 1920s Yarra Falls expanded its business and built a weaving mill in Trenerry Street in 1928 and its administrative complex in a nearby building in Johnston Street.

In 1972 they were taken over by Claude Neon Limited.

Wallaroo - Mount Lyell Fertilisers Ltd. emerged in 1914 from the amalgamation of the Wallaroo Phosphate Company (established 1899) and the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company (established 1907). Mount Lyell had a plant at Birkenhead while Wallaroo's plant was located at Wallaroo.

Formed in 1888 as The Australasian Gas Association Ltd., it became Colonial Gas in 1893 with local founding shareholders, Melbourne engineer John Coates and Ballarat ironmonger W.H. Eyres. The firm later acquired a number of provincial gas companies throughout Australia.

The Mount Bischoff Tin Mining Company was formed in 1873 under the direction of James Smith and Launceston solicitor, William Ritchie. The company ran the Mount Bischoff Tin Mine, which struggled to survive in the early days. This was mainly due to the fact that the unmade roads which accessed the mine were almost impassable for many months of the year. Eventually a tramway was built to overcome the transport problems and the mine became a successful venture. The Mount Bischoff Tin Mining Company was also responsible for installing Tasmania's first hydro electric generating plant (1893). The power was initially used to supply lighting for the works area and the Mine Manager's residence.

Davies Coop & Company began to produce shirts and pyjamas in 1925. The company branched out into knitting in 1928, cotton spinning in 1930 and cotton weaving in 1932. Further expansion took place in 1938 when the company established a mill to manufacture condenser yarn and tyre yarn for motor-tyre fabric. In 1938 they formed Davies Coop (Flax Industries) Pty Ltd to weave flax for tarpaulins, fire hoses and canvas. In 1969 Davies Coop & Company was taken over by Bradmill Industries Limited.

Drug Houses of Australia Ltd. was established through the amalgamation of a number of leading pharmaceutical companies in 1930. Its Associated (Trading) houses were A.M. Bickford & Sons Ltd.; Elliotts & Australian Drug Pty. Ltd., Sydney; Felton, Grimwade & Duerdins Ltd., Melbourne (Felton Grimwade & Co. Ltd. of Melbourne, established 1867); Felton, Grimwade & Bickford Ltd., Perth; Taylors, Elliotts & Australian Drug Pty. Ltd. It took 21 years for complete amalgamation of 7 companies, including these, and J. Bosisto & Co. Pty. Ltd., under the D.H.A. Ltd. label. D.H.A. Ltd. continued to expand as a pharmaceutical maker and distributor until the late 1960s, and was taken over by Slater, Walker Security Ltd. in late 1968. D.H.A. Ltd. was ASX delisted from 7 May 1969. It operated as a Slater Walker Australia (SWA) subsidiary, DHA Pharmaceuticals Pty. Ltd. until 1974, when SWA phased out its wholesaling activities.

Registered in Melbourne to deal in telegraph and telephone equipment. Acquired by Philips Australia in 1970.

Wesfarmers began in June 1914 as Westralian Farmers Limited and then became Westralian Farmers Co-operative, and for most of its early history was primarily involved with the provision of services and merchandise to Western Australia’s rural community. Its early operations included wool and wheat merchandising, grain and fruit exporting, oil distribution to rural areas, as well as Western Australia’s first public radio station. In the 1950s Wesfarmers began a major diversification programme with the formation of Kleenheat Gas. Today, through acquisitions and divestments, Wesfarmers has transformed the size and shape of its business to become one of Australia’s leading retailers and diversified industrial companies.

Associated Pulp And Paper Mills Limited (APPM) formed in 1936 under the auspices of the Collins House group with the amalgamation of Paper Makers Limited and Tasmanian Paper Company, becoming a large scale paper manufacturing operation at Burnie, Tasmania. A series of takeovers together with the commencement of manufacturing in Victoria and New South Wales made APPM a prominent force within the Australian paper and timber industry. The major shareholders included North Broken Hill Ltd, Broken Hill South Ltd, Australian Glass Manufacturers, Amalgamated Zinc and WH Smith and Company. Later becoming a subsidiary of North Broken Hill, the company was sold to AMCOR in 1993.

Australia's first energy company, the Australian Gas Light Company, was established in 1837 to light the streets of Sydney. The Company has been listed on Sydney's Stock Exchange since it first opened in 1871 and has since expanded to have businesses in all Australian states, as well as in Chile, China and Poland.

The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited was incorporated in Victoria in 1885. Originally the Company was established to mine zinc, lead and silver at Broken Hill in New South Wales. Later the Company moved into steel making and oil and gas exploration. In November 2000 the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited became known as BHP Limited.

In June 2001 a merger took place between BHP Limited and Billiton. This resulted in the creation of BHP Billiton Limited.

Harden and Johnston Limited, an automobile and truck dealership, was registered in Sydney on 24 May 1928. Harden and Johnston Ltd was an importer of motor vehicles and formed relationships with Dodge Brothers in 1928 and the Chrysler Corporation in 1939 to distribute trucks and motor vehicles in Australia. In 1934 the company formed a partnership with William (Bill) Grant Buckle of Buckle Motors for distribution of Triumph, Armstrong-Siddeley, Standard, Talbot and De Soto. Rupert S. Harden, inaugural managing director, made regular business trips to the United States of America to meet with manufacturers and develop the business. He died suddenly in Detroit in December 1944. Stuart Johnston took on the role of managing director in 1945. The dealership was wound up on 10 July 1980.

In 1910, Ernest James and Walter Reginald Hume (Hume Brothers) established the Humes’ Patent Cementiron Syndicate Limited in Adelaide, which later became Hume Brothers Cement Iron Company Limited. Hume Brothers Cement Iron Company Limited operated factories in Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and abroad, manufacturing centrifugally-spun reinforced concrete pipes by methods patented by Hume Brothers. Eventually Hume Brothers Cement Iron Company Limited became the Hume Pipe Company (Australia) Limited and was incorporated in Melbourne in August 1920. Shares in Concrete Constructions Pty Limited, established in 1914, were also sold to Hume Pipe Company in 1920. Hume Pipe Company (Australia) Limited opened factories in all states of Australia and in New Zealand, manufacturing high-quality spun concrete pipes, fabricated steel products, plastics and plastic pipes and products, concrete roofing tiles and building products. Singapore Hume Pipe Company Limited was incorporated in Victoria in 1922 and operated the Hume processes in Malaya. Subsequent changes of names were Hume Pipe (Far East) Limited in 1933 and Hume Industries (Far East) Limited in 1948.
In 1923 Hume Steel Limited was formed in Victoria to operate patented processes in steel pipe and electric welding machinery. Hume Steel Limited originated the concrete lining of steel pipes, which became the accepted practice throughout the world. Steel Pipe and Lining Company (Hume) Limited was registered in Victoria in 1928 to acquire the whole of the foreign patents of Hume Steel Limited.
On 22 March 1950 the name Hume Pipe Company (Australia) Limited was changed to Humes Limited. A separate company, Hume Industries (NZ) Limited, was formed in 1951. On 1 July 1952 Hume Steel Limited went into voluntary liquidation and was taken over by Humes Limited as its Steel Division. Wunderlich Humes Asbestos Pipes Proprietary Limited was formed in August 1960, jointly owned by Humes Limited and Wunderlich Limited. In 1964 James Hardie (Asbestos) Limited took over this company; by 1965 it had been wound up. In 1988 Humes Concrete and the ‘Hume’ name were sold to CSR Limited. Smorgan’s acquired Humes that same year. In January 1990 Humes Limited changed its name to SCI Steel Limited (Smorgan Consolidated Industries).

Resch's Limited was established by Edmund Resch in 1897 when he purchased Allt's Brewery & Wine & Spirit Company. Installed by the company's creditors to manage Allt's, Resch decided to purchase Allt's Waverley Brewery (formerly the Adelaide Brewery). In 1900 Resch purchased the plant and stock of the New South Wales Lager Bier Brewing Company and his wife Caroline purchased a large property in Dowling Street, Waterloo. He closed the old Allt's Waverley Brewery in 1900. In January 1901 Resch centralised his brewing interest at the Dowling Street site and renamed it Waverley Brewery. The firm was incorporated in July 1906. Following Resch's death in 1923, his sons Edmund (Jnr) and Arnold continued to manage the company until it went into voluntary liquidation on 31 July 1929, selling their brewing interests to Tooth & Co. Tooth & Co purchased the Resch trademarks in 1930 and continued to produce "Resch's Beer". Brewing continued at the Dowling Street site until it was closed by Tooth & Co in the 1980s.

This Company was incorporated in New South Wales in November 1887 to take over and continue the businesses in Newcastle of the Castlemaine Brewery, which was carried on under Prendergast, Wood & Co, and Wood Bros & Co. The Head Office was located in Bolton Street, Newcastle with a branch at Maitland. Tooth and Company Limited acquired the brewing, wine and spirits business of Castlemaine Brewery and Wood Brothers and Co Ltd in 1921.

Datascape Information Pty Ltd is a media/information service company located in Torrens, Australian Capital Territory. This private company was founded in 1984.

Prometheus Information Pty Ltd is a computer related service company in Braddon, Australian Capital Territory. This private company was founded in August 1992.

Thomas Polk Willsallen first settled at Gunnible Station in the 1870s. The station was acquired by RA Staughton from Thomas's sons, Thomas and Percival Willsallen, in 1924.

The Left Book Club Co-operative Ltd was formed on 19 July 1988 in New South Wales. The clubs main object was to challenge the New Right ideas and to promote socialist ideas, principles and values. The first directors of the Club were Jennifer Wilkinson, Ted Wheelwright, David McKnight, Robin Gollan, Vera Deacon, Abe David, Christine Brunt (Secretrary), Allan Ashbolt, and Laurie Aarons (Chairperson).

The firm of export merchants, E WHITEAWAY & CO, began as a partnership between Edward George Lang Whiteaway, Edward Dudley Carpenter, George Stanley Proud, and Edward John Whiteaway. On 18 August 1944 George Stanley Proud retired and the firm was reorganised as E Whiteaway & Co.

In 1876 John Paterson bought out partners Henry C Palmer and Briscoe Ray in the company Paterson, Ray, Palmer and Company and with James Robert Laing (previously with Laing and Webster) as partner, formed Paterson, Laing and Company. A London office was established in 1878 in Australian Avenue, St Giles without Cripplegate. In 1879, John Monro Bruce (resident partner of George Webster and Company) became a partner with the firm assuming the name Paterson, Laing and Bruce. In 1893 the partnership included Paterson, John Robert Laing (son of James), JM Bruce, George Williamson Bruce, John Glaister Paterson, and Thomas James Amour Clark. In 1897, JM Bruce acquired the other interests and converted the business to a limited liability company, Paterson, Laing and Bruce Limited. The company was registered in London in January 1898 with two branch houses in Melbourne and London. In 1899 the businesses Lark, Sons and Company Limited (Sydney) and R Lewis and Sons (Hobart) were acquired and a Sydney office established. In July 1901 the newly formed company Paterson, Laing and Bruce (1901) Limited took over the old company, registered in England, but in November 1903 the name reverted to Paterson, Laing and Bruce Limited. In February 1966, the company merged with Robert Reid and Company Limited to form Paterson, Reid and Bruce Limited, a direct subsidiary of Ralli Australia Proprietry Limited.

The University Co-operative Credit Society Ltd, was established by staff members of the Australian National University in 1965. The union, which was formed after almost two years of preparation by a special committee, was registered under the ACT Co-operative Credit Societies Ordinance, and was controlled by a board of honorary directors. In 1996 the University Co-operative Credit Society and Credit Union Canberra merged to form the Credit Union of Canberra.

The origins of Burns, Philp and Company Limited can be traced to the partnership between James Burns and Robert Philp formed in 1876. The company was incorporated in Sydney on 21 April 1883 with Burns and Philp as joint Managing Directors until Philp resigned from the Board in 1892. By the end of the 1880s the company had branches in Townsville, Normanton, Burketown, Thursday Island, Cairns, Charters Towers, Sydney, Brisbane and London. By this date the interests of the company included merchandising, shipping with its own vessels, and as an agent for the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company (AUSN), and insurance, with the establishment of the North Queensland Insurance Company as a subsidiary in 1886. In 1886 Burns and Philp agreed to run a mail steamer from Thursday Island to Port Moresby where a branch was established in 1890. In 1889 the company diversified into plantation ownership with the formation of the Australasian New Hebrides Company which purchased about 80,000 acres of land in the New Hebrides. In the late 19th century and early 20th century the company extended its area of interest from Melanesia to the Central Pacific, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. In 1908 a branch was established in Java at Samarang and in 1915 a branch in Wellington. Burns Philp Company of San Francisco Inc was set up in June 1917. To consolidate its interests in acquiring plantations, the company formed subsidiary companies to run and manage plantations. Hall Sound Co was formed in 1900, the Solomon Island Development Co in 1908, Shortland Island Plantations Ltd in 1910, Choiseul Plantations Ltd in 1911, New Britain Plantations Ltd and New Ireland Plantations Ltd were established in 1930, and Kulon Plantations Ltd and New Hanover Plantations Ltd in 1931. The company set up subsidiaries to control geographic areas of operations, the largest being Burns Philp (South Sea) Company Limited which was incorporated in March 1920. In 1946 two other major subsidiaries were established, Burns Philp (New Hebrides) Ltd, and Burns Philp (New Guinea) Ltd. Burns Philp (Norfolk Island) Ltd was set up in 1973. In the 1930s the company moved into urban retailing and established the company Penneys Ltd which was sold to Coles in 1956. From the 1960s the company's shipping activities declined following the Commonwealth Government's decision to withdraw the shipping subsidy. The company moved into the manufacture of food and beverages, photographic and electrical goods, vehicle sales and rental, distribution of home building materials, hardware, liquor wholesaling and provision of financial investment and trustee services. Takeovers have included A J Chown Holdings Limited (1973); Yencken Glass Industries Limited (1973); Ira Berk Limited (1976); Sun Electric Consolidated Limited (1976); Mauri Bros & Thomson Limited (1982); and Nock & Kirby Holdings Ltd (1983). The company was delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange in December 2006 having been acquired by Rank Group Australia Pty Limited.

This firm of insurance brokers was established in 1886 by Archibald Benjamin Pursell and registered in 1903 as AB Pursell and Company. In 1920, by then operating in both Sydney and Brisbane, it reconstituted as AB Pursell and Sons Ltd. In 1974 the company was acquired by Manor Holdings Limited, Australia and in 1975 by Alexander Howden Insurance Brokers (Australia) Limited.

The Stock Exchange of Perth was formed to allow brokers and traders to trade stocks and bonds for companies listed in Western Australia. It formed an association with the stock exchanges in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart called the Australian Associated Stock Exchanges but remained an independent body. These six stock exchanges amalgamated on 1 April 1987 to form the Australian Stock Exchange Limited (ASX).

Founded in 1884, the company was formed to take over the original firm of William Adams & Company, wholesaler and distributor for construction equipment and engineering industries. Incorporated in New South Wales on 5 September 1912 William Adams and Company Limited soon became one of Australia's leading distributor's of steel and aluminium, machine tools, power transmission equipment, earthmoving and materials handling equipment, facsimile transceivers and telephone answering equipment. Following a successful bid by Tubemakers of Australia Limited, the company was removed from the Stock Exchange on 7 December 1983.

In 1854, Captain Thomas Stephenson Rountree and Thomas Sutcliffe Mort acquired an area at the south-western end of Waterview Bay and began excavations to create a dry dock. Mort's Dock opened in March 1855 receiving its first ship for repair. In 1867, Mort's Dock became principally an engineering facility: including the construction of steam locomotives, ship machinery, mining equipment and steel pipe for the Sydney Water Board. The Mort's Dock and Engineering Company was formed as a public company in 1872, but Thomas Mort immediately withdrew from active participation in 1973, and the management devolved to dock manager James Peter Franki. In 1875 the company was incorporated with limited liability. Ship construction and repairs continued at the dry dock and surrounds, and in 1901 the company opened a second dry dock and slipway at Woolwich to cater for commercial vessels and ferries. Mort’s Dock and Engineering Company Ltd finally closed on 12 November 1958 and in 1959 went into liquidation.

Elmina Station, in the Morven and Wyandra districts of Queensland, was acquired in 1894 by the Fletcher Brothers partnership consisting of Ernest Charles Fletcher, John Erling Fletcher, Eliza Lavinia Fletcher, Ida Constance Wilkinson (nee Fletcher) and Mona May Fletcher. This partnership also owned Ularunda Station near Morven, Queensland. When the partnership split in 1922, Elmina was taken by J E Fletcher & Co whose members were J E Fletcher, M E Fletcher and M M Fletcher. In 1923, the station was sold to Baker Brothers Ltd, a partnership of the brothers Herbert E, Reginald A, and Thomas O Baker.

The land at Lake Victoria Station was first taken up in 1847 by George Melrose and the homestead constructed in 1880. From around 1884 to 1895 the station was owned by Robert Tully and Co, and managed by J Armstrong. During the 1890s its proprietors commenced moving the activity centre of the station to the outstation Nulla Nulla, and by early 1920s most activity had been relocated to Nulla Nulla Station where stock was held. Later proprietors of the station included A M L & F Co Ltd (1897); A Armstrong (1903 - 1917); Armstrong Pty Ltd (1919 - 1925); Armstrong Pastoral Co Ltd (1927 - 1931); A Armstrong Pty Ltd (1933 - 1946); Lake Victoria Proprietors (1949 - ).

H B Selby Australia Limited was registered in Melbourne on 11 April 1949 as a public company and holding company for the Sydney and Melbourne businesses of H B Selby & Company Pty Ltd, importers and suppliers of scientific instruments, laboratory apparatus, chemicals and industrial and process control equipment. During 1982-83, when Selbys succumbed to a triple takeover by Warburton O’Donnell, Comeng Holdings Ltd, then Australian National Industries (ANI), its operating subsidiaries were Selbys Scientific Ltd and Analite Pty Ltd. The Selby name continued through further changes of ownership until 2002, when, as part of the Biolab Group, it was finally dropped.

Analite Pty Ltd, a laboratory equipment manufacturing business established in 1946 by Esmond Selby, Managing Director of the Sydney office of H B Selby & Company Pty Ltd, became a subsidiary of H B Selby Australia Limited in May 1951. Among Analite’s the more notable achievements was the development of sets of one-piece non-magnetic stainless steel analytical masses, accurate enough to be certified by the National Standards Laboratory. In 1982-83 H B Selby Australia Ltd succumbed to a triple takeover, firstly by Warburton O’Donnell, then by Comeng Holdings Ltd and, lastly, by Australian National Industries (ANI). Analite continued as a subsidiary of Australian National Industries until September 1984 when, due to declining profits and competition from overseas markets, it was wound up altogether.

The success of H B Selby Australia Limited in the 1950s encouraged the Directors to consider opening a business in New Zealand. In March 1962 Selbys purchased an existing New Zealand scientific apparatus, testing equipment and chemicals manufacturing company - George W Wilton & Company Limited - with offices in Wellington and Auckland. In the 1970s other small branches were opened in Christchurch and Dunedin. The Wilton name was retained for the business until 1976 when George W Wilton & Company Limited was changed to Selby-Wilton Scientific Limited. Smith Biolab Limited acquired Selby-Wilton Scientific Limited in 1980.

Selbys Scientific Limited was incorporated on 1 July 1974 to take over the trading activities of H B Selby and Company Pty Ltd, Melbourne and H B Selby and Company Pty Ltd, Sydney which, although subsidiaries of H B Selby Australia Ltd had been allowed to operate as distinct entities. In 1983 the Board of Selbys Scientific was disbanded and Selbys became a division of the Australian National Industries (ANI) Corporation in 1983.

The firm, which specialised in the manufacture, import and supply of scientific instruments, laboratory apparatus, chemicals and industrial and process control equipment, was founded in Melbourne around 1889 by Carl de Beer and traded under the name of his brother Ernest de Beer and Company. Herbert B Silberberg joined the de Beer partnership in 1903 and, later in the same year, bought the de Beers’ shares in the business. Silberberg carried on as de Beer, Silberberg & Company for four months, after which he changed the name to H B Silberberg & Company. In 1912, with the company operating successfully in Melbourne, H B Silberberg and his family established a new business of the same name in Sydney. During the Great War, 1914-18, the German-sounding name ‘Silberberg’ became a liability. The family changed its name to Selby and by 1917 both Sydney and Melbourne businesses were trading as H B Selby & Company. Esmond Selby joined the Sydney business in 1929 and later became its Managing Director. Benn Selby joined the Melbourne business in 1936 and became its Managing Director. Although brought under the ownership of a holding company (H B Selby Australia Limited) in 1949, H B Selby & Company Pty Ltd, Melbourne and Sydney, continued to operate as distinct entities until July 1974 when they became subsidiaries of a new holding company, Selbys Scientific Limited. In 1982-83 H B Selby Australia Ltd (and subsidiaries Selbys Scientific Ltd and Analite Pty Ltd) succumbed to a triple takeover, firstly by Warburton O’Donnell, then by Comeng Holdings Ltd and, lastly, by Australian National Industries (ANI). The Selby name continued through further changes of ownership until 2002, when, as part of the Biolab Group, it was finally dropped.

The Sydney Stock Exchange was formed to allow brokers and traders to trade stocks and bonds for companies listed in New South Wales. It formed an association with the stock exchanges in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane Perth and Hobart called the Australian Associated Stock Exchanges but remained an independent body. These six stock exchanges amalgamated on 1 April 1987 to form the Australian Stock Exchange Limited (ASX)

ANUTECH Pty Ltd, a company wholly owned by the University and registered on 31 August 1979, was originally formed to manage the Solar Power Station project at White Cliffs, New South Wales. It then took on additional roles to promote the application of discoveries and inventions originating in the University, and activities such as the manufacture and sale or lease of specialised equipment and computer software. It changed its name in 2003 to ANU Enterprise Pty Ltd.

Tarong Station was first settled by John James Malcolm Borthwick soon after the area around Nanango was settled in 1846. George Clapperton was superintendent at Tarong for Borthwick, and purchased the property from Borthwick in 1857. At the time of his death in 1875, Clapperton owned Tarong, Barambah and Nanango Stations. His wife sold Barambah in 1876 and Nanango in 1878. She later married William A Wilson and they continued to manage Tarong Staton until George Clapperton's son T A Clapperton took over Tarong Station. T A Clapperton remained the proprietor until his death in the 1950s.

The area around Nanango was settled in 1846 after the opening of Queensland to free settlement. Nanango Station was established by William Elliot Oliver, and later owned by Bryce Thomson Barker. In a letter dated 30 January 1861 Barker offered to sell Nanango Station to George Clapperton, who had worked at the station. After Clapperton's death in 1875, his wife sold Nanango station. From 1895 to around 1921, John and James Millis are listed as station proprietors.

The pharmacy was established by E W Watts in 1913 'close to the School of Arts in Epping'. It was operated by Keith Radford Woodlands (1902-1972) from the early 1930s. It is located at 36 Langston Place, Epping, near the railway station.

In the early 1850s James McEwan and John Houston, recent emigrants to Australia from Great Britain, began trading at 79 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, supplying goods to storekeepers on the Victorian goldfields. Other premises were leased at 171 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne and in Geelong. In 1855 the partnership between Houston and McEwan was dissolved and James McEwan established a wholesale and retail ironmongery business, his suppliers being William Kerr Thomson and Samuel Renwick in England. When Mr McEwan died suddenly, in 1868, whilst holidaying in the south of France, Messrs Thomson and Renwick carried on the business under the name of ‘James McEwan & Company Limited’. In 1870 a new four-storey store was opened on the corner of Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets, Melbourne. James McEwan & Company Limited traded as a private company until 1887 when it was incorporated as a public company and floated on the London Stock Exchange. Following the deaths of both Renwick, in 1888, and Thomson, in 1893, James McEwan & Company Limited suffered severe financial hardship. The London Bank of Australia acquired the Company in 1905. Then, in 1910, the London Bank of Australia sold James McEwan & Company Pty Ltd to Hon. Thomas Luxton and his sons, Thomas James and Harold Daniel, who, together with Kenneth Clark and J Rippin, were also shareholders of McLean Brothers and Rigg Pty Ltd. James McEwan & Company and McLean Brothers and Rigg Pty Ltd were amalgamated in 1910. McEwan’s Limited was formed in 1927 to acquire the shares of James McEwan & Company Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries. The Directors of McEwan’s Limited were Sir Harold Daniel Luxton (Chairman), Thomas James Luxton, FP Derham, Thomas Luxton Jnr and NF Coles. In 1951 McEwan’s Limited was floated as a public company and listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange. By 1965 McEwan’s had moved its main city store from the corner of Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets to Bourke Street, Melbourne. The Bourke Street store was operated by the principal subsidiary, James McEwan & Company Pty Ltd. Around this time other McEwan’s stores were established in the suburbs of Melbourne - Camberwell (1966), Clayton (1961), Croydon (1964), Dandenong (1964), Footscray (1966), Frankston (1970), Geelong (1966), Moonee Ponds (1963), Niddrie (1973) and Sunshine (1974) - as well as in Victorian regional shopping centres at Brandon Park (1970), Chadstone (1960), Doncaster Shopping Town (1969), Forest Hill (1964), Northland (1966), Southland (1968) and High Point West (1975). In 1970 the first of McEwan’s ‘Magnet’ discount hardware and timber stores was opened on a four-acre site in the outer Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully. This store was a pilot for a proposed chain of discount stores. In 1972 a second Magnet store was opened in Thomastown, also on the outskirts of Melbourne with additional stores being established at Eltham, Parkmore Shopping Centre and Corio. ‘Magnet’ stores sold a limited range of traditional McEwan’s merchandise plus other goods which McEwan’s stores did not carry. Other than Parkmore and Eltham, each centre also included a nursery and garden centre which opened on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. Through McEwan’s (Mildura) Pty Ltd the company operated two stores in Mildura and one at Red Cliffs in the north-west of Victoria. In Queensland the subsidiary, Williams McEwan’s Pty Ltd, had stores at Burleigh Heads and Southport. Another subsidiary, Brittains McEwan’s Pty Ltd (acquired in 1969), operated three stores in Brisbane. McEwan’s had now become one of the largest merchants of its kind, specialising in hardware and builders’ supplies. It had 23 stores in Victoria, 5 in Queensland and 2 in the Australian Capital Territory. In 1979 Repco Limited acquired 31.28% of McEwan’s Limited’s ordinary shares and in 1980 McEwan’s and Magnet Stores combined to trade as a single entity – McEwan’s. By 1980 the operating subsidiaries of McEwan’s Limited were - James McEwan & Company Pty Ltd, McEwan’s (Mildura) Pty Ltd, McEwan’s Queensland Pty Ltd, Three Eight Seven Pty Ltd, Brittains McEwan’s Pty Ltd and Neton Products Pty Ltd. Following a successful takeover bid by Repco Limited, McEwan’s Limited was delisted from the Stock Exchange on 28 July 1982.

The deed of settlement of the Bank of Adelaide was established in 1865. In 1980 the Bank of Adelaide merged with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

The Sunday Figaro was a newspaper distributed in Kalgoorlie. It was printed and published by Wallace Nelson, Jr. for 'Figaro' Syndicate.

The first edition of the Maitland Mercury was published on Saturday, 7 January 1843 as a weekly paper. From 1 January 1846 the Mercury was published twice weekly on Wednesday and Saturday. After 50 years of steady growth in 1894, the Mercury was published as an afternoon daily for 95 years until 5 June 1989 when the Mercury became a morning daily.

On 2 September 1929, British-based Lever Brothers and the Dutch union of fats and oils businesses, Margarine Unie, signed an agreement to create Unilever. Unilever developed in Australia from an association, in 1924, between major soap making companies Lever Brothers Ltd of Sydney, J Kitchen & Sons Pty Ltd of Melbourne and WH Burford & Sons Ltd of Adelaide. Gradually these companies moved into the edible oils and fats market, then into the foods, ice cream and personal products sections of business as well as chemicals, printing and distribution. This Lever-Kitchen-Burford association continued as a relatively static enterprise for more than thirty years. Little attempt was made by Unilever to rationalise the separate marketing identities; internal competition persisted. Then, in 1956, all Unilever’s Australian businesses were merged under the one banner – Unilever (Australia) Pty Ltd (UAPL). The UAPL Board’s responsibility included the general supervision of the operating companies – Lever & Kitchen, Rosella Foods, Edible Oil Industries, Streets Ice Cream, Rexona, Lintas, SPD Transport, Beacon Research, Unilever Australia Export and, briefly, Hillcastle (NZ), formerly Eugene NZ Ltd. Unilever House was opened, in 1958, at 1-33 Macquarie Street, Sydney, to accommodate a new centralised management structure. In 1961 Unilever’s Australian interests were grouped under a holding company, Unilever Australia (Holdings) Pty Ltd, which operated through its main subsidiary, Unilever Australia Ltd. From 1 January 1970 the UAPL Board was replaced by National Management comprising Unilever Australia (Holdings) Pty Ltd directors. By 1983 Unilever in Australia was represented by a group of companies producing and marketing a wide variety of consumer goods, industrial products and related services - John West Foods Pty Ltd, Unilever Australia Export Pty Ltd, Unifood Services Pty Ltd, Unichema Australia Pty Ltd, Streets Ice Cream Pty Ltd, Rosella Lipton Pty Ltd, Rexona Pty Ltd, Lever & Kitchen Pty Ltd, Edible Oil Industries (EOI) Pty Ltd. Most of the operating companies had their own Boards of Directors, all reporting to the Chairman of Unilever Australia Ltd.

The Colonial Sugar Refining Company was founded on 1 January 1855 by Sir Edward Knox. It was formed in Sydney as a partnership of unlimited liability which took over some of the assets of the Australasian Sugar Company and Robey and Company including sugar stocks and the Brisbane House refinery and distillery. On 1 June 1857 the Colonial Sugar Refining Company shareholders and Victorian business interests formed an associate company – the Victorian Sugar Company – to establish a refinery and distillery in Melbourne. From 1869-70, three large sugar mills were built and operated on the Macleay and Clarence rivers, New South Wales. A new sugar refinery opened in Pyrmont, Sydney, and from 16 February 1878 Pyrmont became the New South Wales refinery. In 1880 Knox handed over the general management of the company to his second son Edward William.

In 1882 the company began sugar production in Fiji with crushing at the Nausori mill. The company also introduced a system of chemical control of processes in its mills. In 1886, Rarawai mill in Fiji , built by CSR for the New Zealand Sugar Company, began crushing. From 1885-88, Dr G Knottman, CSR chemist, developed the POCS formula determining the “pure obtainable cane sugar” in cane. The Colonial Sugar Refining Company and the Victoria Sugar Company were amalgamated in 1887. The company was incorporated as a limited liability company in New South Wales on 1 July 1887 changing its name to the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited. The New Farm refinery opened in Brisbane in 1893 and in 1894, CSR’s Lambasa mill in Fiji began crushing. Crushing began at CSR’s Childers mill, near Bundaberg, Queensland, in 1895 and at the Lautoka mill in Fiji in 1903. In 1906 the remaining Kanaka workforce were deported.

In 1915 the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (Fiji and New Zealand) Limited was formed to take over the assets of the company outside Australia. This subsidiary was liquidated in 1923 and the assets returned to CSR Co Limited. I the same year, the Queensland state government signed an agreement with CSR to refine all of that state's sugar production. In 1920 the indentured labour of Indians in Fiji was cancelled on Government decree. CSR introduced a tenant-farming system in Fiji in 1924 as a possible solution to its labour problems. The company bought the Penang mill, Fiji, in 1926.

From around 1939, the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Ltd expanded into manufacturing industrial chemicals through its Industrial Chemicals Division, and building materials as early as 1942 with the construction of a plaster mill in Sydney and manufacturing plasterboard. In 1948 CSR Chemicals Limited was formed, later changing its name to CSR Chemicals Pty Ltd in January 1952. In 1959, CSR acquired an interest in Bradford Insulation. In 1973 the company name changed to CSR Limited. CSR Limited took over Australian Estates Co Ltd in 1975.

Barnet Glass (1849-1918), was a rubber importer and manufacturer of rubber garments and accessories with a factory in Melbourne. In 1894, an office was opened in London and a branch factory, the Pioneer Rubber Company in Adelaide. In 1899, the Pioneer Rubber Factory of Australia was opened at Kensington, Melbourne. In October 1900, Glass converted his business into a company, Barnet Glass & Sons Proprietary Limited. In 1905, the company was bought by the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia Limited.

Barnet Glass then built a factory and plant in Footscray, and began work as Glass & Co. In 1908 the firm was converted into a public company, Barnet Glass Rubber Company Limited. As well as manufacturing rubber, the company were agents for Michelin tyres. By 1918 Glass had branches in every Australian State and in New Zealand. In 1929 Barnet Glass Rubber Company Limited also merged with the Dunlop Rubber Company. Barnet Glass Co. manufactured and traded as a separate organization until 1937, when its manufacturing activities at Footscray were transferred to the Dunlop factories.

Founded by Melbourne-born swimming champion and businessman (Sir) Frank Beaurepaire (1891-1956), the Olympic brand was one of the most successful Australian-made tyre products. After establishing a tyre retreading business, Advanx Tyre Repair Company in William Street, Sydney during 1920, Beaurepaire returned to Melbourne in late 1922 and opened a new business in Latrobe St, Beaurepaire Tyre Service, specialising in retreads. Beaurepaire established a tyre manufacturing plant in Cross Street, West Footscray in 1933. To capitalise on Beaurepaire's public image as an Olympic swimming hero, the firm was named the Olympic Tyre and Rubber Company. Production began in 1934 and the new firm survived despite fierce discounting by Dunlop and Goodyear as Olympic tyres soon gained a good reputation with motorists. Beaurepaire Tyre Service branches continued as a separate arm of the business. During the Second World War, manufacture of insulated electrical cables began and Olympic Cables Limited was formed in 1946 as another branch of the business. By the 1950s the name of the parent firm was Olympic Consolidated Industries. Increased competition and changes to tariff protection eventually led to the merger of Olympic and Dunlop in 1980, with the new company named Dunlop Olympic Tyres Proprietary Limited.

In 1888, John Boyd Dunlop invented the pneumatic bicycle tyre, forming the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company in Dublin in 1889. In 1893, the Company opened a branch office and factory in Melbourne's Chinatown district. In 1899, a Canadian syndicate purchased the Australasian rights from the UK Company and floated the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia Limited in Victoria on 30 August 1899. In 1905 the Company purchased its main rival Barnet Glass & Sons Proprietary Limited. In 1908, Barnet Glass created another public company, Barnet Glass Rubber Company Limited which also merged with Dunlop in 1929, being fully absorbed in 1937. On 16 August 1920 the company changed its name to the Dunlop Rubber Company of Australia Limited and became a listed public company on the Melbourne Stock Exchange, and since then has remained the parent company of the group. After merging with the Perdriau Rubber Company in 1929, the company adopted the name Dunlop Perdriau Limited, which changed to Dunlop Australia Limited in 1967. In 1980, the company acquired Olympic Consolidated Industries and a half-share in Olex Cables (which became a wholly-owned subsidiary in 1981). To reflect this merger, the name of the company was changed to Dunlop Olympic Limited.

J B Were and Son was founded by Jonathan Binns Were who commenced business as a merchant and shipping agent soon after he arrived at the Port Phillip settlement from England in November 1839. He was one of the founders of the Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the first Stock Exchange in Melbourne in 1859. Known as Were Brothers and Company from 1840, the company adopted the title J B Were and Son on 1 October 1861. On J B Were's death in 1885, his son Francis Wellington Were was senior partner until 1916 when control passed to Francis Joseph Fleming, William Foster Geach and Staniforth Ricketson, a great grandson of J B Were. In 1943 John Goodhall and Company merged with J B Were and Son. The company listed its services to clients in 1954 as: Commonwealth bonds, public body loans, underwriting, venture capital, brokerage and research. The company is now called JBWere Limited.

Sugar Australia Pty Limited was established in 1998 as a joint venture between CSR Limited (50% share), Mackay Sugar Co-operative Association Limited (25% share), and ED&F Mann (25% share). The company was registered on 10 February 1998 with a registered office in Yarraville, Victoria. In 2004, CSR purchased ED&F Mann's share of the joint venture.

Pilbara Iron Limited was established in 1965 with a registered office in Sydney and site facilities at Newman and Port Hedland. The company, a subsidiary of CSR Limited, held an interest in the Mt Newman iron ore project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Mt Newman iron ore project was an international joint venture in Western Australia 1964-1985. CSR through its subsidiary was a member from the project's beginning until 1986.

The company was affiliated with the United Licensed Victuallers Association and its successor the Australian Hotels Association, New South Wales branch. The company was registered in New South Wales on 12 December 1933 as the ULVA Sporting News Pty Ltd and changed its name in 1935 to ULVA Publications Pty Ltd. In 1935 the ULVA purchased the 'Licensed Victuallers' Gazette', changing its name to the 'ULVA Review'. When ULVA became AHA (NSW) in 1959, the company changed its name to AHA Publications Pty Ltd. It was deregistered on 27 February 1992.

H Beecham and Company Pty Ltd was registered in Victoria on 24 June 1914. In December 1969 the company was acquired by J Wright & Sons Pty Ltd, trading under the new name Beecham-Wright Pty Ltd.

The company was registered on 21 February 2000 in Victoria. Its head office is in Melbourne and it has offices in Sydney, Canberra and Auckland. Its Canberra office is the centre of its video and DVD distribution operations.

The company was registered on 3 December 1926 and deregistered on 2 June 1994.

The AIDS Trust of Australia was established in 1987 to raise funds and distribute them to state, regional and community organisations that deliver awareness, education, prevention, support, care and social research programs relating to Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). The trust coordinates national awareness campaigns linking to national, state and territory fundraising initiatives and holds an annual fundraising event, the Sydney Food and Wine Fair. The company National AIDS Fundraising Limited is the sole trustee of the AIDS Trust of Australia and manages its activities and operations.

Magnus, Nankervis and Curl was a Sydney-based advertising agency formed in 1976 which held a contract with the Commonwealth Department of Community Services and Health to devise advertising campaigns for the National AIDS Education Program from 1987 to 1990. It was acquired by Foote, Cone and Belding Communications, Chicago in August 1994 and the three principals Chief Executive Officer Michael Magnus, Creative Director John Nankervis and Head of Art Ted Curl left the agency in 1998.

The Australian Associated Stock Exchanges (AASE) was established in 1937. Since 1903 the state stock exchanges had met on an informal basis, but in 1936 Sydney took the lead in formalising the association. Initially this involved the Exchanges in Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart and Sydney. Melbourne and Perth joined soon after. Through the AASE the Exchanges gradually brought in common listing requirements for companies and uniform brokerage and other rules for stockbroking firms. They also set the ground rules for commissions and the flotation of government and semi-government loan raisings.

The Stock Exchange of Adelaide was formed to allow brokers and traders to trade stocks and bonds for companies listed in South Australia. It formed an association with the stock exchanges in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Perth and Hobart called the Australian Associated Stock Exchanges but remained an independent body. These six stock exchanges amalgamated on 1 April 1987 to form the Australian Stock Exchange Limited (ASX).

The Stock Exchange of Hobart was formed to allow brokers and traders to trade stocks and bonds for companies listed in Tasmania. It formed an association with the stock exchanges in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Perth and Adelaide called the Australian Associated Stock Exchanges but remained an independent body. These six stock exchanges amalgamated on 1 April 1987 to form the Australian Stock Exchange Limited (ASX)

The firm of J Wright & Sons was established in 1853 as a partnership between Adam Anderson, James Wright and John Sharp and continued until 1864 when John Sharp branched out to form John Sharp & Sons Pty Ltd. Adam Anderson retired ten years later and the firm continued with the Wright family. Originally timber importers and merchants, the company expanded its activities to include reafforestation, silviculture, seed development, timber milling, and importing and distributing motor vehicles. From June 1949 the company's name changed to J Wright & Sons Pty Ltd. In 1956 the company took over B R Boon Pty Ltd, later the Carron Timber Company Pty Ltd. The firm acquired Somerville Joinery and Timber Mills Pty Ltd in 1958, H Beecham & Co Ltd in 1969 then trading as Beecham-Wright Pty Ltd, and the Victorian operations of the Kauri Timber Co Limited in 1978. The company's other subsidiaries included J Wright & Sons (Aust) Pty Ltd, H Beecham & Co Ltd, M W Motors Pty Ltd, H R Ryall & Co Pty Ltd, Victree Forests Pty Ltd, Victree (Stawell) Pty Ltd, and Victree Timber Products Pty Ltd. In February 1999 the company went into receivership but has since been reregistered.

In 1925, the Bodalla Cheese Co-operative Society Ltd was formed being a combination of the farmers working on the Bodalla Estate and the Bodalla Company. The Co-operative purchased two of the Company’s cheese factories and continued the tradition of cheese-making that had been pioneered in the early days. Bodalla village was sold off in 1926 to most of the occupiers of the buildings. The Bodalla Cheese Factory was built in 1954 and closed in 1987 owing to lack of milk supply and production costs.

The Bodalla Company was formed in 1887 by the Executors and Trustees of the Will of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort, who died in 1878, to run this pastoral estate for the beneficiaries (mainly members of his immediate family) under the terms of his will. It is situated on the South Coast of N.S.W., south of Moruya and originally comprised about 13,000 acres when acquired by T.S. Mort in 1856 from John Hawdon. Mort purchased a further 4,000 acres of the neighbouring property, Comerang, from Philip Jeffrey, which became the home farm and the house Mort’s country home. The estate eventually totalled 56,000 acres. Mort had developed the property as a mixture of dairy cattle and agriculture, draining land, clearing heavy timber and fencing and installing tenant farmers. He increased his herd of dairy Shorthorns and began dairy production in 1861. A three-storey cheese factory was built at Comerang in 1874. Mort originally worked the property on a share-farming system, but in the early 1870s he took back the whole estate and ran it as three farms with hired workers. Mort took interest in several areas, developing methods of getting milk, butter and cheese to market, investing in refrigeration, developing piggeries and promoting the use of maize in bread manufacture leading to the establishment of a corn flour mill at Merimbula.
When the main road crossing of the Tuross River was moved from Widget to Trinketabella, Mort moved the Bodalla village to its present site in 1870.
Mort had 10 children, 8 children from his first marriage to Theresa Shepheard née Laidley and 2 sons from his second marriage to Marianne Elizabeth Macaulay.
In his will Mort appointed as trustees of his estate his wife Marianne Elizabeth Mort, his eldest son James Laidley (Laidley) Mort (who later renounced his trusteeship) and his friends Benjamin Buchanan, Leslie G. Herring and Charles James Manning. The Bodalla Company was incorporated on 23 July 1887, under the ‘Bodalla Estate Act’, to put on a business footing the main asset of the Estate. The capital was £200,000 divided into 2,000 shares of £100 each, although this was later reduced to £85. By the Act, the beneficiaries were given one-tenth shares in the Bodalla Company, the shares for the younger sons being held in trust.

The People's Printing and Publishing Company of Western Australia published the union newspaper 'The Westralian Worker'. John Curtin, a future prime minister, was editor of the newspaper from 1917 to 1928. By 1958, the company was known as the Westland Broadcasting Company.

Labor Papers Limited published the Australian Workers' Union newspaper, The Australian Worker. It formed in 1910 with John Christian Watson, former prime minister, as its initial chairman of directors and from 1914 its Managing Director. He resigned in 1916 over his support for conscription. The company was deregistered in 1965 as Labor Newspapers Limited.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort died in May 1878 at his home on the South Coast of New South Wales, Comerang House, Bodalla. By his will, dated 28 February 1878, he left his property to his wife and children, in trust for those under the age of 24. The Will appointed as Trustees his wife, Marianne Elizabeth Mort, his eldest son, James Laidley Mort and T. S. Mort's friends Benjamin Buchanan, Lesley G. Herring and Charles James Manning. Laidley Mort later renounced his Trusteeship. Marianne Elizabeth Mort continued to take an active interest in the affairs of the Estate for many years. She died on 7 October 1909.

Wright Heaton & Co Limited was founded in 1862 and was incorporated in New South Wales on 2 March 1880. The company was formed to merge the New South Wales partnership of Wright Heaton Barber & Co, formed in 1875, with the Victorian company William McCulloch & Co Limited. The company was listed on the Sydney Stock Exchange in 1896. In 1898 it bought the Melbourne firm McCulloch Carrying Company Proprietary Limited and its subsidiary Murray River Sawmills Limited. By 1900 the company had branches in 29 towns in New South Wales and four in Queensland. In 1909 the Queensland branches closed and the Queensland company liquidated. In the late 19th century its business was chiefly carrying wool produced in NSW, and through the McCulloch subsidiary it operated a large fleet of barges on the Murray River. The company diversified into farm produce and by the 1950s was chiefly a wholesale chain-grocer with 30 branches in NSW and 2 in Victoria. During the 1960s and early 1970s the company added subsidiaries by acquiring Miller's Stores, Worsley Foods Pty Ltd, Willarene Distributors Pty Ltd and Hussar Pty Limited. In 1977 Wright Heaton & Co Limited was acquired by Tooth & Co Limited. At the time the company had five subsidiaries: Wright Heaton Stores Pty Ltd, Wright McCulloch Pty Ltd, Worsley Foods Pty Ltd, Wright Heaton Rural Pty Ltd and Wright Heaton Distributors Pty Ltd. The company became a subsidiary of Tooth & Co Limited and was delisted from the Stock Exchange in 1978.

The Adelaide steamship Company was incorporated in Adelaide, South Australia, on 8 October 1875. The company began by chartering the steamer Flinders and commissioning new ships from British builders. The company joined the Steamship Owners' Association during the 1880s and was liquidated and reconstructed in 1900 and 1920 for more efficiency and profitability. During the 1940s the company experienced a decline in trade and began to acquire interests in other companies and projects. On 1 January 1964 the company's interstate fleet was merged with that of McIlwraith McEarcharn Ltd in a new company, Associated Steamships Limited in which Adelaide Steamship had a 40% share. These shares were bought by Bulkships Limited in 1965. In 1968 Adelaide Steamship Industries Pty Ltd was formed to concentrate the main trading activities of the company within one subsidiary. By 1977 the company had finished its involvement with shipowning and operating. At this time it had diversified into investment and property ownership, vineyard and wine production and optical goods manufacture, distribution and engineering. The company became known as Residual Assco on 30 April 1997 and is currently delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange.

In 1962 Unilever amalgamated its two major soap marketing companies, J Kitchen & Sons Pty Ltd of Melbourne and Lever Brothers Pty Ltd of Sydney, to form Lever & Kitchen Pty Ltd. Lever & Kitchen became Unilever Australia’s major marketing company for branded soaps, synthetic detergents and allied products. Prior to 1962 Unilever’s production of detergents in Australia had taken place at Balmain (Lever Brothers) and Port Melbourne (J Kitchen & Sons). After 1965 Balmain became the sole manufacturing centre for all detergents, toilet preparations, edible oils and cooking fats - each having its own separate factory. Consumer demand for Lever & Kitchen’s products increased steadily and, as there was no space for further expansion at the Balmain site, a decision was made to buy land at Minto and to erect a new factory there. Initially this was for the manufacture and packaging of washing powders and, in 1979, Lever & Kitchen began production of its powder products, including Omo, Omomatic, Surf, Drive, Softly and Rinso from the new factory at Minto. As new or additional plant was needed for other products in the company’s range, in 1987, another factory was opened at Minto to manufacture liquid detergents (washing up liquids such as Sunlight Liquid, Lux Liquid and Kit), fabric softener (Comfort), floor cleaner (Handy Andy) and scourers (Jif and Vim). Also manufactured at Minto were toilet soaps (Lux Toilet Soap, Sunlight Toilet Soap), laundry soap (Sunlight) and flakes (Lux Flakes). The Balmain site was sold in 1988 and many of the production lines were transferred directly to Port Melbourne. By 1989, after renovations at the old John Kitchen detergent building at Port Melbourne, the factory was responsible for the production of all Lever & Kitchen soaps.In 1989 the home and personal care business of Lever and Kitchen Pty Ltd merged with Rexona Pty Ltd to form L&K:Rexona with its Head Office located at North Rocks, Sydney.The company changed name in 1993 to Lever Rexona and, in 2000, merged with Unilever Foods to form what was to become known as Unilever Australasia.

William Burford founded his soap and candle-making business at Grenfell Street, Adelaide in 1840. He took his two sons, Benjamin and William, into partnership in 1878 and the firm became known as WH Burford & Sons. In 1885 the business transferred to Sturt Street, where, under the directorship of William Burford (jnr), it flourished. Apart from making candles and soap and rendering tallow, WH Burford & Sons began manufacturing other products such as glycerine, blacking, soda crystals, washing blue, lubricating oils, fire kindlers, egg preserver, starch, cornflour and dried gluten. In 1887 the firm purchased the Apollo Works at Hindmarsh and in 1888, Frearson Brothers’ printing business, also in Hindmarsh. Other branches were established at Broken Hill, Port Pirie, Kadina, Port Augusta, Mount Gambier, and at North Fremantle and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia so that, by the time of the first world war (1914-18), WH Burford & Sons dominated the soap and candle market in most of the southern and western part of Australia. A large portion of the Sturt Street factory was destroyed by fire in 1919 which prompted the construction of a more modern factory at Dry Creek. The Dry Creek factory opened in 1923 and became the centre for Burford’s operations in the Adelaide area. In 1924 J Kitchen and Sons in Melbourne and Lever Brothers in Sydney merged with WH Burford & Sons to form Australian Producers Co-Partnership Ltd (renamed Associated Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1932, Lever Associated Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1944). The activities of the individual companies were coordinated by a General (Central) Management Board, comprising representatives of Lever Brothers in Balmain, the Kitchen interests and Levers Pacific Plantations. Unilever developed in Australia from this basis. During the 1930s WH Burford & Sons and J Kitchen and Sons undertook a far-reaching rationalisation scheme. It originated in 1928 after a disastrous fire in the Kitchen factory in Fremantle. Burford’s, Kitchen’s main rivals, were turned to for assistance. Kitchen’s goods were made at the Burford factory, then packed and sold by the Kitchen organisation. The scheme worked well and, in 1932, the Directors of both J Kitchen & Sons and WH Burford & Sons formed a new company, Soap Distributors Ltd, to control the manufacture and distribution of both companies’ products in southern and western Australia. By 1937 all Burford-owned factories were being run by J Kitchen & Sons Pty Ltd. In 1945 Unilever began a period of rationalisation, diversification and integration in Australia. From 1948 production at the Burford factory in Adelaide was wound down and in 1956 Unilever (Australia) Pty Ltd (UAPL) took over Lever Associated Enterprises Pty Ltd as the holding company for all Unilever’s Australian interests. Factories owned by the operating companies, including Burford’s, came under its control. Unilever (Australia) bought out WH Burford & Sons completely in 1957.

Lever Brothers, one of the first companies to manufacture soap from vegetable oils, was founded by William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James Darcy Lever in England, in 1885. Lever gave the soap the brand name of ‘Sunlight’ and sold it wrapped in distinctive packs. In 1889 Lever Brothers opened an office in Sydney and products manufactured in England were imported into Australia and sold, mainly through agents. In return, copra from the Pacific islands and Australian tallow, were shipped, as raw materials, to the company’s works at Port Sunlight. In 1897 an oil and copra plant was established at Balmain, Sydney, and, in 1900, the Balmain plant began to manufacture Sunlight soap and glycerine. Other products followed. Lever Brothers Ltd (Australia) had been incorporated in New South Wales as an Australian enterprise, 29 December 1899, and the soap works and copra mill at Balmain were owned by the new company. Lever’s Australian business developed into a stable soap, detergent and edible oil manufacturing enterprise, built up by mergers with dominant rivals. The first branch office of Lever Bothers Ltd (Australia) was opened in Melbourne in 1911 and by 1924 branch offices had replaced agents’ offices in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Lever Brothers (Australia) Ltd began an association with J Kitchen and Sons Pty Ltd of Melbourne and WH Burford and Sons Ltd of Adelaide, in 1914 and in 1924 all three merged to form Australian Producers Co-Partnership Ltd (renamed Associated Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1932 and Lever Associated Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1944). The business activities of each firm were coordinated by a General (Central) Management Board, comprising representatives of Lever Brothers in Balmain, the Kitchen interests and Levers Pacific Plantations. After the amalgamation of Lever Brothers and Unilever was complete, in 1937, Lever Bothers Ltd (Australia) became Lever Bothers Pty Ltd (Australia). In 1956 Unilever (Australia) Pty Ltd (UAPL) took over Lever Associated Enterprises Pty Ltd as the holding company for all Unilever’s Australian interests, including Lever Bothers Pty Ltd. Then, in 1962, following a further period of rationalisation, diversification and integration, Unilever amalgamated its two major Australian soap marketing companies, J Kitchen & Sons Pty Ltd of Melbourne and Lever Brothers Pty Ltd of Sydney to form Lever & Kitchen Pty Ltd.