Ernest Hillier Chocolates is an Australian

chocolatier A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. Education and training Traditionally, chocolatiers, e ...

. Founded in 1914, it is Australia's first chocolate manufacturer, and its oldest privately owned chocolatier is still in operation. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, and produces over six hundred chocolate products.

History

Ernest Hillier moved from England to San Francisco, California, United States, in the early 1900s to learn the

confectionery Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

and soda trade. There, he and his Australian-born wife, Magdalen May, opened several restaurants; however, the majority of their establishments were destroyed in the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

. The Hilliers subsequently moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1906, where Hillier began a sequence of Australian firsts. In 1911, he opened the first

soda fountain A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concent ...

in Australia, "Hillier Refreshment Services", at the Imperial Skating Rink. Because of the success of the soda fountain, Hillier was put in charge of catering at the

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government ar ...

, New South Wales. That same year he also looked after Gaut's refreshment service and a fountain shop in George Street, opposite the Central Railway Station. In 1914, Hillier opened his chocolatier business, providing locally made chocolate. Prior to this, all chocolate in Australia had to be imported from the U.S. and Europe. Because of the distance and climatic conditions, together with transport restrictions, the chocolate always arrived in poor condition. In the wake of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, chocolate sales dramatically declined in Sydney; in response, Hillier moved his business to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Hillier eventually sold the business later in life. In October 2000, Hillier purchased Australian confectionery company Newman's.

Financial Problems

Suffering financial distress, Hillier was sold to Re:Capital in 2014. The firm were unable to turn the chocolatier around and placed it in to

voluntary administration As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions, similar to bankruptcy in the United States. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry o ...

in January 2015, citing rising cocoa prices and increased competition. Hillier emerged from administration in mid-2015 and as of March 2016, was still producing chocolates from its Coburg North factory.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 37, 43, 40.7, S, 144, 57, 21.72, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title 20th-century establishments in Australia 21st century in Australia Australian chocolate companies Brand name chocolate Food and drink companies based in Melbourne Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne Privately held companies of Australia Food and drink companies established in 1914 1914 establishments in Australia Chocolateries

History

Financial Problems

See also

References

External links