George Marchant (17 November 1857 – 5 September 1941) was a
soft-drink
A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...
manufacturer and philanthropist in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia.
Early life
Marchant was born in
Brasted, Kent, England, the son of a builder and hotel keeper. As a boy he became interested in the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
. He arrived in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia on the ''Ramsey'' on 9 June 1874
at age 16 with only a few shillings. He worked as a gardener and then a
station hand
In Australia, a station is a large landholding used for producing livestock, predominantly cattle or sheep, that needs an extensive range of grazing land. The owner of a station is called a pastoralist or a grazier, corresponding to the N ...
in the country until returning to Brisbane for employment as a
carter
Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to:
Geography United States
* Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Carter, Montana, a census-designated place
* Carter, ...
in an
aerated water
Aerated water is, correctly speaking, water to which air is added.
The term is, however, frequently applied to carbonated water.
Purpose of aeration
Sulfur compounds dissolved in water are not necessarily dangerous, but can give the water a b ...
s factory.
Business life
Marchant purchased the
ginger beer
Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar.
Current ginger beers are often manufactured rather than ...
manufacturing business of John R. Palmer in
Elizabeth Street, Brisbane
Elizabeth Street is a major street in the centre of the city in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The street was one of the earliest in Brisbane being established at the beginning of settlement in Brisbane as Moreton Bay penal settlement. Today ...
in 1886.
Marchant then opened a factory in Bower Street, Spring Hill, Brisbane and his
soft-drink
A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...
business eventually became the largest in Australia, with other plants in Sydney,
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 ...
,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
.
Marchant believed in social equality and had read
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy (March 26, 1850 – May 22, 1898) was an American author, journalist, and political activist most famous for his utopian novel ''Looking Backward''. Bellamy's vision of a harmonious future world inspired the formation of numerou ...
's ''
Looking Backward
''Looking Backward: 2000–1887'' is a utopian science fiction novel by Edward Bellamy, a journalist and writer from Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts; it was first published in 1888.
The book was translated into several languages, and in short o ...
: 2000–1887''; in 1890 Marchant founded a Bellamy Society. Marchant chaired meetings which raised funds for striking workers and women in his employ were paid more than the average in the food industry. Most of the profits of his business were distributed amongst the employees.
Marchant also invented a
bottling machine that came to be used worldwide.
Philanthropy
With his wife, Mary Jane Dwyer, Marchant was the
benefactor of many charitable causes, including providing land in
Ann St for the
New Jerusalem Church and in
Chermside, where he donated his horse paddock to the Kedron Shire Council as a park. ''Marchant Park'' is named after him. A ward of the
Brisbane City Council
Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...
centred on Chermside is also named Marchant Ward.
He was a major benefactor in the establishment of the
Canberra Temperance Hotel in Brisbane, which opened in 1929.
In 1932, the Queensland Society for Crippled Children was established to care for children with severe physical disabilities arising from the polio epidemic of 1932. In September 1932, Marchant donated his home ''Montrose'' and its 5 acres of gardens at
Taringa
Taringa is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Taringa had a population of 8,376 people.
Geography
Taringa is by road south-west of the Brisbane GPO.
The suburb of Taringa borders Brisbane's Mt Coot-Tha, Indo ...
to the society to establish an institution for the care and treatment of the children. When the number of children needing care became too many to be accommodated in Montrose, Marchant purchased a property at Consort Street,
Corinda
Corinda is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Corinda had a population of 5,064 people.
History
The suburb takes its name from the Corinda railway station, which in turn was likely named after a local cattle stat ...
as a new larger facility which continued to be called Montrose (which is still in use for the care of disabled children in 2015).
Later life
Marchant's wife died in 1925, and he died 5 September 1941.
His soft drink business was purchased in 1964 by
Coca-Cola Amatil
Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of no ...
.
Awards
In 2018, George Marchant was inducted into the
Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame
In 2009 State Library of Queensland
The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Qu ...
.
References
Additional resources listed by the Australian Dictionary of Biography
*W. O. Lilley, ''Reminiscences of Life in Brisbane and Reflections and Sayings'' (Brisb,1913)
*''Queensland and Queenslanders'' (Brisb,1936)
*''Votes and Proceedings'' (Queensland), 1891, 2, p 1244
*''Queensland Digger'', 1 October 1941, p 31
*''Worker'' (Brisbane), 1 July 7 Aug, 1 Sep 1, 18 October 1890
*''Boomerang'' (Brisbane), 27 Sep 4 October 1890
*''Queenslander'', 16 July 1931
*''Sunday Mail'' (Brisbane), 7 September 1941
*''Courier Mail'' (Brisbane), 8 September 1941
*S. A. Rayner, ''The Evolution of the Queensland Labor Party to 1907'' (M.A. thesis, University of Queensland, 1947)
*S. W. Jack's newsclipping book, no 41 (State Library of Queensland); company files, COM/1, 1863–88, and company registration, A/ 11849 (Queensland State Archives).
External links
SOFT DRINKS, 1945 – 65History of Marchants company
George Marchant an ingenious drink manufacturerQueensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame - 2018 Inductee digital story – George Marchant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchant, George
1857 births
1941 deaths
People from Brasted
People from Brisbane
Australian philanthropists
19th-century Australian businesspeople
19th-century Australian inventors
English emigrants to Australia