Tarax is an Australian brand of

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 ...

, available in several flavours, and sold in cans and bottles. The name ''Tarax'', itself was the brand-name of an independent soft drink manufacturer and bottler, from the state of

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 ...

History

George Pethard Snr. (1855–1929), an English-born storeman based in

Numurkah, Victoria Numurkah ( ) is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Goulburn Valley Highway, north of Shepparton, in the Shire of Moira. At the , Numurkah had a population of 4,768. History The area was occupied by the Yorta Yorta people prior to ...

, established a business selling a herbal soft drink described as a "non-alcoholic beer" made without yeast, known as "Taraxale". "Tarax" derived from "taraxacum", the Latin name for the

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

. George Pethhard Jnr. (1885–1961) joined his father's business in 1898 and moved to

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

in 1902, establishing the business behind "Taraxville", his home in the suburb of

Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and sout ...

. The business was expanded between the Wars, with Tarax Bars being established throughout Victoria. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the company restricted itself to selling conventional carbonated

Awards

In the 1950s Tarax won an Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Award for its co-production of a flame spin sterilizer. AIFST Award
Australian Science at Work

Popular culture

Tarax was a marketing innovator, including sponsorship of the long-running Tarax Happy Show on television from 1957, compered by

Happy Hammond Harry Montague Hammond (7 May 1916 – 1 April 1998), professionally known as Happy Hammond, was an Australian comedian, radio host and children's television show host, and television producer. Biography and broadcasting career Happy Hammond wa ...

and later, "Uncle" Norman Swain, and the development of new packaging, such as the steel can. Their mascot ''Tommy Tarax'' was a character who appeared on bottle tops and advertising displays, and on TV as a puppet with

ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...

Ron Blaskett Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

Flavours

Producing a wide range of flavours including lemonade, orange, lime ("Limelite"), kola, lemon, pineapple, raspberry ("Crimson"), root beer, bitter lemon, "Solo", and "Panda", and the American "Dixi-Cola", Tarax was at its peak in the 1960s and was one of the top-selling soft drink brands in Victoria. One of the Tarax jingles was :

Be a Top Man,
Drink a bottle or can
of Tarax Top Ten flavours.

Also

Oranges turn into Tarax,
Lovely lovely Tarax.
Oranges turn into Tarax,
The drink from the top of the tree.

They did can UDL pre-mix alcoholic drinks at the Huntingdale site for many years and had an unsuccessful attempt to produce a flavored UHT milk drink in a can.

Acqusitions

Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...

took over Tarax in 1972, but continued to market Tarax soft drinks as a regional brand to complement its national brands. In the 1970s the brand re-invented itself, with the dropping of several flavours and the introduction of "Black Label" in lemonade and orange. An extensive advertising campaign that featured actress

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married ...

. Later Pamela Gibbons, also of ''Number 96'', performed in the Black Label commercials. While Tarax's popularity has waned since the 1970s, it has still remained on the market, albeit with far lower prominence, relegated primarily to supermarket shelves.

References

External links

Pictures at the State Library of Victoria
Tarax HuntingdaleTarax delivery trucks
in loading bay.
Tarax West Brunswick
{{Refimprove, date=January 2007 Drink companies of Australia Soft drinks Australian drinks Food and drink companies established in 1959 1959 establishments in Australia Australian brands Australian cuisine