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Cadbury's Chocolate Factory, also known as Cadbury's Claremont and colloquially as Cadbury's, is a prominent Australian chocolate factory situated in
Claremont, Tasmania Claremont is a rural / residential locality in the local government areas (LGA) of Glenorchy (75%) and Derwent Valley (25%) in the Hobart and South-east LGA regions of Tasmania. The locality is about north of the town of Glenorchy. The 2021 ...
. Producing a company-record of over of
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...
in 2021, it has earned distinction as "the largest chocolate factory in the southern hemisphere". Established in 1921, the factory and surrounding
model village A model village is a mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. "Model" implies an ideal to which other developments could aspire. Although the villages ...
estate marked
Cadbury's Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods, Inc., Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest c ...
first business expansion outside the United Kingdom. The facility is currently owned by the multinational conglomerate
Mondelez International Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, Holding company, holding, drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual rev ...
, which purchased Cadbury in 2010. Initially set up to meet the growing demand for Cadbury products in Australia, the factory became a significant part of the Tasmanian economy. Over the years, the Claremont factory has expanded and modernised, incorporating state-of-the-art manufacturing processes. Technological advancements have reduced the workforce from 1,100 in 1960 to 450 employees in 2018. The Claremont factory primarily produces
Dairy Milk Cadbury Dairy Milk is a British brand of milk chocolate manufactured by Cadbury. First introduced in the United Kingdom in June 1905 and now consists of a number of products. Every product in the Dairy Milk line is made exclusively with milk choc ...
chocolate block varieties and Caramello Koala and
Freddo Freddo is a chocolate bar brand shaped like an anthropomorphic cartoon frog. It was originally manufactured by the now defunct company MacRobertson's, an Australian confectionery company, but is now produced by Cadbury. Some of the more popular ...
chocolate bar A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nut (fruit), nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some variet ...
s. Cadbury's Claremont formerly included visitor facilities where guests could learn about Cadbury's history, watch the production process, and sample chocolates. Aiming to capitalise on the factory's long history, in 2024 a private enterprise plans for a new "chocolate experience"
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
to be developed adjacent the factory, offering educational exhibits about chocolate production and spectacle through the creation of the world's largest chocolate fountain.


History

Following Cadbury's successful 1919 merger with rival
chocolatier A chocolatier ( ; ; ) is a person or company that makes and sells chocolate confections. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other raw ingredients. Chocolatiers work artisanally with pre- ...
s Fry's, the British company decided to expand operations overseas. As Australia was one of the company's largest export markets, it was decided to be an appropriate location for their first factory abroad. After visiting Tasmania in January 1920, executives from Cadbury's selected the unique peninsula location at Claremont due to the state's cheap provision of hydro electricity by the
Hydro Electric Commission Hydro Tasmania, formerly the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC), is a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the main electricity generator in Tasmania, Australia. Originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, owing to Tasmania's dr ...
, cool climate and the availability of high-quality fresh dairy production and supply. The
Cadbury family The Cadbury family is a British family of wealthy Quaker industrialists descending from Richard Tapper Cadbury. * Richard Tapper Cadbury (1768–1860), draper and abolitionist, who financed his sons' start-up business; married Elizabeth Head **J ...
were
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
, and the company executives believed the site at Claremont embodied the Quaker values of the company, offering a tranquil and picturesque setting for workers. With a water frontage of , the location inspired the company phrase "By mountain and sea", which the factory used on a range of promotional materials highlighting the business' interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.


Factory construction

Commencing construction in 1920, the factory was built entirely of white
ferro-concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having ...
. Consisting of of concrete, weighing approximately , the factory was designed as six rectangular blocks, five of which containing three stories measuring . These included ancillary buildings for the warehouse and power and transformer houses, which were interconnected by covered arches on each floor. Forty workers (consisting of twenty-four men and sixteen women) from the original Cadbury factory in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and Bristol in the United Kingdom relocated to Tasmania to oversee the factory construction and train newly recruited staff. Cadbury's Chocolate Factory at Claremont was officially opened on 21 October 1921. Between March and May 1922, Cadbury's Managing Director Dorothy Cadbury visited the factory, overseeing working conditions from both the perspective of the employee and employer. Her parents, Chairman of Directors Barrow Cadbury and Dame Geraldine Cadbury DBE, and sister Geraldine Mary Cadbury accompanied her on the visit. Bound for Sydney, the first shipment left Cadbury's Claremont on Saturday 8 April 1922, containing Pascall confectionery. Dorothy and Barrow Cadbury returned to Claremont in 1930. Designed by architects Hutchinson & Walker, an additional three-story building measuring in length was erected in 1939 at a cost of £A40,000.


Cadbury's Estate

Based upon the
model village A model village is a mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. "Model" implies an ideal to which other developments could aspire. Although the villages ...
of Cadbury's
Bournville Bournville () is a 19th century model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" (or "model") village where the sale of alc ...
estate in Birmingham, the newly established 'Cadbury's Estate' embodied Quaker ideology, providing housing for workers, shops, sporting facilities, a school, a
Friends meeting house A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held. Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Ornamentation, spires, a ...
and parkland, complete with purple benches. To assist worker education and social welfare, a variety of organisations and social activities were created within the self-contained community including a youth club, girls’ club, cricket club, a
floricultural Floriculture (from ) is the study of the efficient production of the plants that produce showy, colorful flowers and foliage for human enjoyment in human environments. It is a commercially successful branch of horticulture and agriculture found ...
society and a camera club called "Candied Camera". Located north of the
City of Glenorchy Glenorchy City Council (or City of Glenorchy) is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Glenorchy local government area has a population of 50,411, covering the sub ...
, the estate has views of kunanyi / Mount Wellington to the west and both the
City of Clarence Clarence City Council (or City of Clarence) is a Local government in Australia, local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Hobart, Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a po ...
and Brighton local government area on the eastern shore. Bound by Bilton Bay to the north and Windermere Bay to the south upon the River Derwent, the site comprised the model village occupying of the peninsula, the factory covering , recreational and shore reserves consisting of , and supporting infrastructure occupying a further . Within the estate are various roads and buildings containing historical industry namesakes, such as Bournville Road, named after Cadbury's original worker's estate. MacRobertson's Road pays tribute to MacRobertson's, the Australian company which created Cherry Ripe, Freddo Frog and
Old Gold Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow, generally on the darker side of this range. The first recorded use of ''old gold'' as a color name in English was in the early 19th century (exact ...
, acquired by Cadburys in 1967. Today, the Cadbury's Estate has a rich history with eighteen heritage-listed buildings located on the site, including the former Claremont Primary School.


Claremont School

Constructed at a cost of £A247, the first school at Claremont opened in July 1890. In 1922, land for a new school was purchased with a brick building constructed for £A1,600. With frontage along Windermere Bay, the new Claremont School was completed on the Cadbury's Estate in 1924 to facilitate factory worker's children. In 1936, a second plot was acquired and a new building constructed at a cost of £A914. The school underwent two rounds of extensions in 1941, with the first wing costing £A2,070, and a second costing £A1,297. The school was closely tied to the Cadbury factory workers, including students planting eighteen trees alongside Cadbury Road leading to the factory in 1949. As part of the City of Glenorchy's ''Building the Education Revolution'' plan in 2009, the Claremont Primary School (as it was then known) was set to close following the proposal of two new primary schools facilitating the area. The school closed in 2013 under the pretence it was to be developed into housing. In 2015, a $79 million subdivision was put forward to develop the site. In 2017 the school was victim to an arson attack, causing upward of $150,000 in damages and destroying one of the school's historic buildings. The school was purchased by businessman Kai Yang in 2019. In 2021, a $200m development on the site called the ''Windermere Bay Precinct'' was proposed, featuring 315 apartments and townhouses, a childcare centre, local shops, a cafe, and a gym and pool within the parkland setting. Designed by Circa Morris-Nunn Architects, the remaining heritage-listed school building will be retained and used for community facilities.


Cadbury's station

The Cadbury's Estate was previously connected to the former North–South rail corridor via a dedicated
spur line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
, terminating at Cadbury's station. The station was operational by September 1921, with the
Tasmanian Government Railways The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Nat ...
operating 26 weekday services along the North–South corridor until the cessation of passenger services in 1974. The former rail corridor has since been repurposed into a
cycle track A cycle track or cycleway (''British'') or bikeway (''mainly North American''), sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such ...
.


Factory tours

Due to the factory's long history and the general appeal of chocolate, Cadbury's Claremont was a major Tasmanian tourism attraction, recording 150,000 visitors annually until its on-site visitor centre closed in 2015.


Original factory tour

From 1948, the factory conducted public tours of the facility, showcasing the manufacturing process, including the fermenting, drying, roasting, and separating of
cocoa beans The cocoa bean, also known as cocoa () or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cacao trees ...
from their skins to create
cocoa solids Dry cocoa solids are the components of cocoa beans remaining after cocoa butter, the fatty component of the bean, is extracted from chocolate liquor, roasted cocoa beans that have been ground into a liquid state. Cocoa butter is 46% to 57% of th ...
and
cocoa butter Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible Vegetable oil, fat extracted from the cocoa bean (''Theobroma cacao''). It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter h ...
. The tour also included an inspection of the factory's pure granite
conching upright=1.35, Conche (in the Imhoff-Schokoladenmuseum) Conching is a process used in the manufacture of chocolate whereby a surface scraping mixer and agitator, known as a conche, evenly distributes cocoa butter within chocolate and may act as ...
machines dating back to the
1950s File:1950s decade montage.png, 370x370px, Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk.Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with co ...
, industrial machinery and wrapping process, ending with a taste-testing and the collection of free samples. The tours were discontinued in 2008 due to health and safety regulations adopted by the company globally and replaced with a newly built visitor centre at the site in 2010.


Visitor Centre closure

During the 2013 federal election campaign, then-
opposition leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
offered a $16 million grant to develop and upgrade the visitor centre. Once the
Abbott government The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, served ...
came into power, the parent company Mondelez stated that they had not met the criteria for the grant. In spite public outcry, the visitor centre was permanently closed on the 18 December 2015.


Chocolate experience theme park

During the
2024 Tasmanian state election The 2024 Tasmanian state election was held on 23 March 2024 to elect all 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The House of Assembly uses the proportional Hare-Clark system of voting, with the 35 members elected from five seven-memb ...
,
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Jeremy Rockliff Jeremy Page Rockliff Tasmanian House of Assembly, MP (born 5 February 1970) is an Australian politician currently serving as the 47th premier of Tasmania. Rockliff's Premiership of Jeremy Rockliff, premiership began in 2022 following the resign ...
pledged a $4 million grant for a chocolate-themed park accessible by ferry. The initial grant supported tourism entrepreneur Simon Currant's vision for a "chocolate experience" at Cadbury, with up to $12 million of state funds available if key project milestones are met. The $100 million project, in collaboration with Cadbury, will feature the world's tallest chocolate fountain.


Production

Cadbury's Chocolate Factory chiefly produces chocolate blocks including
Dairy Milk Cadbury Dairy Milk is a British brand of milk chocolate manufactured by Cadbury. First introduced in the United Kingdom in June 1905 and now consists of a number of products. Every product in the Dairy Milk line is made exclusively with milk choc ...
, Caramilk, Breakaway, Dream and Marvellous Creations varieties. The site also produces Caramello Koala and
Freddo Freddo is a chocolate bar brand shaped like an anthropomorphic cartoon frog. It was originally manufactured by the now defunct company MacRobertson's, an Australian confectionery company, but is now produced by Cadbury. Some of the more popular ...
chocolate bar A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nut (fruit), nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some variet ...
s. In 2022, a network of 56 dairy farms in North-West region of Tasmania contributes of milk to chocolate production, which is then processed at Cadbury's Burnie milk depot. The milk is then transported to Hobart in B-Double road tankers. Australian sugar is imported from
Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...
, with cocoa sourced and imported from
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
. Chocolate bars and seasonal products are produced at the Victorian Cadbury facilities at Ringwood and
Scoresby Scoresby may refer to: People * William Scoresby (1789–1857), British Arctic explorer, scientist and clergyman * William F. Scoresby (1840–1884), New York politician * William Scoresby Routledge (1859–1939), British ethnographer, anthropolog ...
.


Sustainability

In April 2009, Cadbury Australia announced its commitment to Dairy Milk chocolate blocks achieving
Fairtrade International Fairtrade International, or Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International E.V. is a nonprofit product-oriented multistakeholder group aimed at promoting the lives of farmers and workers through fair trade. Fairtrade's work is guided by a gl ...
certification by Easter 2010. When Cadbury was purchased by Mondelez International in 2010, the parent company was already devising its own internal sustainability programme, named ''Cocoa Life'', which commenced in 2012. In 2016, Mondelez International discontinued Cadbury Dairy Milk's Fairtrade certification in favour for the Cocoa Life program. Labelling citing Fairtrade International had partnered with Mondelez International for the Cocoa Life program appeared on packaging, which also saw the removal of the International Fairtrade Certification Mark. 100% sustainable cocoa in Cadbury's Australian-made goods was achieved in 2021 due to the Cocoa Life programme. In September 2022, Cadbury Australia announced that all future Dairy Milk varieties would be wrapped in 30% recycled soft plastic, replacing former single-use packaging. Packaging was further increased to 50% recycled soft plastic in the first quarter of 2024.


Employment

Historically Cadbury's Claremont has been a major employer for the
City of Glenorchy Glenorchy City Council (or City of Glenorchy) is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Glenorchy local government area has a population of 50,411, covering the sub ...
, employing 1,100 workers in 1960. The workforce has continually reduced through the ongoing advancement of manufacturing technology and automation. In 2015, 80 factory floor jobs were cut following a $75m upgrade by Mondelez International, with a further 11 jobs cut from the closure of the visitor centre. The workforce lost 40 workers in 2018 following a further $20m upgrade to machinery. In 2018, Cadbury's Claremont has a workforce of 450 people, in comparison to 2003, when it employed up to 850 people at peak times.


Sponsorships

Cadbury's Claremont instigated the inaugural Cadbury Marathon in 1983. Covering a distance over , the long-distance event begins and terminates at the factory. The event celebrated its 40th year in 2023. Cadbury have sponsored the Tasmanian T20 franchise cricket team, the
Hobart Hurricanes Hobart Hurricanes are an Australian professional men's Twenty20 franchise cricket team based in Hobart, Tasmania. They compete in Australia's domestic Big Bash League. The Hurricanes play the majority of their home matches at Ninja Stadium ...
, since the
2018–19 Big Bash League season The 2018–19 Big Bash League season or BBL, 08 was the eighth season of the KFC Big Bash League, the professional men's Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. The tournament started on 19 December 2018. Adelaide Strikers were the ...
.


Access

Cadbury Road is accessible via
Main Road A "main road" may refer to: * A major road in a town or village, or in a country area. * A highway * A trunk road, especially in British English Main Road may refer to: * Main Road, Hobart, Australia * Main Road, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh * Main ...
, Box Hill Road and Bolton Street, Claremont.
Metro Tasmania Metro Tasmania, commonly called Metro, a Tasmanian Government government-owned corporation, business enterprise, is the largest bus operator in the state of Tasmania, Australia, with operations in three of the four largest urban centres of Hoba ...
bus number 512 services Claremont and the Cadbury's Estate, which depart from the Hobart Bus Mall in the CBD.


Incidents

In December 2024, a sewage discharge from the plant containing high concentrations of sugar caused the failure of the nearby Cameron Bay Sewage Treatment Plant. The high levels of sugar killed off bacteria in the plant that break down and treat waste, causing biological sewage treatment to be ineffective.


See also

*
Cadbury World Cadbury World is a visitor attraction in Bournville, Birmingham, England, featuring a self-guided exhibition tour, created and run by the Cadbury Company. The tour tells the history of chocolate, and of the Cadbury business. A second location ...
*
Cadbury Ireland Mondelez Ireland Production Limited (trading as Cadbury) is a confectionery company in Ireland based in Coolock in Dublin. It is a subsidiary of Cadbury, currently owned by Mondelēz International. Cadbury Ireland exports over 200 of its products ...
*
Cadbury chocolate factory, Toronto The Cadbury chocolate factory is a five-story building located on Gladstone Avenue in Toronto. It was constructed by William Neilson (businessman), William Neilson in 1906 and produces all Cadbury's products sold in Canada. Location and building ...


Notes


References


Sources

*


Further reading

* * *


External links


Cadbury AustraliaCocoa LifeMondelez International Australia
{{Hobart landmarks Australian companies established in 1922 Buildings and structures in Hobart Cadbury Chocolate factories Companies based in Hobart Dairy buildings in Australia Food and drink companies established in 1922 Industrial buildings in Tasmania Tourist attractions in Hobart