cordial

Father and son duo Alfred and Frank Wimmer arrived in Australia in 1887 from Germany, armed with an original cordial recipe made from Sarsaparilla root, with plans to establish a soft drink factory and start brewing. In 1910 the Wimmers family set up a soft drink manufacturing plant at Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, later moving to Cooroy where it is still manufactured today. It was at the Sunshine Coast plant Wimmers Soft Drinks became the first company in Australia to blend and develop Lemon Lime and Bitters in a bottle. One hundred years later, Wimmers Soft Drinks still uses the same old recipes to ensure their beverage range tastes as good today as it did all those years ago. The Wimmers Soft Drink brand has evolved over the years and has cemented its market share through a commitment to providing innovative new products whilst still delivering the reliable quality of the 100-year-old recipe. While the process of making soft drinks has changed dramatically throughout the last 100 years Wimmers Soft Drinks still taste the same. Maintaining that quality with good service is the secret to success. The company has overcome some major challenges in its hundred-plus years including the arrival of the global soft drink giants, the invention of the screw cap, and the modern trend of retailers aligning with exclusive brands. Source: www.noosabeverages.com.au/wimmers-soft-drinks

"While trying to assemble a list of names & dates of Cordial Manufacturers in Maryborough, we seem to have uncovered yet another "Maryborough Myth". The History of Maryborough, editions 1976 & 1996, state that J.R.Mansfield established the first Cordial Factory in Maryborough in 1859. However, Mansfield's name was Samuel, born about 1841 in Essex, arrived in Melbourne in 1862 & worked in the gold fields in Victoria, before coming to Gympie in 1867 for the gold rush there. The "Chronicle" reported on 2 Sept 1869 that he had taken over the factory of his brother-in-law George Sutton. The Mansfield family remained in business for 3 generations, & were still operating in the 1970s. Can anyone tell us the exact date they closed? Any information & photos on any of the Cordial makers would be appreciated. So far we have 20 different firms, & there could be more." Source: www.facebook.com/maryboroughfamilyhistory/posts/while-try...

Waghorn and Sons - Mackay 1930 -1980 Waghorn's and Sons cordial factory was commenced on 1 April 1930 from a factory located at 64 Gordon Street. The Waghorn's took over the business from the Balzer family. Even though the Balzers were only in business only 9 months, Waghorn's continued the Balzer's Aerated Waters name for a few years afterward. The business won the first prize at the Queensland Royal National Show in Brisbane in 1940 for Waghorn’s special dry ginger ale. They also held the franchise for the "Jusfrute" drinks in Mackay for many years. The Waghorn family continued the business until Charles Waghorn, one of the ‘sons’ retired and sold the business to Charlie Takagaki on 1 July 1967. The business continued to trade under the name of Waghorn and Sons and was later moved from Gordon Street to a new factory in Victoria Street in 1979. In 1980 the business was taken over by Harrup’s Mackay. The old factory in Gordon Street was demolished in mid-1984 to make way for extensions to the New Pioneer Motors car yard. Source: www.mackayhistory.org/research/softdrink/waghorns.html

In a time when almost every town had a cordial and soft drink manufacturer, J. J. Burke was a cordial manufacturer in Wondai, a town in the South Burnett region 241 km northwest of Brisbane. The business changed hands subsequently and under the ownership of one L. C. Sawtell became known as the South Burnett Aerated Water Works. The Sawtell family had soft drink factories in Wondai, Kingaroy, Murgon, and Goomeri. A newspaper article in 1927 records the sale of the Wondai lease to a Mr. Geo. Stewart. However, according to Queensland State Library records, Geo. was actually Gordon Stewart, who sold the business to his brother-in-law Sam Eupene in 1947. The company eventually became known as Eugene's. It was taken over by Errol Young in October 1971. In the 1920s Sawtell’s opened a branch in Maryborough. Both the Sawtell and the South Burnett operations continued at least into the late 1990s. Sawtell’s was a significant brand in Queensland and also produced fruit juices for a time. Some of their soft drinks had unusual names: orange was SOS and lemon was Monsa. Source: australianfoodtimeline.com.au/cordial-manufacturers-at-wo...