December 23, 2021 8 min read 0 Comments
One of Australia's first confectioners was Stedman- Henderson Sweets founded by James Stedman in 1840. Sir MacPherson Robertson founded McRobertson's Steam Confectionery Works in 1880 and Abel Hoadley started Hoadley's Chocolates around 1912. Below are some of Australia's most loved lollies and chocolates. Go back in time to your childhood. Checkout our Retro Lollies category.
Employing over 3000 people and exporting to 15 countries MacRobertsons was the largest confectionery company in the southern hemisphere producing over 700 chocolate and confectionery lines from their factory in Fitzroy and later at Ringwood, Melbourne.
Cadbury took over MacRobertsons in 1967 and still produces and sells many of the original MacRobertson products including Cherry Ripes, Freddo Frogs & Old Gold Chocolate.
The Choo-Choo Bar was originally made by Plaistowe in Western Australia. The wrapper of the chewy liquorice-flavoured toffee bar originally depicted a train being driven by a very non-PC gollywog.
The Choo Choo bar has had a chequered ownership history. At some point, the brand appears to have been sold to the Sydney-based Mastercraft makers of the Scorched Peanut Bar, Redskins and Mint Patties. Mastercraft was acquired by Lifesavers Australia in 1964, which was in turn acquired by Nestlé in the late 1980s. Nestlé also eventually acquired Plaistowe.
Choo Choos were discontinued sometime in the 1990s after Nestlé acquired the business. They were revived after Melbourne based Lagoon Confectioners purchased the brand in 2007. Lagoon are famous for their Fruity Sherbet Bombs, Fruity Acid Drops and other individually wrapped lollies.
Cherry Ripe Bar (1924) The Australian company MacRobertson's Steam Confectionery Works first manufactured the Cherry Ripe in 1924. The company was founded in Melbourne by Macpherson Robertson in 1880 and is famous for a number of iconic chocolates including the Freddo Frog. Larger than life, Robertson was renowned for his white suits, instinct for successful chocolate products, sponsoring an air race between Australia and England in 1934, participating in novelty bicycle displays, and opening a cycling school among other things.
Now Australia's oldest chocolate bar, the Cherry Ripe consists of a centre of cherry and coconut covered in Old Gold dark chocolate. A Roy Morgan survey in 2013 named the Cherry Ripe Australia s most popular chocolate bar and it has remained in the top three in subsequent surveys. While the MacRobertson company was sold to Cadbury in 1967, and their industrial buildings have now been converted into apartments, a cherry tree planted by the company still grows in the courtyard in tribute to the humble Cherry Ripe.
In 2015 the Cadbury's factory in Ringwood, Victoria processes 40 million Cherry Ripe bars annually, with six tonnes of chocolate being produced every two hours at the factory. The Cherry Ripe Story
Some information on this blog was supplied by pockedoz.com.au and other sources.
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