Hoadley's Chocolates - The Man behind the Polly Waffle, Bertie Beetle and Violet Crumble.

Hoadley's Chocolates - The Man behind the Polly Waffle, Bertie Beetle and Violet Crumble.

Written by Carolyn Lawrie.

It was an Australian confectionery company founded in 1913 famous for the Polly Waffle and Violet Crumble chocolate bars. The company was bought by Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery in 1972, which was acquired by Nestlé in 1988.

Hoadley's Chocolates had its origin in A. Hoadley and Company, a jam company founded in South Melbourne in 1889 by English businessman Abel Hoadley. The company originally manufactured jams, but expanded its range to include preserved fruits, candied fruits and peels, and sauces using fruit from Hoadley's orchards at nearby Burwood. In 1895, Hoadley opened the Rising Sun Preserving Works in St Kilda Road, and by 1901 had four preserving factories.

To overcome the seasonal nature associated with his fruit products, Hoadley diversified, and in 1901 or 1902 bought the former factory of Dillon, Burrows & Co. near Princes Bridge. He then shifted his company's emphasis more towards confectionery products and commenced the production of cocoa and chocolate. In 1910 Hoadley sold the jam company to Henry Jones Co-operative, retaining only the confectionery side of the business and the Princes Bridge factory, trading under the name Hoadley & Sons Ltd. Hoadley soon began looking for investors in a new business venture exclusively making chocolates. Application for registration of the new company, Hoadley's Chocolates Ltd, was filed in 1913 and the new company was operating by the end of the year. Hoadley retired the same year and passed control of the company to four of his sons: Walter as managing director, Peter as Purchasing Officer, Albert as Marketing Officer and Charles as Chairman of Directors (although in reality this was a minor role due to his active personal life outside the family business). Hoadley died in 1918 but the company continued under his sons.

The company's first product was the Violet Milk Chocolates (later called Hoadley's Chocolate Assortment) named after Hoadley's wife's favourite flower, launched the year 

the new company was founded. Later that year the company launched the Violet Crumble. Hoadley originally wanted to just call the product 'Crumble' but discovered this would cause problems in obtaining a trademark, and continued his homage to his wife by calling the product the Violet Crumble.

They were sold by the box, for two shillings and sixpence (25 cents) and individual bars became available for sale the following year. In 1923 Hoadley's registered Violet Crumble as a trademark. Advertisements for Violet Crumble later appeared in interstate newspapers, including the Adelaide Advertiser, with records dating back to at least 1923.

During the 1940s sales and profits for the company continued to rise and in 1947 the Polly Waffle was launched, which went on to become Hoadley's second most popular product line behind the Violet Crumble. Like the Violet Crumble and Violet Chocolate Assortment before it, the Polly Waffle followed the company's tradition of a mostly purple wrapper.

In 1988 Rowntree Hoadley was acquired by the Swiss conglomerate Nestlé and the remaining Hoadley's products were then sold originally under the Rowntree Nestlé brand and later just as Nestlé.

In 2018 Nestlé sold the rights to the Violet Crumble to South Australian confectioner Robern Menz. In 2019 Menz also bought the rights to the Polly Waffle from Nestlé, which the company had discontinued in 2009.

Carolyn Lawrie

Hoadley's products prior to the company's takeover by Rowntree's included:

* 5 Star Bubble Gum: discontinued, date unknown.

* Arctic Mints: green and white peppermint-flavoured candy balls with a milk chocolate  centre packaged in a cardboard can. Discontinued, date unknown.

* Bertie Beetle: introduced in 1963, still in production (now made in New Zealand).

* Clancy Bar: wafers with a jam centre coated in dark chocolate. The bar took its name from the poem Clancy of the Overflow and Hoadley's promoted the product through sponsored readings of the poem on various radio stations around the country. Believed to have been first produced in the 1950s (possibly 1956) it is now discontinued, date unknown.

* Crumblettes: bite-sized pieces of Violet Crumble packaged in a rectangular box. Discontinued, date unknown.

* Lady Beetle: a white chocolate version of Bertie Beetle, possibly with caramel pieces rather than honeycomb. It was only available in showbags but is now discontinued, date 

unknown.

* Luncheon: a wafer bar filled with caramel cream and peanuts coated in milk chocolate. Discontinued, date unknown.

* MinTex Bar: A twin-layer bar of peppermint fudge and caramel base dipped in milk chocolate.

* Polly Waffle: introduced in 1947, discontinued in 2009. Resumed production (by Robern Menz) in 2023 with bite size bars.

* Tex-Bar: A twin-layer bar with a caramel base and a malt cream fudge top coated in dark chocolate. Advertised as "the King of candy bars". Discontinued, date unknown.

* Violet Crumble: introduced in 1913, still in production.

* Violet Chocolate Assortment: an assortment of various flavoured milk chocolates packaged in a box. Hoadley's original product, it appears to have been discontinued around the time of the company's buy-out by Rowntree's.

* White Knight: believed to have been first produced in the 1950s (c1956), discontinued in 2016. A similar product Milk Chocolate Nougat was breifly available from Goody Goody Gum Drops - Online Lolly Shop.

As well as being sold in shops, Hoadley's products wee also available in showbags at annual Australian shows such as Brisbane's Ekka and Sydney's Royal Easter Show. These included:

* Bertie Beetle showbag: following the success of the introduction of the Bertie Beetle the product gained its own showbag in 1965, mostly containing a number of Bertie Beetle 

chocolates and was traditionally the cheapest showbag on sale at the shows. Bertie Beetle is generally now only available in showbags.

* Hoadley's Chocolate showbag (later the Violet Crumble showbag): contained an assortment of Hoadley's products including one or more Polly Waffles, Violet Crumbles and White Knights. When Hoadley's first began producing Bertie Beetle in 1963, it first appeared in this showbag at the Sydney Royal Easter Show of that year.

* Lady Beetle showbag: following the success of the Bertie Beetle showbag, a similar bag featuring the Lady Beetle (a white chocolate version of Bertie Beetle) was launched in the 1970s. It did not prove as successful and was later withdrawn from sale, possibly before the Nestlé takeover.

The contents of these showbags varied over the years.

From 1966 to 1972, the company sponsored a competition called Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds, which saw rock/pop bands competing to win a cash prize and a recording contract.

(C) Copyright Carolyn Lawrie 2026