Macpherson Robertson
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n philanthropist, entrepreneur and founder of confectionery company MacRobertson's
MacRobertson's
MacRobertson's, officially the MacRobertson's Steam Confectionery Works, was the name of a company that produced chocolates and various other confectionery in Australia. The company was founded in 1880 by Sir Macpherson Robertson and takes its name from a combination of his first and last name...
.
Early life
Macpherson Robertson was born in Ballarat, VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. He was a son of a Scottish carpenter, David Robertson and his Irish wife, Margaret (née Browne). The family came to Ballarat in search of gold, but fell on hard times, with the father abandoning them and moving to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. In 1869 his mother returned to Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
, in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
with Macpherson, his three siblings and one other child on the way.
In Scotland at the age of nine, Macpherson started working to support that family, eventually taking an apprenticeship with the Victoria Confectionery Co. In 1874 the family returned to Australia at the request of the father, living in the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
working class suburb of Fitzroy
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
. Using skills he acquired in Scotland, in 1878 at the age of 19, Macpherson set up a confectionery manufacturing operation in his mother's home bathroom. He made confectionery on Mondays to Thursdays and sold them around Melbourne on Fridays and Saturdays.
Business
His business quickly grew as Mac Robertson Steam Confectionery Works. By the late 1880s the business employed thirty people. The company introduced chewing-gum and fairy floss to Australia as well as well known confectionery names including Freddo FrogFreddo Frog
Freddo is a brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by Cadbury. It was invented in 1930 by Harry Melbourne, an 18 year old moulder employed by MacRobertson's; an Australian confectionery company. It is sold in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.Each chocolate...
, Cherry Ripe
Cherry Ripe
Cherry Ripe is an English song with words by the poet Robert Herrick , and music by Charles Edward Horn which contains the refrain,Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,Ripe I cry,Full and fair onesCome and buy.Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,...
, Old Gold Chocolates, Milk Kisses and Columbines. By 1900, it had become the largest confectionery works in Australia with agencies in every state. As part of his marketing strategy, Macpherson maintained a distinctive whiteness to everything he could - the buildings in the Fitzroy factory complex were all painted white and all of his several thousand employees wore white uniforms. Macpherson himself ensured he was always seen in public dressed immaculately in white and rode in a carriage behind two white ponies. The factory complex became known as White City.
In 1967 MacRobertson's was acquired by English confectioner Cadbury's which in 1969 merged with Schweppes Australia to become Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury is a confectionery company owned by Kraft Foods and is the industry's second-largest globally after Mars, Incorporated. Headquartered in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom, the company operates in more than 50 countries worldwide....
.
Philanthropy and marketing
- In 1921 he promoted a romanticised book of his enterprise entitled A Young Man and a Nail Can.
- In 1925 he presented a silver mounted shield to establish the MacRobertson International Croquet ShieldMacRobertson International Croquet ShieldThe MacRobertson International Croquet Shield is the premier croquet teams event in the world. It is currently competed for by Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the United States...
. The event is now played every three or four years in rotation between Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. - In 1928 he sponsored a circuit of Australia in two KarrierKarrierKarrier is a marque of car and commercial vehicle, the origins of which can be traced back to Clayton and Company, a 1904 company from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK. In 1908, they started making Karrier cars and in 1920 changed the company name to Karrier Motors Ltd.In 1929, Karrier started...
trucks. The five month expedition departed from Parliament House in Melbourne on 12 April and returned on 12 September 1928. - In 1929 he financed a combined British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic expedition. Sir Douglas MawsonDouglas MawsonSir Douglas Mawson, OBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and Academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.-Early work:He was appointed geologist to an...
named Mac. Robertson LandMac. Robertson LandMac. Robertson Land is the portion of Antarctica lying southward of the coast between William Scoresby Bay and Cape Darnley. Mac. Robertson Land is located at . In the east, Mac. Robertson Land includes the Prince Charles Mountains. Mac...
in his honour, and Robertson's 1932 knighthood specifically recognised his support for this expedition. - In 1933 he contributed to the Melbourne centenary celebrations, including £40,000 towards the establishment of the Mac.Robertson Girls' High SchoolMac.Robertson Girls' High SchoolThe Mac.Robertson Girls' High School is an academically selective, public high school for girls, located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. He contributed towards other public works projects as part of the centenary celebrations including the MacRobertson BridgeMacRobertson BridgeThe MacRobertson Bridge is a road bridge that carries Grange Road from Toorak on the south bank into Burnley, over the Yarra River and the Monash Freeway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
over the Yarra RiverYarra RiverThe Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
at Grange Road, a fountain in front of the Melbourne Shrine of RemembranceShrine of RemembranceThe Shrine of Remembrance, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war...
and the herbariumHerbariumIn botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
in the Royal Botanic GardensRoyal Botanic Gardens, MelbourneThe Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River. They are 38 hectares of landscaped gardens consisting of a mix of native and non-native vegetation including over...
. - In 1934 he co-founded Western Australian airline MacRobertson Miller AirlinesMacRobertson Miller AirlinesMacRobertson Miller Airlines Ltd. , callsign "Miller", IATA code "MV", was established in Australia in late 1927, by pilot Horrie Miller with the backing of chocolate millionaire Sir Macpherson Robertson....
(MMA) with pilot Horrie MillerHorrie Miller (aviator)Horace Clive "Horrie" Miller OBE was a pioneer Australian aviator and co-founder of MacRobertson Miller Airlines .Miller was born in Ballarat, Victoria....
. In the same year he sponsored the MacRobertson Air RaceMacRobertson Air RaceThe MacRobertson Trophy Air Race took place October, 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The idea of the race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, and a prize fund of $75,000 was put up by Sir Macpherson Robertson, a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer, on the...
with a prize fund of $75,000, an air race from London to Melbourne.
Honours
Robertson was appointed a Knight BachelorKnight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
on 3 June 1932, for services to Antarctic expeditions. On New Year's Day 1935, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(KBE), for philanthropic services in Victoria.