A soft covered blue and grey booklet titled 'Eaglehawk Dahlia & Arts Festival Victoria, Australia March 17th to 27th Literary Competition. Winning and Commended Short Stories and Poems.' An Endorsed Bicentennial Activity. 1988. 18pgs. (ill.)book, bendigo, eaglehawk dahlia & arts festival, la trobe university bendigo collection, collection, eaglehawk, eaglehawk dahlia & arts festival, literature, australian literature, short stories, poetry, history, australian history, frank cusack, gordon mckern, llew llewellyn, peter richardson, dawn langford, doris leadbetter, j.s. searle, eric harries-harris, frank mcmahon, competitions, literary competition, book

This bottle was made in Epsom, Bendigo at the Bendigo Pottery Works. The bottle contained ginger beer manufactured at the cordials factory of J.S. Rowley at the corner of Timor and Banyan Streets, Warrnambool. John Searle Rowley (1837-1893) opened a branch of the Geelong Corio Brewery in Timor Street and in 1868 established a cordial manufacturing plant on the site. The brewery section closed and the cordial manufacturing section, called the Warrnambool Steam Aerated Waters works, was expanded, By the 1880s there were 13 employees and 20 varieties of soft drinks were being produced. After Rowley died in 1893 the business continued under the same name with Ralph Reeves managing the plant from 1900 until he moved to Koroit Street and operated a cordial factory under his own name. This bottle is of interest as an example of the soft drinks manufactured by J.S.Rowley of Banyan Street Warrnambool. This business was an important one in Warrnambool in the second half of the 19th century and early in the 20th century. This is a ceramic bottle in brown and buff colouring. The top has two chips. There is no stopper. ‘J.S. Rowley Hamilton and Warrnambool Ginger Beer’ ‘The Bendigo Pottery Epsom Bendigo’ j.s. rowley cordial manufacturer, cordial manufacturers in warrnambool, history of warrnambool

This bottle was known as a torpedo bottle. As the bottle had to lie on its side the soda was kept in contact with the cork and stopped the cork from shrinking and causing loss of pressure. This bottle comes from the Warrnambool aerated waters factory of John Searle Rowley (1837-1893). John Rowley, born in England, came to Australia in 1856 and in 1865 he opened a branch of the Geelong Corio Brewery at the corner of Timor and Banyan Streets in Warrnambool, bottling the beer, not brewing it. In 1870 this business was closed and Rowley developed his soft drinks business which he had established in 1868. In 1872 the business was called the Warrnambool Steam Aerated Works when a steam engine was purchased from Melbourne. In 1872 the factory was turning out 600 dozen bottles a day. By the 1880s the factory was occupying half an acre of land, was employing 13 people and manufacturing 20 varieties of drinks. Rowley died in 1893. He had been active in community affairs, serving four years on the Warrnambool Council and on the committees of the Warrnambool Hospital and the Mechanics Institute. This bottle is of great interest as it comes from the factory of the prominent 19th century Warrnambool aerated waters manufacturer, John Rowley. Few of his bottles have survived today. Cordial and soft drinks manufacturing was an important industry in Warrnambool for over 100 years and John Rowley was a key figure in this industry.This is a glass bottle, tinted green. The body of the bottle has an oval shape tapering to a point at the end and is known as a torpedo bottle. It can only be stored lying on its side. The neck of the bottle ends with a moulded glass top. There is no stopper. The bottle is slightly discoloured inside. The information on the maker is embossed into the body of the bottle.‘J.S. Rowley’s Aerated Waters Timor Street Warrnambool’john searle rowley, cordial manufacturers in warrnambool, history of warrnambool