Warrnambool Cordials was started by James and Joseph Lescai in the 1920’s which was later taken over by a group of businessmen. Charles and Frederick Flett owned and operated Warrnambool Cordials for some time. It was later operated by Mr Thomas McKenzie before finally closing down.A common object associated with a well known local business business. Three clear glass bottles with neck with raised lettering. Fletts Warrnambool, horizontally on front centre, This bottle is the property of Warrnambool Cordials, Pty Ltd Warrnambool. Vertically on other side Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd Warrnambool. warrnambool, warrnambool cordials, flett’s cordials, flett.

This bottle came from the Warrnambool aerated waters factory of Charles and Frederick Flett, with the business known as Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd. This business had been established by Joseph Lescai in the 1920s. He had a fruit shop near the corner of Lava and Fairy Streets and then moved further north in Fairy Street. His cordial business flourished and was bought by a company of local businessmen before being sold to Thomas Hill in the 1930s. In the early 1940s Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd was purchased by Charles and Frederick Flett. Their father, William was originally a tinsmith in Timor Street and the two sons continued on his plumbing business until the 1950s as well as operating the cordial factory. In the 1960s Frederick sold the cordial business to Thomas McKenzie and it became McKenzie’s Cordials. This bottle is of interest as a memento of the Flett brothers cordial business in Warrnambool in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd was a prominent business in Warrnambool for 40 years.This is a clear glass bottle with a rounded base and a circular body tapering to a narrower neck with a moulded glass open top. The stopper or bottle top is missing. The details of the manufacture of the soft drink are impressed into the glass on the sides of the bottle.‘Fletts Warrnambool’ ‘Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd Warrnambool’ ‘This bottle is the property of the Warrnambool Cordials Pty. Ltd. Warrnamnbool’ charles and frederick flett, warrnambool, warrnambool cordials pty ltd, cordial manufacturers in warrnambool, history of warrnambool

Warrnambool Cordials was one of a number of cordial and aerated Waters Manufacturers who operated in Warrnambool from about 1859 until the 1980’s. Warrnambool Cordials was commenced in the early 1920’s by two brothers, Joseph and James Lescai. James operated a fruit shop in Fairy Street and Joseph as an industrial chemist made his own cordials which became very popular. Soon a company was formed with four local businessmen, J S Tait, Chas McMeekin, G Cinquegrana and John Gleeson who took over the company around the 1930’s. Warrnambool Cordials was then purchased by the Flett brothers around 1942. It was then sold in the 1960’s to Thomas McKenzie who traded as McKenzie Cordials. Warrnambool Cordials were one of a number of cordial manufacturers who operated in Warrnambool from the late 19th century until late 20th century. Two clear glass cylindrical bottles with 12 lines and indentations within formation of glass. It is topped with plastic spout which has two metal rims at bottom . Warrnambool Cordial Co. surrounds stylized logo “W” topped with small “C” and encased in large “C.” Small print.” British Syphon Co Ltd London. Warrnambool Soda Water in rectangle on back.: warrnambool, warrnambool cordials, lescai, joseph lescai, james lescai, flett mckenzie cordials.

This is a docket issued by the Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd in 1935 to the Warrnambool Club. Warrnambool Cordials was originally established in the early 1920s by the Lescai Brothers who had their cordial business in Fairy Street. A company of local businessmen took over the cordial factory for some time when the Lescai brothers left the city, then it was purchased by a garage proprietor Thomas Hill and in the early 1930s Charles and Frederick Flett purchased the business and carried on for a few years. It was later operated by Thomas McKenzie before it was closed. It was still operating in 1975 when it was manufacturing both Loys and McKenzie’s soft drinks. It is noted that this docket contains the information that the Warrnambool Cordials business was a winner of a Bronze Medal for lemonade at the Royal Show in 1931. The Warrnambool Club, established in 1874 when the Warrnambool Club Hotel in Kepler Street was opened, was a gentlemen’s club. A new Warrnambool Club building was erected in Kepler Street in 1877 and is still in use today. This original docket is of interest as it is an example of the type of purchase made by the Warrnambool Club in 1935 and the type of docket used by the firm of Warrnambool CordialsThis is a docket printed on cream-coloured paper with blue print and lines. The details of the sale are written in pencil.Written material: ‘Mar.29, 1935, W’bool Club, W’bool, 2 doz., 5/-‘warrnambool cordials, warrnambool club, charles and frederick flett

This is a docket issued by the Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd in 1935 to the Warrnambool Club. Warrnambool Cordials was originally established in Fairy Street in the early 1920s by the Lescai Brothers. A company of local businessmen took over the cordial factory when the Lescais left the city, then it was purchased by a garage proprietor, Thomas Hill, and in the early 1930s Charles and Frederick Flett purchased the business and carried it on for a few years. It was later operated by Thomas McKenzie before it was closed. It was still operating in 1975 when it was manufacturing both Loys and McKenzie’s soft drinks. It is noted that this docket contains the information that the Warrnambool Cordials business was a winner of a bronze medal for lemonade at the Royal Show in 1931. The Warrnambool Club, established in 1874 when the Warrnambool Club Hotel in Kepler Street was opened, was a gentlemen’s club. A new Warrnambool Club building was erected in Kepler Street in 1877 and is still in use today. This original docket is of interest as it is an example of the type of purchase made by the Warrnambool Club in 1935 and the type of docket issued by the firm of Warrnanmbool Cordials.This is docket printed on cream-coloured paper with blue print and lines. The details of the sale are written in pencil.Written material: ‘Feb.15, 1935, W’bool Club, W’bool, 3 doz. 7/6’warrnambool cordials, warrnambool club, lescai brothers, loys and mckenzie’s soft drinks, warrnambool

This is a docket issued by the Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd in 1935 to the Warrnambool Club. Warrnambool Cordials was originally established in the early 1920s by the Lescai brothers who had their cordial business in Fairy Street. A company of local businessmen took over the cordial factory for some time after the Lescais left the city, then it was purchased by a garage proprietor, Thomas Hill, and in the early 1930s Charles and Frederick Flett purchased the business and carried it on for a few years. It was later operated by Thomas McKenzie before it was closed. It was still operating in 1975 when it was manufacturing both Loys and McKenzie’s soft drinks. It is noted that this docket contains the information that the Warrnambool Cordials business was a winner of a Bronze Medal for lemonade at the Royal Show in 1931. The Warrnambool Club, established in 1874 when the Warrnambool Club Hotel in Kepler Street was opened, was a gentlemen’s club. A new Warrnambool Club building in Kepler Street was erected in 1877 and is still in use today. This original docket is of interest as it is an example of the type of purchase made by the Warrnambool Club in 1935 and the type of docket used by the firm of Warrnambool Cordials.This is a docket printed on cream-coloured paper with blue print and lines. The details of the sale are written in pencil.Written material: ‘Mar.12, 1935, W’bool Club, W’bool, 2 doz, 5/-, 1½ doz., 3/-, 8/-‘warrnamobol cordials, warrnambool club, charles and frederick flett

This is a docket issued by Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd in 1935 to the Warrnambool Club. Warrnambool Cordials was originally established in the early 1920s by the Lescai Brothers who had their business in Fairy Street. A company of local businessmen took over the cordial factory for some time when the Lescai brothers left the city, then it was purchased by a garage proprietor, Thomas Hill, and in the early 1930s Charles and Frederick Flett purchased the business and carried it on for a few years. It was later operated by Thomas McKenzie before it was closed. It was still operating in 1975 when it was manufacturing Loys and McKenzie’s soft drinks. It is noted that this docket contains the information that the Warrnambool Cordials business was a winner of a Bronze Medal for lemonade at the Royal Show in 1931. The Warrnambool Club, established in 1874 when the Warrnambool Club Hotel in Kepler Street was opened, was a gentleman’s club. A new Warrnambool Club building was erected in Kepler Street in 1877 and is still in use today. This original docket is of interest as an example of the type of purchase made by the Warrnambool Club in 1935 and the type of docket used by the firm of Warrnambool Cordials.This is a docket printed on green paper with blue printed material and blue lines. The details of the sale have been typed. The green paper is discoloured on the right hand side. Typed material: ‘Secretary, Warrnambool Club, Kepler Street, Warrnambool, 28th Feb.1935, 15, Invoice no. 3392, 7/6. 5% Sales Tax, 4, 7/10’warrnambool cordials

These marble stopper bottles came from the Warrnambool aerated waters factory of Joseph Lescai. A marble stopper bottle was one which was filled upside down so that as soon as the filling stopped the stopper was forced down to seal the bottle against the rubber ring. Pressure inside the bottle would keep the marble pressed against the top of the bottle. To open the bottle the marble was pressed down where it would fall into the neck chamber below. The marble would stay inside the neck chamber when the bottle was tilted up for drinking. Joseph Lescai and his brother, James had fruit shops in Warrnambool and in the 1920s Joseph Lescai began to produce cordial and soft drinks at his Fairy Street shop. The cordial manufacturing was then re-located to a site in Fairy Street close to Raglan Parade and the business, known as Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd, was operated then by a group of Warrnambool businessmen and later by Thomas Hill in the 1930s. In the 1940s the business was purchased by the Flett brothers, Frederick and Charles, and in the 1960s the business was sold to Thomas McKenzie and retailed under the name of McKenzie’s Cordials. The business was still operating in the 1970s. These bottles are significant because they come from the Warrnambool aerated water factory of Joseph Lescai, probably in the late 1920s. The business commenced by Joseph Lescai became Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd and this was a prominent business in Warrnambool for 50 years or more. Cordial manufacturing was an important industry in Warrnambool for over 100 years. These three bottles are marble-stopper green glass bottles. They have a rounded base and body with a deep indentation in the glass at the top of the body to form a narrow neck chamber. The necks have small round indentations in the glass. The tops of the bottles have moulded glass and an opening. Details on the aerated waters manufacturer are impressed into the glass on the side of the bottles. A round green marble is loose in the neck chamber. Rubber rings in the necks of the bottles are missing. One of the bottles has a wooden stopper but this may not have been an original. Inscriptions and Markings: Serial numbers, signatures, engravings, dedications in books, manufacturing details or personal markings ‘J. Lescai J.L. Warrnambool’ ‘This bottle is the property of Lescai Warrnambool and cannot be legally used by others’ These three bottles are marble-stopper green glass bottles. They have a rounded base and body with a deep indentation in the glass at the top of the body to form a narrow neck chamber. The necks have small round indentations in the glass. The tops of the bottles have moulded glass and an opening. Details on the aerated waters manufacturer are impressed into the glass on the side of the bottles. A round green marble is loose in the neck chamber. Rubber rings in the necks of the bottles are missing. One of the bottles has a wooden stopper but this may not have been an original. Inscriptions and Markings: Serial numbers, signatures, engravings, dedications in books, manufacturing details or personal markings ‘J. Lescai J.L. Warrnambool’ ‘This bottle is the property of Lescai Warrnambool and cannot be legally used by others’ These three bottles are marble-stopper green glass bottles. They have a rounded base and body with a deep indentation in the glass at the top of the body to form a narrow neck chamber. The necks have small round indentations in the glass. The tops of the bottles have moulded glass and an opening. Details on the aerated waters manufacturer are impressed into the glass on the side of the bottles. A round green marble is loose in the neck chamber. Rubber rings in the necks of the bottles are missing. One of the bottles has a wooden stopper but this may not have been an original. Inscriptions and Markings: Serial numbers, signatures, engravings, dedications in books, manufacturing details or personal markings ‘J. Lescai J.L. Warrnambool’ ‘This bottle is the property of Lescai Warrnambool and cannot be legally used by others’ These three bottles are marble-stopper green glass bottles. They have a rounded base and body with a deep indentation in the glass at the top of the body to form a narrow neck chamber. The necks have small round indentations in the glass. The tops of the bottles have moulded glass and an opening. Details on the aerated waters manufacturer are impressed into the glass on the side of the bottles. A round green marble is loose in the neck chamber. Rubber rings in the necks of the bottles are missing. One of the bottles has a wooden stopper but this may not have been an original. J. Lescai J.L. Warrnambool’ ‘This bottle is the property of Lescai Warrnambool and cannot be legally used by others’ lescal cordials, cordial bottles, 1920's bottles, warrnambool cordial manufacurers

These bottles came from the Warrnambool aerated waters factory of Charles and Frederick Flett. They were sold under the name of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd. This business was first established in the 1920s by Joseph Lescai who had a fruit shop in Fairy Street, Warrnambool (his brother James also had a fruit shop in Liebig Street). Joseph Lescai began to make cordials and moved his business to another location in Fairy Street. His cordial business was sold to a company of local businessmen who employed a cordial maker. In the 1930sThomas Hill then purchased this business, followed by the Flett brothers’ purchase in the 1940s. Charles and Frederick Flett, the sons of William Flett, a Timor Street tinsmith, also operated their father’s plumbing business for some time. In the 1960s Frederick Flett, the surviving brother, sold the Warrnambool Cordials business to Thomas McKenzie.These bottles are of interest because they are examples of the soft drinks bottles sold by the Flett brothers in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The Warrnambool Cordials business was a prominent one in Warrnambool for many years. These are two glass bottles with a round base and body and rounded neck with a moulded glass opening at the top. The stoppers are missing. The bottles have the contents maker’s details impressed into the body of the bottle.‘Fletts Warrnambool’ ‘Net Contents 6½ fl.oz.’ ‘Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd Warrnambool’ ‘This bottle is the property of the Warrnambool Cordials Pty. Ltd. Warrnambool’ ‘39 L103’ charles and frederick flett, warrnambool, cordial manufacturers in warrnambool, history of warrnambool

This bottle came from the Warrnambool business of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd. This business started when Joseph Lescai, a fruiterer in Fairy Street, Warrnambool in the 1920s, began making cordials and soft drinks. Soon this became his core business until it was taken over by a group of Warrnambool businessmen. The business, known as Warrnambool Cordials, was then bought in the 1930s by a Warrnambool garage proprietor, Thomas Hill. Charles and Frederick Flett then purchased the business in the early 1940s and in the 1960s the business was taken over by Thomas McKenzie. The business lasted until the 1980s. This bottle is of interest as an example of the products of the Warrnambool business of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd. Cordial manufacturing was an important business in Warrnambool for over 100 years and Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd was a prominent business for many years. This is a green-tinged glass bottle with a rounded base and a rounded body tapering to a short rounded neck and moulded glass top with an opening. It has a screw top composite material stopper with the name of the lemonade maker on the top. Information on the lemonade maker is also impressed into the glass on the side of the bottle. ‘Warrnambool Cordials’ Warrnambool Cordials Pty. Ltd. Warrnambool’ ‘Lemonade’ ‘This bottle is the property of the Warrnambool Cordials Pty. Ltd. Warrnambool’ warrnambool cordials pty ltd, cordial manufacturing in warrnambool, history of warrnambool

These bottles come from the aerated waters business of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd. This business was established in Fairy Street, Warrnambool in the early 1920s by Joseph Lescai. He had a fruit shop in Fairy Street and began making cordials which eventually became his core business. The business was taken over by a group of local business men and then in the 1930s was purchased by a garage proprietor, Thomas Hill. In 1942 Charles and Frederick Flett took over the business which was known as Warrnambool Cordials. In the 1960s the business was sold to Thomas McKenzie and the products were marketed as McKenzie’s Cordials. The business continued until the 1980s. These bottles are of interest as examples of the products of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd in the mid 20th century. Cordial manufacturing was an important industry in Warrnambool for over 100 years. These are two glass bottles (one with a bluish tinge). The bottles have a round base with a rounded body tapering to a narrower neck and a moulded glass opening at the top. There are no stoppers. The information on the aerated waters supplier is impressed into the glass on the sides of the bottles. Both bottles are slightly discoloured inside on the base. ‘Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd’ ‘This bottle is the property of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd Warrnambool’ warrnambool cordials pty ltd, cordial manufacturers in warrnambool, history of warrnambool

This bottle came from the aerated waters factory of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd. This business was established by Joseph Lescai who had a fruit shop in Fairy Street, Warrnambool in the 1920s. He began to make soft drinks and eventually this became his core business. A group of local businessmen took over the business and in turn it was bought by a local garage proprietor, Thomas Hill, in the 1930s. By this time it was called Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd. In the early 1940s the business was purchased by Charles and Frederick Flett and later sold to Thomas McKenzie in the 1960s. The business operated until the 1980s. It appears that the contents of this bottle were made during the Second World War in the time of either Thomas Hill or the Flett Brothers.This bottle is of interest as it comes from the aerated waters business of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd. This company was in operation for over 50 years. Cordial manufacturing was an important industry in Warrnambool for over 100 years. This is a glass lemonade bottle with a round base and a rounded body tapering to a narrower round neck with a moulded glass top at the opening. There is a stopper made of composite materials. The information on the maker of the lemonade is impressed into the glass on the side of the bottle.‘War Grade’ ‘Lemonade’ ‘Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd’ ‘Bottle not complete without stopper’ ‘This bottle is the property of Warrnambool Cordials Pty Ltd Warrnambool’ warrnambool cordials pty ltd, cordial manufacturers in warrnambool