Never a shrinking violet, Macpherson Robertson named his business for himself but combined his two names into the catchier ‘MacRobertson’. In daily life this was abbreviated to ‘Mac’ or ‘Mr. Mac’.

MacRobertson’s Scottish parents, David and Margaret Robertson, arrived in Ballarat, Australia in search of gold. MacRobertson was born in 1859, but as the dreams of gold did not transpire the family lived in poverty made worse by David Robertson’s temporary abandonment of his family when Mac was still a young boy.

The early years of MacRobertson’s life and work were detailed in his romanticised autobiography ‘A Young Man and a Nail Can’. It describes his first workshop, established in the bathroom of his family home at 145 Argyle Street, Fitzroy. The young MacRobertson salvaged scrap metal to place over the family bath in order to make a workbench and purchased a 6p nail can that he converted into a small furnace. In the early years of his business, he walked the streets with the tray on his head, trying to interest local shopkeepers in buying his wares. Later, as his clientele grew, he co-opted his entire family every evening to package sweets ready for selling the next morning.

By 1900, MacRoberton’s business had swallowed up several blocks of Fitzroy real estate and business was booming. His entrepreneurial interests expanded to transport, design, sport and philanthropy MacRobertson was a recognisable figure in Fitzroy owing to his larger than life personality and distinctive white suit. He even crossed paths with notorious Melbourne gangster Squizzy Taylor when his commercial manager Arthur Trotter was shot in his home on 403 George St, Fitzroy by a member of the Taylor gang.

MacRoberton died in 1945, leaving the business to be run by his sons until 1967.