Several years ago I was contacted by Roderick Martin from the Tavistock Museum in Devon, England. Roderick was researching local cordial makers in his area for an upcoming book. he had found an inscription on this grave stone in the Plymouth Road cemetery in Tavistock.
Sacred to the memory of Louisa MacKey, beloved wife of Robert MacKey Died 12 Sep 1882 age 32yrs, also of Robert, Husband of the above who died in Kalgoorlie Western Australia 14 Mar 1909. He contacted me to see what I could tell him about Robert MacKey and his time in Kalgoorlie. This is what he was able to tell me about Robert from his research so far:-
Robert Mackey, went on his travels to America. He was accompanied by Louisa Collacott, the oldest daughter of John and Jane Collacott, tenants of the Exeter Inn, Tavistock. They married on the 17th September 1873 in New York. A notice appeared in the Tavistock Gazette of the 17th October 1873 announcing the marriage:
‘MACKAY – COLLACOTT – September 17th at New York, by the Rev. F. Bell, Robert, youngest son of Mr. R. Mackay (sic), of Devonport, to Louisa, oldest daughter of Mr. John Collacott, Exeter Inn, Tavistock’
For reasons unknown they did not stay in America and returned to Devon. There were three children from the marriage: Richard John born Tavistock in December 1875 (died Taunton in 1876), Alice Edith Mackey born Taunton in 1876, and Frederick Robert born Stoke Damerel in 1879 (died Stoke Damerel in 1879). In all probability Robert Mackey struggled to settle back in Devon against a background of family tragedy.
By 1880 he had left for South Australia, and Louisa went back to live with her parents in Tavistock. It is likely that by this time their marriage was over. The 1881 census records that Louisa Mackey, with her surviving child, Alice aged 5, was living with her parents at the Exeter Inn, 1 Back Street, Tavistock. She was to die at the Exeter Inn on the 12th September 1882, aged 32, from sclerosis of the liver and was one of the first persons to be buried in the Plymouth Road cemetery in Tavistock which had opened earlier that year. The death certificate gives the occupation of her husband, Robert Mackey, who was not present at the time of her death, as ‘mineral water manufacturer’.
Their daughter, Alice Mackey, was brought up by her uncle and aunt, Francis and Sarah Collacott, at 5 Parkwood Villas, now 8 Parkwood Road, Tavistock. Francis Collacott was a master barber with premises at 13 Duke Street, Tavistock. They had no children of their own. In the 1891 census Alice E. Mackey was recorded as a scholar, aged 15, living with them at this address.
The Mackeys in West Australia
Robert Mackey is believed to have gone to Australia in 1881. No passenger records for his journey have been found and it is likely that he worked his passage from England to Queensland and then to South Australia. Once there he found work in the cordial and aerated water trade, and began a relationship with a local woman. In April 1883 Robert Mackey (36 year old, cordial maker, widower, Hyde Street) married Ellen Bailey (23 years old, spinster of Gilbert Street) at the Adelaide Registry Office. There were two children from the marriage. A daughter, Florence May Mackey, is registered as being born on 24 April 1884 at Gilbert Street, Adelaide. The father is listed as Robert Mackey with an occupation of a cordial maker. A son, George Frost Mackey, is registered as being born on 3rd September 1886 at Little Mill Street, Adelaide and the father is again listed as Robert Mackey with an occupation as being a cordial maker.
Unfortunately Robert Mackey again proved an unreliable provider for the family. In the South Australian Police Gazette, February 11th 1885 the following notice of a warrant appeared:
Robert Mackey, cordial maker, aged 40 years, height 6ft., fair complexion, brown hair, turning grey, sandy whiskers, dark-blue eyes, scar right arm, for disobeying an order of Adelaide Bench, on the 20th ultimo for the support of his wife.- (C./219)(reference).
Ellen Mackey and her children may have returned to her family, and there is no further record of this Robert Mackey in South Australian again. Our Robert Mackey next appears in Perth, Western Australia, where he was the manager for Crowther and Letchford, cordial manufacturers.
In 1894 Robert Mackey went to Kalgoorlie and was one of the earliest residents of this mining community on the early Goldfields of Western Australia. He was the first cordial and aerated mineral water maker in the town and set up on his own account with little more than a shed and a hand-cart. It was here in the hot dusty conditions of Kalgoorlie that Robert Mackey, or Bob Mackey as he was popularly known, was to find business success providing appetising soft drinks to thirsty miners and their families. Speaking in 1904 ‘Big Jim’ Wilkinson, another early resident and proprietor of a coaching business in Egan Street, humorously described the early days of the Mackey business:
“The progress made by Mackey & Co. was one of the romances of romantic Kalgoorlie. They had started in 1894 with a ramshackle little building and a handcart. Later Mr. Mackey begged, borrowed or stole – he was not sure which – a pair of shafts for that handcart, and had afterwards purchased – or at least he said he purchased – a horse.”
In 1896 Robert Mackey, cordial maker, made application for a ‘one gallon licence’ to serve alcohol at his premises simply described as Block 14, Kalgoorlie.
The shanty town of wooden buildings in Kalgoorlie very rapidly took on a resemblance of urban order with shops, public buildings and hotels. On Saturdays the miners and their families crowded into Kalgoorlie. As the town rapidly grew and prospered so did the aerated water business of Robert Mackey. In 1897 he acquired a piece of land at 54-57 Egan Street, Kalgoorlie which became the site of the Globe Aerated Water Factory. In the Leader (Melbourne) of the 29th October 1898 there were photographs of the interior of the factory together with a photograph of Robert Mackey sporting a bushy moustache.
The Sun (Kalgoorlie) of the 11th February 1900 contained an informative article about the Globe Factory and its proprietor:
‘The excessive heat experienced during the past week caused a pressure of work at the Globe Aerated Water Factory that has been quite unexampled, and subjected the working of the plant there on its full capacity. The quantity of aerated waters manufactured around Kalgoorlie is most extensive and it is understood that during the past twelve months over 500,000 dozen of soda, lemonade, sarsaparillas have been disposed of at the various hotels and soft drink establishments. As this quantity was all manufactured locally there is every reason for the claim that as an important local industry the cordial and aerated water industries take a prominent place. The most extensive and up-to-date of these factories is, undoubtedly, the Globe Aerated Water Works in Egan street.
It is some three years ago that since the block of land on which the works stand came into the possession of Mr. R. Mackey, and he erected a building which he had repeatedly had enlarged and improved to meet the requirements of the growing trade. But not withstanding this he has been compelled to visit the Eastern colonies to secure improved machinery, as the business is still increasing rapidly, and four carts are continually employed in delivering the waters.
Inside the factory itself everything is in order and so placed to permit the speedy and economical production of either cordial or aerated waters, for during the winter season when there is a lull in the trade Messrs. Mackey & Co. keep their hands employed in the manufacture of cordials and light liqueurs, a large demand for these existing here. Amongst the first objects that attract one’s attention in the factory is the cool chamber, having a capacity of one ton of ice, and alongside it an elaborate drug room where the chemicals used in the making of the different drinks are stored and where they are mixed for use. These chemicals are procured from W.J Bush, and this is an unquestionable guarantee as to their quality. Looking from this chemical room a comprehensive view of the works can be had. In the centre of the building all the work of making, bottling, and packing is in progress. On one side are the hogsheads containing the mixed essential oils under going the process of classification while the other side is occupied by the gasometers, water tanks, engines, etc.
Mr. Nobbs formerly of Ballarat and Adelaide is in charge of the factory, and he kindly explained to the Sun representative the manner of manufacturing lemonade, from the carrying of the mixed oils out of the hogsheads to the raised quarter casks over the Ferguson steam filler, into which the liquid descends through pipes, and where it meets the affiliated gas and water which had undergone a thorough mixing process.
Robert MacKey 1898
The gasometers from which the gas is taken is one of the largest in any aerated water factory in Western Australia, and the water used is strained through a rapid filter and carried through ice. All water used in the Globe Aeration Water Factory is pumped through ice during the summer. The Ferguson filler is capable of filling 140 dozen bottles per hour, and in addition there is a Rylands filler for soda splits. The machinery in the factory is driven by a 6-hp engine, and, besides this there is in reserve a Tangyes’ oil engine , a Barnett castor, and several other necessities. A new Worthington pump has been placed in position which can be utilised to pump 1000 gallons of water per hour. The water is provided from a 3000 gallon tank standing on a tower 20ft high, and adjoining this tower stand accommodation for tanks is being constructed. All the bottles used by the Globe Aerated Water Works have the name blown in the bottle, and these bottles we were informed by Mr. R. O’Donnett, the well-known accountant and traveller, cost over £1,000 per year.
The Globe Aerated Water Works is conducted on a most metropolitan system, every man knowing exactly what is required of him and how to do it, and as a very large measure of success has deservedly attended the efforts of Mr. Mackey and his assistants it can be seen by them the people of Kalgoorlie have appreciated the service which has been rendered.
The cordial and aerated water business was registered in April 1900 by the Supreme Court of Western Australia as R. Mackey & Co. Ltd, a limited company with 4000 shares each of value £1. Clearly Robert Mackey’s business success stemmed from being in the right location at the right time but he was not the only cordial and mineral water maker in Kalgoorlie. In an industry which was becoming increasingly mechanised it was necessary to keep ahead of local competitors by the purchase of the latest equipment in order to increase productivity and to drive down costs. Robert Mackey made two trips to England, and perhaps several visits to other states to view new developments in soft drinks technology. His first return visit to England was in May 1897. He took leave from his business, appointed his foreman as acting manager, bade farewell to his local friends and sailed on the RMS Oratava to England where he visited a number of potential equipment suppliers including Rylands at Barnsley. It is also likely that he visited Tavistock, met his daughter, and persuaded her to come out to Australia.
In May 1898 Alice Mackey, then aged 22, left Tavistock and sailed from Plymouth to Albany, West Australia finally arriving at Kalgoorlie in early July 1898. Here she resided with her father and kept house for him. A further visit to England was undertaken in 1903, and on this occasion Robert Mackey was accompanied by his daughter, Alice Mackey.
The Sun (Kalgoorlie) of the 19th April 1903 reported:
On Wednesday night last at Goodman’s Australia Hotel, a presentation of a purse of sovereigns was made to Mr. R. Mackey the head of the firm R. Mackey & Co. Ltd, aerated water and cordial makers. About 30 of Old Bobs friends gathered around him to wish him goodbye and bon-voyage, as he and Miss Mackey are taking a trip to the old world. ……. Mr. and Miss Mackey left for the coast on Thursday.
They were in England for about three months. Some of that time would have been spent visiting mineral water equipment suppliers but I think it is likely they also visited Tavistock.
Several months later the Sun (Kalgoorlie) of the 11th October 1903 reported their imminent return to Kalgoorlie.
Mr Bob Mackey of R. Mackey & Co. Limited is expected to arrive in Kalgoorlie at the end of this month after an extended holiday to the old country. Old Bob is one of the most genial of men, and although he has for many years been on the field his temperament remains the unruffled same. Mr. R. Hogg has been in charge during Mr. Mackey’s absence and he will receive the ‘‘Well done thou good and faithful servant etc.’’ when his chief returns. Mr. Mackey will be extremely pleased to learn that the firms portion of the trade has been well maintained and also that they took two prizes at the Gala this year.
On his return the Sun (Kalgoorlie) of the 15th November 1903 reported:
MACKEY’S MACHINES – Mr. Bob Mackey, the well-known boss of the Globe Aerated Water concern has just returned from the old land, where he went for a trip and kept his eyes open for any new notion. He has fetched a few of these out with him. One is the ‘Sentry’ microbe-proof filter, whose cylinders are of an artificial stone, through which the water percolates, depositing any impurities on the outer surface, when it is easily washed away. Capacity 500 gallons per hour. The second machine to claim our attention is the Automatic Ferguson Filler, capable of filling 160 dozen bottles per hour. But the apparatus of which Old Bob and the boys are most proud is a new and wonderful bottle washing machine. This is a rotary upright bottle washing machine, which is guaranteed to purify the bottles, and also clear them of a suspicion of a fly. Then the bottles are rinsed, and finished off in a specially constructed jet. Altogether Mackey & Co. Limited have as complete a plant as any in the State, and they turn out good stuff.
A group photograph of the Mackey & Co. employees appeared in the Kalgoorlie Western Argus on the 19th April 1904. It is probable that the well-dressed older person sitting in the centre of the photograph is Robert Mackey, and the younger dapper gent to his right is Robert Hogg, the traveller for the company. One of the employees seen sitting front row to their right, was a young Frank Thorn who later went on to become featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight boxing champion of Australia. No doubt lifting the heavy crates of bottles was part of his training.
By 1905 there was a need for the business to replace its wooden sheds by more substantial factory premises. When the work was completed there was a grand re-opening attended by the leading citizens of Kalgoorlie which was reported in the Evening Star, Boulder of the 28th September 1905:
A large group of the representative business people of Kalgoorlie assembled in the upper story of the fine new brick building erected by Mackey and Co., in Egan street, Kalgoorlie, yesterday, to take a glass of wine on the occasion of the opening of the new factory. Prior to the ceremony, the guests were shown the up-to-date machinery installed by Messrs. Mackey for turning out soft drinks. Mr. Robert Mackey occupied the chair at the ceremony.
Mr. Chapple proposed ‘‘The town and trade of Kalgoorlie’’ and spoke of the wonderful progress Kalgoorlie had made in a progression which was unequalled anywhere in the world. The rich gold mines had been the means of attracting men of the best business ability to the place, and to their efforts the prosperity was a great measure due. Mackeys new factory was a testament to the go-ahead state of the town.
In October 1905 it was reported that the employees of R. Mackey & Co. together with their families, about forty people, held their annual picnic at the Burwood Racecourse on the Coolgardie road. There were a number of competitive sports events with prizes for the winners. Interestingly there were separate running races for married men, married ladies, single men and single ladies.
In February 1908 Robert Hogg who had worked for six years as the commercial traveller for the company, left Kalgoorlie to take up a new position as the manager of the Port Phillip Hotel in Melbourne. He was popular within the town and many residents were sorry to see him leave. At a complimentary social held at the Criterion Hotel, Kalgoorlie an assembly of leading citizens presented him with a travelling trunk which was the result of a spontaneous offering by the citizens of the town. Many townsfolk waved him goodbye at the railway station. One notable absentee from these proceedings was Robert Mackey. In the light of later events I sense that Robert Mackey did not hold Robert Hogg with the same high regard, and most certainly did not consider him a possible suitable son-in-law, and this may be the reason Robert Hogg decided to leave Kalgoorlie.
As recorded on the Tavistock headstone Robert Mackey died aged 63 at Kalgoorlie on the 14th March 1909 and a funeral report in the Kalgoorlie Miner of the following day gives a brief account of his life:
DEATH OF MR. R. MACKEY
Mr. Robert Mackey, head of the well-known company of R. Mackey and Co. Ltd., cordial manufacturers, died somewhat suddenly at a late hour last night at his residence, Victoria street, Kalgoorlie. The deceased gentleman had been a sufferer from asthmatical attacks for a long time, was seized by one of them last evening and, despite prompt care and attention, he passed away. Arrangements have been made for the funeral tomorrow.
The late Mr. Mackey leaves one daughter to mourn her loss. His wife pre deceased him some years ago. He was one of the very earliest residents of Kalgoorlie, where he started business as an aerated water manufacturer in the days of the infancy of the place. From humble beginnings he created by dint of his own exertions and industry the flourishing concern which was formed into a company some years ago. He was a man who stuck solidly to his business, and never sought for public honours or distinction in any way. He lived a quiet, unpretentious life, and his name was associated with many unostentatious acts of charity. He created for himself a host of good friends among the pioneer citizens, as well as the later residents of Kalgoorlie. Before he opened out on his own account he was manager in Perth for Messrs. Crowther and Letchford, cordial manufacturers. The news of his death will be received with deep regret by his friends and acquaintances on all parts of the goldfields.
Robert Mackey was buried in Kalgoorlie cemetery beside the graves of the other early pioneers in this mining community. His funeral was a grand event in the style of the pre-WW1 years with a long procession of forty five to fifty carriages filled with notable people who left the deceased’s house in Victoria Street and proceeded to the Anglican Church. Here the Rev. Archdeacon McClemans conducted a service, and afterwards the procession continued on its final journey to the Kalgoorlie General Cemetery.
Will of Robert Mackey
Robert Mackey’s will and accompanying documents now in the State Record Office of Western Australia at Perth show that he left few possessions and no property, his principal asset was 1583 shares valued at £2374 10s in R. Mackey & Co. When various liabilities had been deducted he left effects to the value of £2071 3s 1d to his sole beneficiary, Alice Mackey. The handwritten will is dated 1898 but the day and month had been omitted. It was handed to Alice for safekeeping by her father shortly after she arrived but the omission was not realised until after his death. In order to overcome this problem Alice signed an affidavit which refers to her parents marriage in New York, her mother’s and two brothers’ deaths in England, her father’s request for her to come to Australia, and her own status as daughter and sole beneficiary of the deceased. Probate was granted by the Supreme Court of Western Australia on the 22nd April 1909. This raises the question of whether or not Alice Mackey knew of her father’s second marriage.
Interior of the MacKey Brewery 1898
In late 1909 Alice Mackey left for England and returned to Kalgoorlie in March 1910. No doubt she would have visited her widowed aunt, Sarah Collacott who was still living at 5 Parkwood Villas, Tavistock. At the time of Robert Mackey’s death Robert Hogg was working in Melbourne and sent a telegram of condolence to Alice Mackay. The following year he returned to Kalgoorlie becoming Secretary to the Tattershall’s Club a horse racing club, which had its offices in Egan Street, not far from the aerated water factory premises. Clearly he wasted no time in renewing his acquaintance with Alice Mackey and in November 1911 they married. She was 35 years of age and he was 50 years of age. The club members generously presented the couple with an oak bedroom suite.
The Kalgoorlie Western Argus of the 28th November 1911 reported the happy event:
A very quiet wedding took place in the St Johns Church on Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock when Miss Alice Mackey was married to Mr Robert Hogg, Secretary to Tattershall’s Club, Kalgoorlie. The Ven. Archdeacon Mc Clemans performed the ceremony. The bride who was given away by Mr. J.W. Fimister was prettily gowned in white muslin, neatly trimmed with lace, and wore a smart white hat, instead of the usual wreath and veil. After the ceremony a few of their most intimate friends assembled at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Fimister where a cake and wine was served. The bride and bridegroom left by the express for Mandurah, where the honeymoon is to be spent.
And so, Alice gained both a husband and a manager for the aerated water business, also a prominent role in the social scene of Kalgoorlie centred on its popular horse racing meetings. There were no children from the marriage. Robert Mackey, and later Alice and Robert Hogg lived at 20 Victoria Street, Kalgoorlie; which is still standing and is much the same as it would have been in the MacKey time.
Robert Hogg was able to slot back into the business and helped in no small part by the dry weather continued to be successful as an account in the Kalgoorlie Miner of the 21st November 1911 indicates:
The old maxim ‘It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good’ is exemplified by the terrific weather which we have been experiencing of late. If the hot weather does nothing it creates a thirst, and of necessity cordial and aerated water a very important part in assuaging that thirst. It is very gratifying to know that local industry is being appreciated in the supplying of this particular line, as a visit to Messrs. R. Mackey & Co.’s establishment in Egan street will testify. Elaborate arrangements had been made by the management to cope with the expected demand, but even these have been exceeded. Those who drink Messrs. Mackey & Co’s cordials or aerated water can rest assured that nothing is left undone that can be done to turn out the very best article. The best of materials are used in the manufacture, and elaborate machinery provides for a thorough cleansing of the bottles before they are refilled – the management are especially particular about this department. At present the corked stuff has to be wired by hand, and it takes two men working at high pressure to keep up with the machine, but the wiring machine which is to be installed will do away with this trouble. The management especially pride themselves on the quality of their sods water and ginger ale – they are quite satisfied that they are quite equal the very best imported stuff. – but their non-alcoholic pale ale, ginger beer, and lemon squash are not much inferior, and there is no reason why they should be when the quality of the material used and the care that is taken; is considered. Everything is done under the direct supervision of the factory manager, and he is an expert in this line. In addition to these all the various kinds of non-alcoholic drinks are made, and Mackey’s Globe Cordial Factory bids fair to become a household name on the goldfields.
Robert Hogg died aged 63 on the 15th August 1924 and his obituary which appeared in the Kalgoorlie Miner of the 16th August 1924 gives more information about his role in the company:
Obituary. – It is with deep regret that we have to announce the death of Mr. Robert Hogg, managing director of R. Mackey and Co., cordial manufacturers of Kalgoorlie. The sad event occurred at noon yesterday at his residence in Victoria Street. The deceased gentleman, who had not been ailing long, suffered from an incurable malady. He came from Braidwood, New South Wales to West Australia in 1896 and took up his residence on these goldfields, where he entered into commercial pursuits in addition to taking a prominent part in various mining ventures. Over twenty years ago he became town traveller for Mr. Robert Mackey, the founder of the business, and when the latter gentleman died a long while ago Mr. Hogg took over the management of the concern. He subsequently married Miss Mackey, the only child of the late Mr. Mackey. Mr. Hogg was an extremely popular man with all sections of the community on account of his genial and unassuming disposition. Although he did not enter into public life he rendered valuable service to many institutions. Benevolence was one of the great traits of his character, and many an unrecorded good deed stands to his credit. He was an active committee man of the Kalgoorlie Club and Tattershall’s Club and of the Kalgoorlie Racing Club. His wife was in constant attendance upon him during the period of his sickness. Much sympathy is expressed to her during the hour of her affliction.’
Robert Finlay Hogg was buried in the Anglican portion of the Kalgoorlie General Cemetery in the same plot as his father-in-law. Given that the two men had probably not parted on the best of terms in life this seems to be a strange decision on the part of Alice Hogg to put them together for eternity. Perhaps she had come to realise that the two outwardly affable but controlling men deserved each other. Their memorial headstone reads:-
In loving memory of my dear father Robert Mackey who died 14 Mar 1909 aged 63yrs, Thy will be done, Also my beloved husband Robert Findlay Hogg died 15 Aug 1924, at rest. The phrase ‘THY WILL BE DONE’ under the name of Robert Mackey occurs on both the headstones in the Plymouth Road, Tavistock, and in the Kalgoorlie cemetery. Therefore I think it is likely that Robert Mackey was added to the headstone in the Tavistock Cemetery following Alice Hogg’s visit in 1910.
Alice Hogg nee MacKey
Alice Hogg made a first attempt to sell her shares in the business in September 1924 and her home at 20 Victoria Street was put on the market in April 1925. In the Kalgoorlie Miner of the 28th August 1927 there is an informative account of how the Mackey and Co. business continued to expand and indicating that Alice Hogg was still in Kalgoorlie:
Passenger records show that Alice Hogg visited England again in 1930 but on this occasion she disembarked at Sydney. I think by this time she had already sold her interests in the aerated water business in Kalgoorlie, and moved to the more temperate climes of Braidwood, New South Wales. This was Robert Hogg’s home town. Here she found company and friendship with her late husband’s three unmarried sisters, and lived modestly in a small cottage nearby. A visitor in 1949 recorded that ‘she was a small person who looked very frail’. Alice Edith Hogg died aged 82 at the Park View Private Hospital, Five Dock, Sydney in 1958. On the death certificate her address is given as Malone Street, Braidwood, New South Wales. Her death was registered (27566/1958), by a niece, Jean Peterson. The aerated water and cordial factory continued in business until 1951 when it was purchased by the Golden Mile Aerated Water Company. Today on the site there are offices and a car park.
The glass and stoneware bottles of Mackey & Co., Kalgoorlie are today highly sought after by collectors. The company had its own distinctive trade mark of a globe which was obviously very appropriate. Robert Mackey registered the ‘Globe of the World’ trade mark on the 15th March 1899. R. Mackey & Co Ltd produced cordials, aerated waters, and ginger beer in a variety of containers including: stoneware ginger beer bottles, glass codds, glass skittles, glass dumpy crown seals, and finally conventional glass crown seal bottles in 26oz, 13oz and 7oz sizes. Of the Mackey Codd bottles there are at least twenty one variants, with the most sought after being the ‘Onion’ Globe, the amethyst and/or brown marble version, and the combined Dan Rylands/Melbourne Glass Bottle Works varieties. There are also at least eight different stoneware bottles from the company. Some of their early stoneware bottles were made by the Price pottery at Bristol. The scrolls format of the champagne shaped Mackey & Co. bottles is very similar to some Williams & Co., Tavistock bottles indicating an obvious link. I have been told a number of Mackey stoneware bottles were found during excavations on the former Price pottery site at Bristol.
Researched and written by Roderick Martin with assistance from Moya Sharp.
Footnote from Roderick Martin:
A Rival Company
It is interesting to record that there was another large cordial manufacturer in West Australia with a similar business name. This was Mackay & Co. started in 1924 at 38 – 42 Monger Street, Perth by Charlie McKay and James Thomson. The latter from Cargill, Perthshire, Scotland was formerly the foreman cordial maker with Mackey & Co. in Kalgoorlie. The story is that Thomson used to call in at the British Arms Hotel after work and it was here that he regularly met with Francis Charles McKay, a businessman and owner of the hotel. Charlie McKay persuaded James Thomson to set up a mineral water business with him.
In 1924 they left Kalgoorlie and set their aerated mineral water business at 10 Monger Street, Perth. The name of the new company was to be McKay & Co, but later an extra ‘a’ was added because they thought it looked better. Not surprisingly Mackey & Co. in Kalgoorlie were annoyed when they learnt about the name and sought an injunction against its use at the Supreme Court in Perth. A key witness for the plaintiffs was Alice Hogg, described as the leading shareholder and daughter of the founder of the Mackey & Co. business. She very strongly objected to the use of the name Mackay & Co. by the defendants, and thought it would be confusing for the public if two companies selling soft drinks had similar names. To further illustrate this point some ginger beer bottles were brought into court as exhibits. However the judge, Justice Burnside, was unimpressed and decided in favour of the defendants on the grounds that the Mackey & Co. business was in Kalgoorlie and the Mackay & Co. business was in Perth, and therefore the defendants could not be held to interfere with the plaintiffs’ trade.
In 1928 Mackay & Co. opened a new factory at 22 Money Street, Perth. Charlie McKay died in August 1933 and his share of the business was acquired by James Thomson. In September 1934 James Thomson died aboard the liner Moldavia when on the sea passage back from London to Fremantle after a visit to his native Scotland. He was buried at sea between Aden and Bombay. Ownership of the business passed to his widow, Jesse Thomson, and others. The premises were extended in 1942 by the addition of a general front office and manager’s office, and in 1943 by an enlarged factory area. Such developments were permitted since the business was a supplier of soft drinks to the armed forces. In 1946 a tall boiler was added and in the 1950s further alterations were made to offices and storerooms. During the early 1960s the business became the agents for Pepsi-Cola, and appears to have attracted a predatory interest from larger companies. In 1966 the business name of the company was purchased by Coco-Cola and soft drink making at the factory ceased. The premises were not part of the deal and were leased to a haulage company, and later became retailers’ stores. Jesse Thomson retained her ownership of the factory until her death in 1969. In 2002 the factory premises were the subject of a conservation report. The bottles of Mackay & Co. of Perth are today similarly sought after by collectors.
I am grateful to Moya Sharp, formerly secretary of the Goldfields Family History Society, Kalgoorlie, Curtis Jones, present owner of the Mackey house in Kalgoorlie, and Elaine Peterson, a great niece of Robert and Alice Hogg, for information and photographs. Also my thanks to Vivienne and Bill Sinclair, Terry Hawser, Jon Standing, and Paddy Bacskai.
Moya Sharp
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Loved the article about the cool drink factory man
Enjoyed reading this information about Robert Mackey and family history.
I have a brown bottle which is similar to a ‘tallie’ beer bottle, with the R. Mackey Co.name on it.
We did spend 6 years in Kalgoorlie, but I think that the bottle was found in an old dump site on a cattle station in North West Qld.
All very interesting…
Hi Krista Many thanks for your interest. This brewery was a very prolific one and there are many bottle of their to be found around the Goldfields