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The Mineral Water Trade in Te Aroha – 1883 to 1964

Research is still continuing into the various bottlers who perhaps bottled in Te Aroha or  who used the waters from Te Aroha at an outside source. This information was updated on the 17th March 2002

On Saturday June 9 1883 A W Taylor & Co advise, having erected a soda water machine at Te Aroha, are prepared to supply lemonade, soda water, ginger beer and cordial.On the 19th October 1883 Mr A W Taylor sold his aerated water business to Mr Walter Grey. 

Sometime pre-October 1883 (Unconfirmed at February 1883) Mr Edward Peel advised that he had commenced Te Aroha Steam Mineral Water Manufactory, aerated water and cordial manufacturer, in Whitaker St. On November 8th 1883 he advised he was operating from temporary premises in Rolleston St. On August 8th 1885 Mr Edward Peel advertised that he had commenced manufacture as the Te Aroha Mineral Water Manufactory on the corner of Whitaker & Bridge (now Lawrence) Streets.  It should be noted that on the same day this advertisement appeared that Mr James (of Ahier & James) informed the Domain Board verbally that Mr Peel had withdrawn his application to bottle the overflow from the no 8 spring.

On Aug 8th 1885 George Robson, (a chemist who shifted to Te Aroha in 1882 from Hamilton), obtained a licence from the Domain Board to bottle the overflow waters from the springs. The water was free for the 1st year, 1 penny a gallon in the 2nd year, 2 pence a gallon in years 3 & 4 and rising to 3 pence a gallon in year 5 and subsequently. We do know this was spread over a 10 year term and the Domain Board was eventually unhappy with his performance but he managed to convince them to transfer his licence to a new company in which he was a shareholder. The first Robson bottles arrived in March 1886.

In 1887 Te Aroha Soda & Mineral Water Co Ltd advised, from the offices of the company in 32 Queen St, Auckland, that they had bought the right to bottle the overflow of the Te Aroha springs. George Robson was a shareholder in this company which had been incorporated with a capital of 2000 pounds. Other shareholders included Moss Davis, A F James, Te Aroha and C Ahier, Te Aroha. In April 1887 the No 8 spring bottled soda water was exhibited at the Colonial & Indian Exhibition at London and was awarded a diploma & commemorative medal. They had been granted a licence in June 1886 for 10 years “because the Domain Board hoped that the erection of new buildings would help with new growth for the town.” One of the shareholders in this company was Moss Davis. It is interesting to note that Moss Davis  was also a shareholder in Hancock & Co (NZ) Ltd, proprietors of the Captain Cook Brewery, Kyber (sic) Pass Road, Auckland. On Saturday June 22nd 1889 Te Aroha Mineral Water was being advertised locally as being supplied by Hancock & Co.

There is an advertisement which is purported to date from 1882 which claimed J Grey of Auckland was the sole bottler of Te Arohas mineral waters. There is a newspaper report in the Waikato Times of 8/5/1890 stating that J Grey had purchased the rights from the Te Aroha Mineral Water Co who passed a resolution in May 1889 to sell the company to Samuel Jagger (d June 17 1890) of Auckland.

On the 15/12/1887 Ahier & James advise the local hotel trade & residents, in the local paper, of the sale of their business to Samuel L Hirst of Wairongomai. (In the 1930 centenary booklet of Te Aroha p XI mentions Mr S  L Hirst being appointed interim Mayor (March - May1902 ), p 86 he is mentioned being currently in charge of the Northern Steamship Co”s operations in Te Aroha. In the magazine produced in 1951 for the Te Aroha District High School Jubilee (1881-1951) – “older pupils will remember ….. Hirsts Aerated Water Factory … “)   

It is interesting to note that Ahier was Chair of the Domain Board, and James was a member, right through from 1885 when Robson was first granted a licence, and, both ended up being fellow shareholders with Robson in Te Aroha Soda & Mineral Water Co.

J J Calderwood is mentioned around 1894 - 1910 as a bottler in Te Aroha. Indeed there is a 10 oz hogben of his in existence. From the Cyclopaedia of NZ, 1902 J J Calderwood is mentioned as having been the manager of Te Aroha Mineral Waters in 1897 and the manager of Menzies & Co, Waihi in 1900. (It is possible that there were 2 brothers, both J J Calderwood)  

In 1889 Robert Menzies formed a partnership with Samuel Hirst and purchased Buteman Bros Thames factory. There are bottles from that period “Menzies & Co” with a M&H logo. Did he also take over the Te Aroha factory but locals continued to call it Hirst’s? Later bottles of Menzies & Co have a different logo again. Was this from the expansion into Auckland in August 1902? Then in September 1902 Menzies & Co amalgamated with John Grey & Sons from Auckland and we had the start of Grey & Menzies Ltd. Various dates of 1931 and 1935 have been mentioned as the closure of the Te Aroha factory but the Te Aroha News of April 20th 1938  was still carrying advertising for the G&M Te Aroha factory with the local phone number.

Te Aroha Mineral Water Company Ltd Dec 1911 - 1914 Whitaker/Wild St.  

Hancock & Co (NZ) Ltd 1911 - 1928.      Bottled by Wai Wai in Auckland (see picture below)

 

Taken from a 1922 publication. Only reference so far found. There is a bottle embossed "Mineral Springs Co, Te Aroha" a crown top which would be around this vintage.

 

 

 


C L Innes & Co 1920 -1964 bottled in Hamilton, but, from the springs previously operated by Te Aroha Mineral Water Co. You can still see the collection well today.(as can be seen from the illustrations on the left they originally bottled as "Wai Aroha"(complete with Gold Medal), then as Lemon & Te Aroha)



Dept of Tourism & Health operated the Domain spa complex and the waters were bottled by Clarke in Rotorua.

CA Clarke Te Aroha water bottled in Rotorua. What dates??

JA Clarke, Hamilton     1926               c1938             By 1928 sole rights no 8 spring

TA Watters, Waihi     1952??
watterswaihlbl2.JPG (95151 bytes)watterswaihlbl1.JPG (91542 bytes)Auckland Star June 3rd 1980 reported that T K Watters had received approval from the Te Aroha Borough Council to investigate the possibilities of bottling and manufacturing Te Aroha Mineral Water for the export market.
 Click on images to see full size pix.

 

Sherlock b.JPG (93476 bytes)George Sherlock is sometimes mentioned as a "bottler" in Te Aroha but family history has George as manager of various bottling companies from 1880's - 1931. From the 1902 Cyclopaedia of New Zealand George is mentioned as having been appointed as the Manager of Grey & Menzies in 1896 having had 8 years previous experience in the cordial & soft drink trade. Interesting, that it was a reference to Grey & Menzies, not Menzies & Co. George married a daughter of Mr A G Nicholls in Auckland. From grandchildren (2000) we do know that the family lived in a house fronting Rewi Street with the factory situated behind. Originally Rewi Street was the main street with the back entrance being from Whittaker St.

As can be seen there has been tremendous interest in the "mineral" waters from Te Aroha for many years and there were many different bottlers, most claiming "sole rights". Most of these names have now disappeared but it interesting to note Grey & Menzies and CL Innes & Co went on to become the major 2 bottlers in NZ eventually combining into Innes Tartan, then Oasis Industries who after various name & ownership changes are now the largest bottlers in NZ.

Dumpy pair diff emb.jpg (45735 bytes)On the left are 2 versions of the Te Aroha "dumpy" bottle (click to see full size). TheTA s&m water pair.jpg (29704 bytes) one on the left has Robson & Co whilst the one on the right appears to be the same mould with Robsons name blanked out. The picture on the right is the Rylands patent codd of Te Aroha Soda & Mineral Water Co, Auckland. Question - is it possible that George Robson used the bottle with his name for approximately 1 year, that Te Aroha Soda & Mineral Water Co used the blanked out bottle for water bottled in Te Aroha, and the codds for water bottled in Auckland? Could it be that George Robson was never actually a bottler, but that he used Ahier & James to do his bottling? If there was a Te Aroha & Auckland plant it could explain why there are such anomalies as both R R Menzies & J J Calderwood being reported as Managers of Te Aroha Soda & Mineral Water Co at the same time.

Little is recorded (and there is much confusion owing to companies of very similar names) about the early activities of some of these companies.

The Te Aroha Mineral Water Co purchased the Mining Right to Allot 9, Block XXX in July 1911. On the 21st December 1911 the "Te Aroha News" reported that "yesterday saw the first production of 240 dozen bottles of mineral water. The water flowed from 32 wells, naturally, into the factory which is approx 40 feet below and 300 feet distant from the supply. 
The water is conducted to the factory by a tin pipe. On entering it passes through a filter under a pressure of 10lbs per sq inch and is then lead direct to the aerating machine (Hayward Tyler & Co, London makers). Here it is charged with its own natural gas, and it is then bottled, corked, wired, labelled and packed ready for export. 
The company has a capital of £3000, the Chairman of Directors, Mr A J Farmer being well known locally. The secretary is Mr C McMasters and the main office 20 Empire Bldgs, Swanson St, Auckland. It is the intention of the company to export the waters in large quantities, which will no doubt do more to make Te Aroha & its resources well known than any previous advertisements.
The Wai Aroha  water is the only water bottled at the springs themselves, other waters being bottled by cordial manufacturers in Auckland or elsewhere. Wai Aroha is sold in small half pint bottles, bearing a handsome label, for which competitive designs were called, and which now compares more than favourably with those of other bottlers. The neck label bears a view of the Government Sanitorium, and the Government analysis of the water.
The premises in Whitaker St plus the plant cost six hundred pounds and the machinery is driven by the first electric motor in Te Aroha. The company is contemplating other "medicinal" waters and also a dry ginger ale made from pure mineral water. (Even today the octagonal building housing 2 of the springs can still be seen behind 50 Whitaker St.) 
Earlier, in 1901 the lease on this property had been held by Anna Maria Gathercole Williams and was known as "Williams Magnesia Springs & Strawberry Gardens" – "a delightful place of winding paths, shady nooks and leafy bowers laid out in a bewildering maze of flower gardens, strawberry plots and an orchard whereon the marvellous waters, direct from nature’s own laboratories provide health giving waters". Mr & Mrs Williams (as far as is known) never actually bottled water in any great quantities but their brochure does say it was available at 1d per glass or 3d per bottle from Williams Magnesia Springs or Williams Domain Emporium next to the Grand Hotel. 

In 1914 the lease passed to Mr Farmer and Te Aroha Mineral Water Co ceased to exist. In 1920  C L Innes purchased the lease from a Mr McDonald. (In 1915 Grey & Menzies purchased the Paeroa Mineral Water Co – the name Lemon & Paeroa was trademarked by Robert Fewell in 1914 - and in 1920 started marketing Lemon & Paeroa) . CL Innes then started marketing "Wai Aroha Mineral Water & Lemon". From 1935 CL Innes changed the label back to "Lemon & Te Aroha".

 

Robert Robertson Menzies

 

Born in Scotland in 1854, came to NZ in 1858 with his mother and at the age of 18 started working for Buteman Bros in Thames for a year. He then spent 3 years with them in Fiji. On his return to Thames he went to work for Ballins Bros for a short period before taking a position in John Grey’s Coromandel factory. In March 1889 he was appointed by brewers Hancock & Co manager of the Te Aroha Mineral Water Co Ltd. In 1889 he purchased the business of Buteman Bros forming Menzies & Co in partnership with Samuel Hirst (their trademark shows the M & H included in the monogram). In August 1902, in conjunction with 2 partners (William Eddows & John Ryan), he established Menzies Ltd and leased a property in Stanley St, Auckland. In September 1902, just 1 month later, John Grey & Sons Ltd (then Aucklands leading manufacturer) and Menzies Ltd combined to form Grey & Menzies Ltd – 2 formidable Scotsmen. Grey & Menzies now had factories in Whangarei, Auckland, Devonport, Paeroa, Thames, Coromandel, Waihi, Te Aroha and Hamilton. They were to continue a presence in Te Aroha until 1931 – the last soft drink manufacturer in town. Pictured above is George Manson who was the depot manager until its closure. It is interesting to note that the number of factories in NZ peaked in 1920 at 163.

 

"From the Famous No 8 Spring". This label is from the first direct sales by Hancock & Co but through Mr Ernest Davis, Hancocks had an interest in Te Aroha Soda & Mineral Water Co Ltd. Mineral waters were used extensively in the hotel trade and the brewery combines liked the idea of being their own suppliers. Campbell & Ehrenfried bottled from the neighbouring Puriri Springs.

Apart from Innes most bottlers claimed "their" water came from the no 8 spring, even though 15 was extensively used.

 

I am indebted to Mr Arthur Mahon for sharing his research with me, particularly copies of early advertisements and records of the Domain Board meetings. "Temperance Waters" privately published by Murray Frost in 1993 and the listing of shareholders in Te Aroha Soda & Mineral Water Co Ltd was an invaluable research tool. Terry Bishop from Hamilton supplied the photo of the CL Innes Lemon & Te Aroha bottle. Some major errors have now been corrected. That doesn't mean to say it is 100%, there are still questions. And, if you have answers I would love to have them.  This page was last updated on the 17th March 2002.

A History of the Aerated Water Industry in NZ 1845-1986 by Peter EW Robson published by the NZ Soft Drink Association, P O Box 6549, Wellington is a fascinating read.

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© 2000 Glenn Corbin. Permission is freely granted for private use. Permission is granted to any club, society or non-profit organisation. Email corbin@ihug.co.nz for any additions or enquiries.