It is thought that John Parkinson shifted to Opotiki in the late 1860's because his sons were in the militia. It was at this time he established a cordial manufacturing business supposedly using a very early edition of the British Pharmacopia. John died in 1889 and passed the business to his 4th son, also John. A third generation of the family kept the business operating until after the 2nd World War when the economics of maintaining a small cordial factory in a very small country town proved too much. There are apparently 2 known codd bottles (ABC February 1978)