Early Aerated Water Production in Norseman
Aerated waters were an essential commodity on the Goldfields from the earliest years of exploration and settlement. Gold was first discovered at Norseman in 1894, and the town was gazetted in 1895. A South Australian company was floated in November 1895 to supply aerated water and condensed water to the fields. A cordial factory was operating soon after, as advertisements for its sale appeared in May 1896.
In August 1898, John Patterson applied for a provisional licence for premises rented from Abraham Krakouer on Lots 59 and 60 Roberts Street, while also noting that a new facility was about to be built. Patterson had initially partnered with John Ernest Dixon, but their partnership dissolved by December of the same year, leaving Patterson to continue the manufacturing of aerated waters. Women began joining their families in the expanding township, and the author’s aunt married at the Mount Benson Mine in 1901.
Patterson was listed in Princep Street in June 1904 before relocating to Collie in September. His cordial business was then taken over by Richard Abbs Duffield, a grocer and storekeeper who produced drinks until around 1910. Duffield later moved to Merredin, where he returned to grocery work by 1916.
The Perkin Family and the Growth of Local Trade
By 1912, George Thornton Hargett Perkin had opened a grocery store with his wife, Ethel May (née Mottherston). The couple married in Norseman in 1907 and welcomed three sons: Alfred John (1907), Ernest Home (1909), and George (1911). Sadly, George T. H. Perkin died suddenly in 1912, leaving Ethel to raise their young family.
In October 1915, the partnership between Robert Moore and Charles Harden Nettle was dissolved, with Moore continuing to operate the Premier Cordial Factory in Princep Street. In May 1924, Moore transferred the Gallon Licence for the Premier Bottling Works to Henry Frederick Hollow. Hollow had married the widowed Ethel Perkin in 1922 but died in Kalgoorlie Hospital in February 1930 at the age of 47. Ethel subsequently took over the business, likely with community assistance. Her first advertisement under the name Norseman Aerated Water Factory appeared in the Norseman/Esperance News on 30 January 1937.
The Establishment of Perkin Brothers
By January 1939, Ethel’s sons—Alfred, Ernest and George—were managing the business, now advertised as Perkin & Co. The enterprise expanded to include firewood supplies and petrol sales on site. Later that year, the firm adopted the name Perkin Bros. Alfred was reportedly the principal brewer, while Ernest and George were more often recorded as labourers or carriers.
In September 1946, Perkin Brothers were listed as general carriers, haulage contractors, and firewood merchants, with orders accepted at the Perkin and Trotter store. Cordials and aerated waters, however, remained their core trade. The Norseman Co-operative Society took over Trotter and Perkin’s Roberts Street store in November 1948. Perkin Bros continued producing drinks through at least November 1949 and were still listed in the Universal Country Business Directory in 1954 under Premier Cordial Factory, 79 Princep Street, Norseman. No closing date for the factory has yet been located.
Perkin Brothers manufactured amber 26-oz paper-label bottles.
Alfred John Perkin died on 7 January 1995 and was buried at Esperance. Ernest Home Perkin died on 30 December 1957 and was buried at Norseman, as was George Perkin, who died on 26 August 1992. Their mother, Ethel May (Perkin) Hollow, died on 13 May 1958 and was also buried at Norseman.
References
Justice Department Births, Deaths and Marriages, Find a Grave, Norseman and Esperance Burial Records,
Electoral Rolls.
West Australian. (2 Nov 1895). The Golden Age Coolgardie. (5 May 1896).
Norseman Times. (24 Aug 1898; 30 Dec 1898; 28 Jun 1904; 30 Sept 1904; 30 Apr 1907; 12 Sep 1912).
Kalgoorlie Miner. (19 May 1924; 17 Feb 1930; 9 Nov 1948).
Norseman/Esperance News. (21 Oct 1915; 30 Jan 1937; 6 Jan 1939; 13 Sep 1946; 15 Nov 1946; 9 Nov 1949)
Vivienne Sinclair
Edited by Trudi Anne Gribble