Did you know that some of Australia's most iconic chocolate products, including Cherry Ripe, Freddo Frog and Old Gold, have a connection to Ballarat? These and many other chocolate products originate from the MacRobertson's chocolate company, which was established by Ballarat-born entrepreneur, Sir Macpherson Robertson (1859-1945). But Macpherson Robertson’s life comprised much more than chocolate and his extraordinary life of adventure and service is the subject of this post.
Macpherson Robertson was born in Ballarat on 6 September 1859, the eldest son of seven children, to Macpherson David Robertson, a Scottish carpenter born in Uruguay to Scottish parents, and his Irish wife Margaret nee Brown. (1)
David Robertson moved between gold seeking and obtaining jobs as a carpenter, which left his family to live a meagre existence. (2) In 1865, David was the licensee of the Golden Fleece Hotel. The 1865 Ballarat Municipal Directory listed him as a brewer in Raglan Street, Ballarat. (3)
In 1869, Margaret, with her family, returned to Leith in Scotland after David abandoned the family and moved to Fiji. Macpherson resented his father for causing him to leave school early to become the main breadwinner. Now in Scotland, Macpherson took on an apprenticeship with the Victoria Confectionary Co. and gained further experience with other confectionary companies. (4)
In 1874, the family returned to Australia at the request of Macpherson’s father, David, who was now living in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. In 1880, using the skills he learned in Scotland, Macpherson began making confectionary with an improvised boiler in the bathroom of his family home in Fitzroy. He made confectionary from Monday to Thursday and sold it to local shopkeepers around Melbourne on Fridays and Saturdays. (5)
Over the ensuring years the business continued to expand and was known as the Mac Robertson Confectionary Works, manufacturing items like Cherry Ripe, Freddo Frogs, Snack, Old Gold Chocolate, Milk Kisses and Columbines, just to mention a few. At the height of its operation Mac Robertsons was the largest chocolate manufacturer in the southern hemisphere, employing 3000 employees. It was taken over by Cadbury in 1967. (6)
MacRobertson was well known for his generous philanthropy. In 1925, he presented a silver-mounted shield to establish the MacRobertson International Croquet Shield. This event is still played today on a rotation between England, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. (7)
To draw attention to the huge landscape that is Australia, and to highlight the logistical nightmare faced in shipping products around the Australian continent, Robertson sponsored The MacRobertson Expedition, a circuit of Australia in two Karnier trucks. The expedition took five months to complete, and Robertson displayed that goods could be transported by land around the country. (8)
In 1934, due to the expedition's success, Robertson bought a DE Havilland aircraft to enhance travel around the country. He financed and co-founded with the pilot Horne Miller the Macrobertson Miller Airline which transported mail between Adelaide and Perth, and later a passenger service throughout Western Australian and the Northern Territory until it was eventually taken over by Ansett. (9)
In 1929, Sir Douglas Mawson was looking for funding to lead an expedition to Antartica. Having failed to secure any Federal government funding, Mawson and Stanley Bruce, the Prime Minister at the time, sought out Robertson to ascertain if he would fund the expedition. He agreed and contributed 16,500 pounds. Mawson named a stretch of land in Antartica Macrobertson Land in his honour. He was also made a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society in London. (10)
In 1934, an air race was held as part of the Melbourne 100th Centenary. Due to his fascination and interest, Robertson was happy to provide the first prize of 15,000 pounds. As a result, the race was called the MacRobertson Centenary Air Race. It ran from Mildenhall (near London) to Melbourne. The race was divided into two sections, speed and handicap, and there were no restrictions to the plane's size, power or crew. The race covered nineteen countries, with the winners of the speed section being C.W.A. Scott and T. Campbell Black, and the winners of the handicap section, Messers Parmentier, Moll, Prins and Von Brugge. (11)
Robertson’s greatest act of philanthropy was the 100,000 pounds he contributed in 1933 to help Melbourne celebrate its centenary in 1934. The money was spent on the MacRobertson Girls High School, an herbarium in Melbourne Botanic Gardens, MacRobertson Bridge over the Yarra River and the MacRobertson Fountain at the front of the Shrine of Remembrance. (12).
Robertson was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1932 for services to Antarctic expeditions. In recognition of his philanthropic efforts, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the British Empire in 1935. (13)
Sir Macpherson Robertson died at his home in Kew on 20 August 1945. He was cremated following an service at Scots Church in Melbourne. (14)
Simon Jacks
Australiana Research Librarian
Online resources:
Newspaper report on the death of Sir Macpherson Robertson. The Argus 21 August 1945, p.5
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/965712
Sir Macpherson Robertson’s entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/robertson-sir-macpherson-8237
Footnotes:
(1) Australian Dictionary of Biography Online. Accessed 23 May 2024.
(2) Jill Robertson. (2004). MacRobertson: the chocolate king. Melbourne Vic. Lothian Pty Ltd. p.5
(3) Jill Robertson.p.5
(4) Australian Dictionary of Biography.
(5) David Robertson. An insight into the life of Sir Macpherson Robertson. History News Newsletter of Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Issue no 319. Au-Sept 2015. p.5
(6) History News. p.5
(7) Croquet International Australia Website. Accessed 23 May 2024.
(8) History News.p.5
(9) History News. p.5
(10) History News.p.5
(11) MacRobertson Centenary Air Race. State Library of New South Wales. Accessed 21 May 2024.
(12) Australian Dictionary of Biography.
(13 Its an Honour website, Accessed 21 May 2024
(14) Australian Dictionary of Biography
