Melburnians are invited to celebrate the life of the man who brought us Freddo Frog and Cherry Ripe, as the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV) presents the exhibition: “Nail Can to Knighthood – the life of Sir Macpherson Robertson K.B.E.”
This colourful and mouth-watering exhibition features highlights from the life of a remarkable Melbourne businessman and philanthropist in an effort to illustrate some of his many achievements.
Opening on Wednesday 15 July, the exhibition features:
Exhibition: Nail Can to Knighthood
Showing: weekdays until Friday 18 December
Open: 10am–4pm Monday–Thursday; 10am–3pm Friday
Venue: Royal Historical Society of Victoria
239 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne
Cost: Gold coin donation
Enquiries: (03) 9326 9288
About Macpherson Robertson:
Macpherson Robertson, popularly known as ‘MacRob’, was of humble origins - born on the Ballarat goldfields to his Irish mother, Margaret, and his Scottish father, David.
The family moved to Queensland and from there Margaret took the children to Scotland while David sought work in Fiji. While in Scotland MacRob took several jobs to help the family, including working in two confectionery factories. After several years the family was reunited in Melbourne. Following his experience in Scotland, MacRob began an apprenticeship in the confectionery business and then went on to setup his empire in the family home.
MacRob began in a small way with a furnace made from a nail can and a tin pannikin to boil his sugar syrup. His original products were sugar animals packed in paper cones which he distributed on foot.
From these modest beginnings MacRob went on to build up his business by hard work - producing a wide range of superior products, investing in expert advertising and promotion, and displaying a readiness to adopt new technologies.
Under the name ‘MacRobertson’s’ his business ultimately grew to be Australia’s largest sweet manufacturer, employing thousands of people and with factories occupying a large part of Fitzroy.
MacRob is remembered for his introduction of chewing gum to Australia, branded as ‘Pepsin’ and marketed to sportspeople for its health benefits. He is even more famousfor iconic confectionery products such as ‘Old Gold’ chocolate, ‘Cherry Ripe’ and ‘Freddo Frog’.
He made many philanthropic contributions to Melbourne and Australia, including the financing of two Antarctic expeditions, which he was knighted for in 1932.
As his contribution to the 1934 Victorian Centenary celebrations, he paid for the construction of the Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School, the MacRobertson Bridge over the Yarra, the National Herbarium building and the MacRobertson Fountain in the Domain. He also provided prize money for the Centenary Air Race from England to Melbourne.
About the RHSV:
Formed in 1909, the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV) is committed to collecting, researching and sharing an understanding of the history of Victoria. Housing the most extensive single information resource on the history of Melbourne and Victoria, collections are open Monday to Friday, 10am – 4pm. The RHSV is a community organisation that relies on membership subscriptions. Join today and help promote and preserve the history of Victoria – www.historyvictoria.org.au. You can also keep up to date with the past via the RHSV’s Twitter http://www.twitter.com/historyvictoria and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/historyvictoria
