South Australian Brewing Company

The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited, was established in February 1888 as the South Australian Brewing, Malting, and Wine and Spirit Company by the amalgamation of Sir Edwin Thomas Smith's Kent Town Brewery, William Knox Simms's West End Brewery and the wine and spirit merchants Rounsevell & Simms (W. B. Rounsevell and Alfred Simms).[1]

West End Brewery, Hindley Street, south side c. 1920

The Managing Directors of the new company were Robert Alfred Stock, Alfred Simms JP., and W. B. Rounsevell. Provisional directors were Sir. E. T. Smith, W. K. Simms, MLC., W. B. Rounsevell, MP., R. A. Stock, Alfred Simms, Charles H. T. Hart, and Frank Rymill of Adelaide, and Hon. N. Fitzgerald, MLC., John Robb, JP., M. D. McEacharn, John B. Watson, and John McIlwraith, of Melbourne.

In 1927 T. A. Nation was the brewer and G. B. Bryant the general manager. His board of directors comprised S. J. Jacobs (later Managing Director), Sir Lancelot Stirling, K.C.M.G., Edward Fitzgerald, LL.D., and H. W. Morphett.[2]

The Torrenside Brewery at Southwark, (pronounced SUTH-uk, now part of Thebarton, pronounced THEB-uh-tun) on the banks of the River Torrens north-west of the city centre producing "Southwark" beers, was founded by A. W. & T. L. Ware in 1886[3] and became the Walkerville Cooperative Brewery[4] in 1898.[5] This business was taken over by the South Australian Brewing Company in 1938.[6]

The West End brewery was closed between the wars, and the operations consolidated with the Southwark brewery operations at the Thebarton site.

According to legend, the black and red colours of the SA Brewing Company came about after the West Adelaide Football Club (whose colours are black and red) defeated Port Adelaide in the 1909 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Australian rules football Grand Final.

West End Draught remains the largest selling beer in South Australia. West End Draught is a currently a 4.5% abv pale lager, first brewed in 1859.[7] The brand is actively involved with the SANFL, was the original sponsor of the "Showdown" in the Australian Football League, and is one of the sponsors of the "Slowdown" charity football match. The tradition of painting the Thebarton brewery chimney with the team colours of the SANFL premiership finalists began in 1954.[8]

Other beers brewed under the West End brand are West End Export, West End Gold and West End Light.

Prior to the acquisition of the brewing assets by Lion Nathan in 1993, SA Brewing split its brewing assets into "SA Brewing Holdings", and its diversified operations were formed into a new listed company named Southcorp. One of Southcorp's major assets was "Southcorp Wines", (acquired from the Adelaide Steamship Company in 1990), and subsequently acquired by Lion Nathan's main Australian rival, the Foster's Group.

See also

References

Notes
  1. "Advertising". South Australian Register Supplement. LIII (12, 880). South Australia. 24 February 1888. p. 1. Retrieved 25 October 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Captains of Industry". The News (Adelaide). VIII (1, 167). South Australia. 11 April 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 26 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "The Torrenside Brewery". The South Australian Advertiser. XXVIII (8600). South Australia. 12 May 1886. p. 6. Retrieved 28 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Early Breweries". The Mail (Adelaide). 15 (757). South Australia. 27 November 1926. p. 17. Retrieved 28 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Amalgamation of Breweries". The Express and Telegraph. XXXV (10, 425). South Australia. 26 July 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 28 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "More Capital for S.A. Brewing Co". The News (Adelaide). XXXI (4, 670). South Australia. 13 July 1938. p. 12. Retrieved 28 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. West End Draught Archived 2 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Lion Nathan website, retrieved 2008-10-10.
  8. Chimney Ceremony, West End Draught brand information, retrieved 2008-10-10.

Bibliography
  • Deutsher, Keith M. (2012). The Breweries of Australia (2nd ed.). Glebe, NSW: Beer & Brewer Media. ISBN 9780987395214.
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