2022 Non-alcoholic drinks on the rise
I wrote the following article for SoVino, the in-house magazine of the Independent Liquor Retailers group, in late 2021. Since… Read More
Drinking
2020 Mateus Rosé makes a comeback
To those of us of a certain age, the words "Mateus Rosé" conjure up memories of our early wine-drinking years.… Read More
2016 Goodbye Sunnyboy
In September 2016 the Daily Juice Company announced that the Sunnyboy was being deleted. The pyramid-shaped ice-block in a Tetrapak… Read More
2015 Flat white hits Starbucks USA
Reversing the usual direction of cultural exchange, Starbucks introduced the Flat White coffee in US outlets. This Australian (we claim)… Read More
2014 Fruit juice less popular
According to research company Roy Morgan, Australians drank less fruit juice in 2014. This continued a four-year trend. They reported… Read More
2014 Alternative milks grow in popularity
A report by research company IBISWorld in 2014 showed that the growth rate for alternative milks such as soy and… Read More
2014 Riesling tops in wine survey
According to a survey by online wine retailer Vinomofo, Riesling was Aussie wine drinkers' preferred white in 2014, ahead of… Read More
2013 More Aussies drinking cider
According to Roy Morgan research, there were more Aussies drinking cider than ever before. In the 12 months to March… Read More
2009 Bottled water ban in Bundanoon
Residents of Bundanoon, in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, voted to ban the sale of bottled water in their town, making… Read More
2008 Starbucks closes Australian stores
Starbucks closed 62 of their 85 Australian stores across Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, South Australia and Tasmania,… Read More
2008 Bottled water gains market share
An AC Nielson survey in April 2008 showed that still water had a 9.9% market share of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink products,… Read More
2003 Aussie is world’s best barista
In 2003, 25-year-old Paul Bassett from Australia was officially named the world's best barista. He won the World Barista Championship title… Read More
2002 New wine can developed
Barokes Wines was founded by Steve Barics and Greg Stokes, reputedly after narrowly avoiding an experience involving a shattered wine… Read More
2001 Drive-through coffee
Muzz Buzz, a drive-through coffee chain, was founded by Craig Muzzeroll, who opened the first outlet in Belmont, Perth. The… Read More
2001 Australian Barista Championship begins
Although coffee culture began seeping into Australian life in the mid-20th century with the introduction of the espresso machine, it… Read More
2000 Juice bars hit Australia
The pioneers of the juice bar as we know it, Boost Juice and Viva Juice, were both founded in 2000, selling… Read More
2000 Starbucks launched in Australia.
Chains like Starbucks and Gloria Jeans were to coffee what the Eurovision song contest is to rock and roll. Their… Read More
1999 Energy drinks arrive in Australia
Energy drinks arrived in Australia in the late '90s. ‘V’ was first launched in New Zealand in 1997 and hit… Read More
1999 Aussies love soft drink
In 1999, Australians drank 113 litres of soft drink per person per year, or 300 ml per person per day (ABS).… Read More
1996 Gloria Jean’s arrives
The US coffee chain Gloria Jean's opened two stores in Sydney in 1996 and by 2003 was trading in every… Read More
1994 First laneway bar in Melbourne
The first laneway bar in Melbourne was set up by a group of architects who wanted a quiet drinking spot… Read More
1994: Liquor laws relaxed further in Victoria
The Victorian government revisited the liquor laws in 1994, creating the General Licence Class B which allowed establishments that didn’t… Read More
1993 Melbourne has world’s first McCafé
In an acknowledgement of Melbourne’s status as the coffee capital of Australia, Mcdonald's opened the first McCafé in the world… Read More
1990 Milk, calcium and osteoporosis
The Australian Dairy Corporation (now Dairy Australia) began its osteoporosis campaign, talking about calcium intake. Although milk had always been… Read More
1989 Tasmania’s sparkling wine revival
Tasmania's sparking wine revival began with the release of the 1989 Janz Traditional Method Sparkling. The Janz project was a… Read More
1989 Melbourne’s first small bar opens
The Dogs' Bar was opened in St Kilda by Donlevy Fitzpatrick, who campaigned for years for more civilised drinking laws.… Read More
1988 Caffè e Cucina opens in Chapel Street
The new licensing laws allowed cafés in Victoria to serve a glass of wine, a coffee or a complete meal.… Read More
1987 The Liquor Control Act 1987
The Niewenhuysen Review was a licensing system review commissioned by the Victorian government. It was let by an economist and… Read More
1986 First James Halliday annual wine guide
Australian wine critic, vigneron and wine judge James Halliday began writing about wine in 1979. In 1986, he produced his… Read More
1985 Birth of the Flat White
The first documented appearance of Australia’s most popular coffee order was at Moors Espresso Bar in Sydney's Chinatown in 1985.… Read More
1984 First ’boutique brewers’
The Old Ballarat Brewery in Victoria and the Sail and Anchor Pub Brewery in Western Australia were the first to… Read More
1979 Claytons enters the Australian vernacular
What's a product invented in England and sold as an import in Australia for most of its recorded history doing… Read More
1978 Launch of Big M
Big M flavoured milk was launched in Victoria with overtly sexy imagery of milk running down the cleavage of girls… Read More
1978 REV low fat milk launched in Victoria
REV low-fat milk was launched in Victoria and aimed at young adults. It was lower in fat and higher in… Read More
1978 Décor Insulated Wine Carrier launched
The Décor Insulated Wine Carrier with wine chiller was the essential accoutrement for visits to BYO restaurants. It was designed… Read More
1978 Vogue’s Champagne Diet
The Champagne Diet, published in Australian Vogue, made much of the fact that champagne was the least fattening of all… Read More
1977 Farmers Union Iced Coffee launched
Farmers Union Iced Coffee is a flavoured milk manufactured in South Australia, where it has iconic status along with other… Read More
1976 Hi-Lo milk launched in Canberra
Ho-Lo milk was the first low-fat specialty milk to be launched on the New South Wales market and a few… Read More
1974-5 Australia’s beer consumption peaks
After a long dry(ish) spell during the depression years of the 1930s, beer consumption grew rapidly during the wartime years.… Read More
1973 Abolition of school milk
Free school milk continued long beyond my primary school days, until a report to the government in 1973 deemed it… Read More
1971 First Aboriginal publicans in Australia
Catherine Hill Bay was a coal mining town near Newcastle, New South Wales, and was named after a ship that… Read More
1971 Humpty Doo Hotel opens
It's not the most historic, the most glamorous or even the quirkiest pub in Australia's Northern Territory. Unlike the Mataranka… Read More
1970 Wynn’s perfect the wine cask
Wynn's perfected the wine cask (bag-in-a-box) in 1970, with a tap that was exposed by tearing away a panel on… Read More
1970s Stubby holder becomes ubiquitous
Who invented the stubby holder? The answer is, nobody knows. Although most sources seem to agree that the stubby holder… Read More
1968 Tasmania’s first licensed restaurant
Until the 1960s, if you wanted to wine and dine in Tasmania your options were restricted. There were fancy meals… Read More
1968 Courage Beer launched
Courage Beer attempted to break the stranglehold Carlton & United had on the beer market in Victoria with its launch… Read More
1967 Bourbon & Beefsteak, Kings Cross
In 1967 a new era in the Americanisation of Australian food began. King's Cross in Sydney was the location of… Read More
1967 Six o’clock closing ends in SA
South Australia was the last state to end six o’clock closing. The new late-closing laws were introduced under the premiership… Read More
1966 Margaret River wine region identified
A 1966 research paper by agronomist Dr John Gladstones suggested that the Margaret River area in Western Australia would suit… Read More
1966 Russian poet orders Aussie champagne in Paris
During a visit to the Adelaide Festival in 1966, the Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko evidently acquired a taste for Seppelts… Read More
1966 Tarax sole Australian-owned soft drink company
By 1966, as overseas companies bought up all the soft drink manufacturers, only one all-Australian company remained as a major… Read More
1966 Six o’clock closing ends in Victoria
On 1 February 1966, Victorian hotel hours were extended to 10pm - the end of six o’clock closing and the… Read More
1965 Cask wine invented
The wine cask or ‘bag in a box’ was invented by Tom Angove of Angove’s in Renmark, South Australia. The… Read More
1965 Introduction of the BYO licence
The BYO boom in Victoria started slowly, but gathered momentum year on year, really hitting its stride in the early… Read More
1964 Café-Bar threatens tea ladies’ jobs
I remember tea ladies. Back in 1965, in the advertising agency I worked at, a trolley came trundling around twice… Read More
1962 Southern Cross Hotel opens in Melbourne
The Southern Cross Hotel was the first luxury hotel in Melbourne to depart from the traditional style of hotels like… Read More
1962 Ring pull can introduced in USA
The ring pull can was invented by Ermal Cleon "Ernie" Fraze of Dayton, Ohio, in 1959. It was first put… Read More
1961 First canned soft drinks
The first canned soft drinks in Australia were produced by Tarax in their Huntingdale, Melbourne, plant in 1961. Initially, Tarax… Read More
1960 Restaurant Licence introduced in Victoria
The new licence allowed alcohol to be served with food. Formerly only hotels, registered clubs and wine saloons could legally… Read More
1959 Lipton tea bags arrive in Australia
Although tea bags were invented in the 1920s, they made few inroads into tea drinking in Australia. There is one… Read More
1959 First all-Australian espresso machine
The first Boema espresso machine was made by two Italian immigrants, Signori Bordignon and Emer, hence Bo-ema. Their company became… Read More
1958 First beer cans in Australia
The first beer cans in Australia were made of steel and had to be opened with a 'church key' -… Read More
1958 Vittoria Coffee begins roasting
Vittoria Coffee has its origins in a company started by the Cantarella brothers, Orazio and Carmelo, who began importing European… Read More
1958 Darwin Stubby introduced
The Darwin Stubby, available only in the Northern Territory, was introduced by Carlton & United in April 1958 with an 80… Read More
1956 Tasmanian wine industry re-emerges
Although commercial wine-making began in the colony as early as 1823 and there were further attempts at wine-making in the… Read More
1956 Barossa Pearl sparkling wine launched
Barossa Pearl, however scornfully it’s referred to these days, changed the Australian wine industry. It was based on a German… Read More
1955 First milk cartons in Australia
The first time Australian milk was distributed in cartons was in the Beverley Hills area of Sydney in 1955, when Mr.… Read More
1955 NSW gets 10 o’clock closing
In a referendum in 1954 voters approved 10 o’clock closing by a narrow margin of 902,532 votes to 892,740. The… Read More
1955 Orchy orange juice
Orchy Orange Juice was first released in 1955. Instead of the cooked taste of canned orange juice, Orchy tasted like… Read More
1954 Crown Lager released to public
According to CUB, Crown Lager (originally Foster's Crown Lager) was first brewed in 1919 and only available to Australia's diplomats… Read More
1953 Diamantina cocktail nominated as unique Australian drink
In an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1953, W.P. Thornton sought to refute the idea that Australia… Read More
1953 Soft drink vending machines
The Australian soft drink industry underwent a radical transformation in the 1950s and '60s. The change was wrought by self-service… Read More
1952 The Esky ® invented
No doubt to the annoyance of the brand’s owners, the term ‘Esky’ is widely used in Australia as a generic… Read More
1951 School milk introduced by Menzies government
Far from being a conspiracy to put a whole generation off drinking milk forever, school milk was conceived as a… Read More
1951 First vintage of Penfolds Grange
Originally Grange Hermitage, Penfolds Grange was to become Australia’s most collectible wine. Penfolds Grange is made predominantly from Shiraz grapes (formerly… Read More
1947 Nescafe launched in Australia.
When Nescafé launched in Australia, it began the conversion of Australians from tea-drinkers to coffee drinkers. Coffee was associated with… Read More
1947 Liquor Referendum NSW
Pubs in most states of Australia, including New South Wales, had been closing at 6pm since 1916, when temperance advocates… Read More
1945 Kombucha makes news in Australia
In recent years, Kombucha, in the form of a tea-based drink, has made the transition from fringe to mainstream as… Read More
1942 Instructions for American Servicemen in Australia
A 54-page booklet titled Instructions for American Servicemen in Australia was produced for American forces stationed here during World War… Read More
1942 Beer rationing
Wartime beer rationing took the form of limits imposed on production. In March 1942 breweries were required to cut their… Read More
1942 WWII food rationing – tea and sugar rationed
To conserve food during WWII, rationing regulations were gazetted in May 1942 and food rationing began in June. Tea was… Read More
1940 Beer riot in Brisbane
In October 1940, a group of soldiers rioted in Brisbane as authorities began strict enforcement of the 8 o'clock closing… Read More
1939 Wine and Food Society NSW
The Wine and Food Society NSW was launched in the Rhine Castle Cellars on 9 March, 1939, with the inaugural… Read More
1938 Nescafé instant coffee invented in Switzerland.
While not the first instant coffee to be marketed, Nescafé was the first to be made by a spray drying process… Read More
1938 Coca-Cola first bottled in Australia
A Roy Morgan survey in 2015 showed that four of the five most popular soft drinks in Australia were cola… Read More
1937 First beer garden in Australia. Or not.
Pub beer gardens are a familiar part of our Aussie lifestyle. So it may surprise you to learn that we… Read More
1937 Houghton White Burgundy created
Winemaker Jack Mann created Houghton White Burgundy (now Houghton Classic White). The wine is still assembled from parcels of different… Read More
1937 Tasmania ends six o’clock closing
Tasmania was the first Australian state to jettison the six o'clock closing legislation introduced during WWI. In 1916, Tasmania had joined… Read More
1936 Wine and Food Society of Victoria
The Wine and Food Society of Victoria was modelled on the London Wine and Food Society established by gourmet and… Read More
1934 MILO introduced
First marketed as Nestlé’s Tonic Food, Milo powder was developed at Abbotsford in Sydney and launched at the Royal Easter… Read More
1932 Australia’s first milk bar
The Black and White 4d. Milk Bar, in Martin Place, Sydney was opened by Mick Adams in November 1932. He developed… Read More
1929 Blue Heaven colour first made
The Blue Heaven milk shake is an all-Australian invention, but its origins are unknown. What we do know is that… Read More
1928 First espresso machine in Australia
The first espresso machine in Australia, according to the Massoni family, was installed by Rinaldo Massoni at the Café Florentino… Read More
1926 Australia’s first fresh juice bar
The Victorian Railways Refreshment Branch opened a stall selling freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice drinks at Melbourne's Flinders Street… Read More
1924 Kirks Ginger Ale developed
Although today's Kirks soft drinks proudly boast "Since 1865" there is no evidence for that date of origin. The two… Read More
1924 Passiona first developed
Spencer Cottee , a dairy farmer from Lismore NSW developed Passiona cordial which, when carbonated, became the foundation product of… Read More
1924 XXXX Bitter Ale released
XXXX Bitter Ale was released by the Castlemaine Brewery in Brisbane in October 1924. The beer was promoted using a… Read More
1923 Eight o’clock closing in Queensland
As other Australian states had done in the previous decade, Queensland introduced earlier closing times for pubs, but chose slightly more civilised… Read More
1918 Darwin beer rebellion
In 1918, beer prices became a trigger for what became known as the Darwin Rebellion. When an angry crowd marched… Read More
1915 Six o’clock closing introduced in South Australia
Six o'clock closing was introduced for pubs in South Australia in 1915. The following year, Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria… Read More
1914 Tango suppers the rage in Melbourne
In 1913, the tango craze swept Europe, Britain and America. Australia was not far behind. In March 2014 the Paris… Read More
1911 Prohibition in Australia’s capital
In the late 19th and early 20th century, temperance advocates throughout Australia campaigned for a total ban on alcohol. The… Read More
1908 Minchinbury Champagne first produced
First made by Leo Buring at the Minchinbury Estate just a few minutes' walk from Sydney's Rooty Hill Station, Minchinbury… Read More
1907 Carlton & United Breweries formed
The Carlton Brewery had been operating in Bouverie Street, North Melbourne, since the 1860s, but in 1907 it united with… Read More
1905 O.T. Cordial – a chilli-based health drink
Imagine a drink that's perfect for summer, perfect for winter and absolutely ideal for spring. It helps keep colds and… Read More
1904 Melbourne Bitter Ale first brewed
Melbourne Bitter was born in 1904, when a group of pub owners formed the Melbourne Cooperative Brewery Company and began… Read More
1904 Hydro Majestic hotel opens at Medlow Bath
Built by the retail magnate Mark Foy, the Medlow Bath Hydro opened in 1904 as a hydropathic sanitorium and health… Read More
1901 Griffiths Australian-grown tea
Although others had earlier experimented with tea growing – notably the Cutten brothers at Bingil Bay in North Queensland –… Read More
1900 Great Western triumphs in Paris
Hans William Henry Irvine extended the underground cellars at Great Western, imported a French winemaker from the champagne house of… Read More
1900 Robur Tea Company founded
Until around 1880, most of the tea consumed in Australia came from China. However, from this time tea from Empire… Read More
1898 Kia-Ora cordial introduced
According to Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History, the Kia-Ora brand was first used for lemon squash by Arthur Gasquoine of… Read More
1897 Hamodava is the first fair trade tea
The Hamodava Tea Company was created by the Australian branch of the Salvation Army in 1897. It was the idea… Read More
1897 Pasteurised milk introduced
Pasteurised milk wasn't legally mandated in Australia until the 1950s, but in 1897 the New South Wales Fresh Food and… Read More
1893 Shelley’s soft drinks founded in Broken Hill
According to the Shelley family, the origin of Shelley's soft drinks can be traced back to 1893 in Broken Hill.… Read More
1889 Bundaberg rum first produced
The Bundaberg Distilling Company was formed in 1888 to supplement returns from the local sugar industry and to make use… Read More
1887 Foster’s Lager first brewed
Although Foster's Lager was not the first lager to be brewed in Australia (lager beer was first produced commercially by… Read More
1886 Brownes Dairy founded in Perth
Brownes Dairy is Western Australia's and, they claim, Australia's oldest dairy company. The company traces its history back to 1886… Read More
1886 Melbourne Beefsteak Club founded
Australia's oldest food society, the Melbourne Beefsteak Club, was founded in May 1886. Members were from business, professional and academic… Read More
1886 Coca-Cola invented in USA
Coca-Cola remains Australia's most popular soft drink but its history began on the other side of the Pacific. Coca-Cola syrup… Read More
1885 Brown Brothers founded in King Valley
Brown Brothers trace their origins back to 1885 when John Francis Brown planted 10 acres (4 hectares) of mostly Riesling,… Read More
1883 Bushell’s Tea introduced in Brisbane
Alfred Thomas Bushell was no stranger to the tea business when he arrived in Brisbane in 1883 and opened his… Read More
1883 Emu Burgundy brand registered
Emu Burgundy became Australia's most significant export brand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1862, Patrick Auld… Read More
1882 Cohn Brothers first Australian lager
Three Danish brothers, Moritz, Julius and Jacob Cohn arrived in Bendigo in 1853. In 1856 they began making cider and… Read More
1878 Coffee Palace Hotel Company formed
Coffee palaces were developed with the backing of the temperance movement as an alternative to pubs. The Sydney Coffee Palace… Read More
1878 First sparkling ‘burgundy’ in Australia
When I was negotiating my perilous teenage years in the 1960s, sparkling burgundy had an extremely unsavoury reputation. It was… Read More
1878 Castlemaine Brewery opens in Brisbane
Edward Fitzgerald had opened a brewery in Castlemaine, Victoria, in 1856. Joined by his brother Nicholas, he expanded his operation… Read More
1877 Phylloxera affects Australian vines
Phylloxera, an aphid-like root louse that destroys grapevines, devastated up to 70% of Europe's vineyards at the end of the… Read More
1876 First wine bar in Adelaide
With new wine bars popping up every week these days, it's tempting to think of them as a recent phenomenon.… Read More
1876 Introduction of packaged tea
Until the late 1870s, most teas in Australia were sold in bulk. As with other dry goods, grocers were responsible… Read More
1873 First drugstore soda fountain
Although soda fountain machines had appeared in Australia at least as early as the 1860s, the first American-style drugstore soda… Read More
1872 Bickford’s Lime Juice Cordial introduced
In 1872, A. M. Bickford & Sons exhibited their Bickford's Lime Juice Cordial at the Adelaide Wine Show. Bickford's originally… Read More
1872 Lemonade and bitters recommended to MPs
Lemonade and bitters was a precursor to lemon, lime and bitters, a drink unique to Australia. The history of lemon,… Read More
1872 Tooheys Darling Brewery
Although John Toohey had produced his first Black Old Ale in an old cordial factory near Darling Harbour, the operation… Read More
1870s First Darwin hotels
The Northern Territory has not dealt kindly with its historic hotels. The oldest of the Darwin hotels still standing, the… Read More
1869 Floating distillery on the SS Walrus
In 1869, a 100ft sailing ship was converted to steam and the SS Walrus began to sail up and down… Read More
1869 Marcus Clarke on the coffee stall
The Melbourne writer, Marcus Clarke, wrote regular newspaper columns on city life. In one of these, he described the typical… Read More
1867 First Australian mineral water bottled
Although various mineral water springs were discovered in Australia through the 1820s and 1830s, it seems the first Australian mineral… Read More
1867 Menzies Hotel opens in Melbourne
Menzies Hotel, on the corner of Bourke and William Streets, was the first of Melbourne's grand Victorian era hotels. For… Read More
1865 Best’s Great Western vineyards planted
In 1865, brothers Joseph and Henry Best established vineyards at Great Western in the Grampians region of Victoria. The Bests… Read More
1862 Coopers brewery established in Adelaide
Thomas Cooper’s first recorded brew was made from four bushels of English malt and eight pounds (3.6 kilograms) of Kent… Read More
1860 Tahbilk makes wine in Goulburn Valley
Tahbilk pioneered wine making in the Nagambie Lakes area of Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, with Rhône varietals such as Marsanne, Shiraz… Read More