1859 Wild rabbits released by Thomas Austin
In 1859, Grazier Thomas Austin released 12 pairs of wild rabbits on his property Barwon Park at Winchelsea in Victoria's… Read More
1850s
1858 Café de Paris restaurant opened in Melbourne
The Café de Paris restaurant was among the earliest European-style restaurants to open in Melbourne, although four-penny, six-penny and shilling restaurants… Read More
1857 First reference to the counter lunch
In 1857, newspapers in Melbourne carried advertisements for Gregory's Tavern and Restaurant at the Hall of Commerce Hotel, announcing the… Read More
1857 Swan Brewery founded in Perth
In 1857, Frederick Sherwood founded the Swan Brewery on the banks of the Swan River. After his death in 1874,… Read More
1856 Melbourne’s first Spanish restaurant
In 1856 an establishment called the Spanish Restaurant was operating in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. It seems that it was a… Read More
1855 Murray cod commercial fishery
The Moira Lake Fishing Company (later known as the Murray River Fishing Company) was founded by Joseph Waldo Rice in… Read More
1855 James Harrison patents refrigeration system
Newspaper proprietor James Harrison, of Geelong in Victoria, was among the pioneers of refrigeration. He created Australia's first vapour-compression refrigeration… Read More
1854 Swallow & Ariell biscuit company
Swallow and Ariell was founded by Thomas Swallow in 1854. He claimed it to be the first biscuit company in Australia, despite… Read More
1854? First pasta factory in Australia
The Old Macaroni Factory in Hepburn Springs, Victoria, was built by brothers Giacomo and Pietro Lucini in 1859. It is… Read More
1854 Australia’s oldest bakery
There are a number of businesses claiming to be Australia's oldest bakery. Among them is Balfours Bakery of South Australia,… Read More
1854 John Alloo opens Chinese restaurant
Although cookshops operated by Chinese immigrants had no doubt existed earlier, it seems that the first documented Chinese restaurant was… Read More
1854 First Victorian railway refreshment room
In Victoria, railway refreshment rooms are as old as the railways themselves. The first railway, constructed by the Melbourne and Hobson's… Read More
Early 1850s – Bull Boar sausages in Daylesford region
They weren't called Bull Boar sausages at the time. But when Italian and Italian-speaking Swiss immigrants formed a community on… Read More
1853 Bush-cookery by Caroline Chisholm
In a book titled The Emigrant’s Guide to Australia: With a Memoir of Mrs. Chisholm, published in 1853, Eneas Mackenzie included what… Read More
1853 Paddle steamers on the Murray
River navigation became an important way to transport goods and supplies to and from farming districts. The first of the… Read More
1853 First gas stoves in Australia
The first U.S. patent on a gas stove was granted in 1825 and the first English patent in 1826 but… Read More
1853 Melbourne’s oldest pub
Melbourne's first pubs sprang up not long after European settlement began. These early establishments, often of primitive wattle and daub… Read More
1853 Origins of Balfours bakery
Famous for frog cakes, square pies and custard tarts, as well as the cafés they ran in Adelaide for many… Read More
1852 Vegetable garden on Victorian goldfields
As men deserted their farms to try their luck at the goldfields, production of food in Victoria fell dramatically. Food… Read More
1852 Guest’s Biscuits begins in Sydney
Teddy Bears, Ginger Nuts, Butternut Snaps, Clix - today they're all part of the Arnott's biscuit range. But these old… Read More
1851 Gold rush brings immigrants
Gold was discovered in New South Wales in 1851, initiating Australia's first gold rush. Subsequent discoveries in Victoria attracted immigrants… Read More
1850 Origin of Menz Confectionery
Menz Confectionery is the company behind one of South Australia's most cherished sweet treats, the FruChoc - a cube of… Read More