1879 First frozen meat exports
In 1879, the first successful frozen meat exports were achieved when 40 tons of frozen beef and mutton was shipped… Read More
1870s
1879 Fritz sausages in Melbourne
Fritz sausage or, as it's often called, bung fritz is a manufactured luncheon meat more or less unique to South… Read More
1879 First Greek fish and chip shop
Athanassio Comino hailed from the Greek island of Kythera and arrived in Sydney in 1873. Although some accounts say he… Read More
1878 Banana plantations in Queensland
The banana is believed to be indigenous to the Malaya Peninsula, Indonesia, the Philippines and New Guinea, but has been… Read More
1878 The great rabbit explosion
Passengers aboard the Aconcagua had a less-than-pleasant voyage through the Red Sea when 20,000 cans of rabbit meat exploded in… 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
1878 Wilhelmina Rawson’s Queensland cookbook
Owing to a strange custom that persisted until at least the 1950s, it was common to refer to a married… Read More
1878 Great Artesian Basin discovered
The Great Artesian Basin is a natural underground water resource covering thousands of square kilometers in inland Australia. Natural springs… Read More
1878 Queen Victoria Market opens in Melbourne
The Queen Victoria Market was built on the site of Melbourne's first cemetery. It is now the largest open air… 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
1876 Barnes Honey founded
Barnes Honey is possibly the oldest honey brand in the Australian market. The brand had its origins in a small… Read More
1876 The first Ekka in Brisbane
It wasn't called the Ekka then, of course. The Intercolonial Exhibition of 1876 was the first exhibition of the National… Read More
1876 Stump Jump Plough invented
South Australian Richard Bowyer Smith developed the first Stump Jump Plough in 1876 and took out a patent the following… Read More
1875 Origin of Sweetacres
In 1875, James Stedman bought the confectionery business where he had been working for the past 21 years. The shop,… Read More
1875 New South Wales Fresh Food & Ice Co. formed
Although not the first Australian to develop a commercial ice-making plant, Sydney businessman Thomas Mort saw the advantages of freezing… Read More
1875 Arnott’s first factory opens
In 1865, William Arnott opened a bakery in Newcastle supplying goods to local people and visiting ships. Among his products… Read More
1874 Marcus Clarke’s food column
The idea of a food column isn't new. In 1874, author and journalist Marcus Clarke wrote a series of short… 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
1873 NSW Railway Refreshment Rooms
The first Railway Refreshment Rooms (RRRs) in New South Wales were at stations at Mittagong and Mt Victoria. In 1874,… 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 First Sydney fish market
The first Sydney fish market was built by the City Council and opened in 1872 at Forbes Street, Woolloomooloo. Prior… 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 Oyster farming begins in Sydney
With the depletion of natural oyster beds through dredging, attempts began to farm the Sydney Rock Oyster. According to the… 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
1872 Skinner’s Preserved Delicacies
In 1872, English immigrant Brainard Skinner established a small cannery in O’Connell Town, now the inner city Brisbane suburb of… Read More
1871 First milking machines in Australia
Modern dairying would be impossible without milking machines. But it took a century after the first such machines were invented… Read More
1870 “Colonial goose” canned in Melbourne
"Colonial goose" had nothing to do with poultry. It was a joint of mutton, boned, stuffed and rolled, to be… Read More
1870 Chicory on Phillip Island
According to the Phillip Island & District Historical Society, chicory was first grown on Phillip Island in 1870. It was… Read More
1870 First commercial olive oil production
Although olive trees were introduced to Australia in around 1800, it wasn’t until the 1840s that experiments in commercial olive… Read More
1870s Chinese abalone fisheries in Tasmania
Abalone was an important food source for Aboriginal people in Tasmania. Europeans called abalone mutton fish and found it nearly… 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