1909 Savoury toast in Launceston, Tasmania
I've always taken note of regional dishes, or regional variations on dishes. There are regional variations on the sandwich: Perth's… Read More
1900s
1908 Australian branch of Nestlé opens
Founded in 1867 in Switzerland by Henri Nestlé, the company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co. in 1905. By 1906,… Read More
1908 Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe
Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1908? In Australia? Yes, we discovered this Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe in the household hints section… 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
1908 Quarantine Act passed
The passing of the Quarantine Act 1908 and its implementation in 1909 provided a national approach to the prevention and… 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
1907? Nellie Melba bathes in champagne
According to legend, Hans Irvine, then owner of Great Western wines, heard that Dame Nellie Melba had expressed the wish… Read More
1907 College of Domestic Economy founded in Melbourne
The College of Domestic Economy was founded to give women an education in domestic arts and sciences. It offered diploma… Read More
1907 Australian Dried Fruits Association formed
In 1907, the Mildura Raisin Trust and the Renmark Raisin Trust joined to become the Australian Dried Fruits Association (A.D.F.A.).… Read More
1907 Peters Ice Cream founded
Peters Ice Cream was founded in Sydney by American migrant Fred Peters. His first Peters Ice Cream family bricks, reputed to… Read More
1906 SAO biscuits introduced
SAO biscuits are up there with Lamingtons among the "iconic" Aussie foods. They are still made by Arnott's. There are… Read More
1906 Rice cultivation begins in SE Australia
The first person known to have planted rice in south-eastern Australia was Jō Takasuka, an import/export merchant who had previously… Read More
1905 The Kalgoorlie electric stove
The world's first patent for a household electric stove was issued to David Curle Smith, the Kalgoorlie Municipal Electrical Engineer, in… 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
1905 When potato scallops came in shells
It's an issue that provokes passionate debate and bitter interstate arguments. At the heart of it is the fish and… Read More
c1905 Camp Pie canned in Australia
Although camp pie in various guises had been around for many decades, it appears that Foggitt Jones of Queensland were… Read More
1904 Foggitt Jones Co. founded in Brisbane
Foggitt Jones & Co. set up their business in 1904, buying an existing bacon factory at Oxley, south west of… Read More
1904 Peck’s Pastes arrive in Australia
While the General Mills website claims Peck's Pastes were introduced to Australia in 1904, the brand advertised 60th birthday specials… Read More
1904 Chook raffle goes wrong
In June 1904, the Kalgoorlie Sun recounted the tale of a chook raffle in a local pub. The chicken, in… Read More
1904 Sennitt’s Ice Cream
John Sennitt was an English-born engineer who, in 1899, acquired his employers' firm Victorian Cold Accumulator Proprietary Company Ltd. The… 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
1903 William Farrer’s Federation wheat
William Farrer bred various strains of wheat to resist the common crop disease of rust. After many years of cross-breeding, he… Read More
1903 First Australian barbecue
The term 'barbecue', referring to a cooking method was certainly known in England well before the First Fleet departed for… Read More
1903? Cicerello’s selling fish in Freemantle
Origin stories can sometimes be...well...romanticised. Cicerello's, on the seafront in Fremantle, Western Australia, claims to have been founded in 1903.… Read More
1903 Muttonbird industry regulated
In Australia's early colonial days, the settlers enjoyed their parrot pie and almost anything that flew was considered fair game.… Read More
1902 Last Bunya nut gathering
The bunya nut, from the Bunya Pine, was an important food source for aboriginal people of Queensland’s Darling Downs area.… Read More
1902 New Idea magazine
Australia’s oldest women’s magazine was launched by Thomas Shaw Fitchett as The New Idea — A Women's Home Journal for Australia.… Read More
1902 Australia’s longest-running Greek café
It was on a road trip in 1989 that I discovered Gundagai's Niagara Café. My most lasting memory of this classic… Read More
1901 Neenish tarts recipe
No-one really knows the origin of neenish tarts, the bi-coloured pastries still widely available in Aussie cake shops. The first… Read More
1901 A population of farmers
Australia's 1901 Population Census recorded around 14 per cent of Australia's total population as working in the agricultural and pastoral… 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
1901 Peanut industry begins in Australia
As early as the 1860s, Chinese immigrants were growing peanuts in North Queensland. Commercial farming began in 1901 when Samuel… Read More
1901 Federation banquet
A grand Federation banquet at Sydney Town Hall celebrated the creation of a nation, as the separate British colonies joined… Read More
1900 Lamingtons invented
There are various stories (probably apocryphal) about how lamingtons were invented. However, it seems likely that they were devised by… Read More
1900 Meat Supervision Act in Victoria
The 1900 Meat Supervision Act introduced a requirement for meat to be inspected at the time of slaughter. Only inspected… 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 Dairy Farmers founded in NSW
The Dairy Farmers Co-operative Milk Co. Ltd was among several dairy co-operatives formed in the late 19th and early 20th… 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
1900 Muesli invented in Switzerland
Swiss doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner invented muesli at his health clinic . He called it the “apple diet dish” or Apfeldiätspeise . The… Read More
1900s Origins of the mixed grill
In the late 1990s, an all-male group of my workmates from a Canberra ad agency ventured to the Central Café… Read More