 Brewer/bottler #9769 | | | Name | Kia-Ora Industries Limited |
| | | | | | | | | Extra info | The Prahran Ice and Aerated Water Company was established in 1898, by Mr. John Dixon. The factory situated in Alfred Street, Prahran, Melbourne was fitted up with the most modern equipment for producing superior aerated waters, soda water, lemonades, ginger ale, sarsaparilla, tonic water, ginger beer and cordials of all flavours.
Within four years of operations (1898) the company had become well respected for the quality of its' products and the ability to delivery on summer days, a chilled beverage containing no chemicals, filtered water for all beverages and being free of contamination of lead or copper pipes. The factory filling machinery was by Heywood, Tyler & Co., and ran by a Coulson's gas engine of 8 horse power, the factory covered 50,000 square feet, with goods delivered by nine wagons. By 1906 the floor area had grown to 240,000 feet and included the manufacture of the famed O.T.
"Hot Chilli Punch", manufactured from chillies and fruit juices; that was the description of O.T., a winter and summer time drink, beverage with health benefits that could be blended with many mixes, whisky, bandy, beer, aerated waters and milk. The recipe for O.T. Punch came from one of the Marajahs of India. First introduced in 1905, within two years of manufacture there were very few hotels in the country that did not sell O.T. In this short time no less than 150,000 bottles had been despatched throughout Australasia. A Commonwealth Trade Mark application for O.T. was registered in 1907 by John Dixon & Co., High Street, Prahran, Victoria, for a non-alcoholic beverage, the device of a chilli, and the letters "O.T." and the company adopted the name, O.T. Ltd. The name changed to Kia-Ora Industries Limited in 1951 and to Johnell Limited in 1959.
Kia-Ora itakes its name from kia ora, a Maori language greeting which has entered New Zealand English, which literally means "be well/healthy". The first Kia-Ora was a lemon squash sold by Arthur Gasquoine in Sydney, Australia, in 1903. The brand was sold to the Dixon Family in the same year, with the first factory being established by Roland Dixon in Prahran in Melbourne. The original factory chimney still exists and is now a heritage-listed building. The first bottle off the production line is still in the hands of the Dixon family, as is the original recipe for Chilli Cordial, one of the first flavours launched, alongside orange and lemon flavours.
The success of Kia-Ora prompted the Dixon family to expand the range of its drinks, and that led to many other flavours emerging: orange mixed fruit, raspberry, and pear were just a handful of the flavours created in the ever-expanding range. No-added-sugar variants were also created. Kia-Ora continued to prosper throughout the 20th century, with the World Wars only affecting the brand slightly in terms of production. The brand remained popular amongst children aged 3-10 in both Australia and the United Kingdom. From 1953, Kia-Ora was advertising with full-colour posters. In 1961, Kia-Ora was sold to the Campbell Soup Company of the US. |
| | | | | | | Other names used for this Brewer/bottler | | | | | | | | Name 4 | London O.T. Limited |
| | Extra info | Blackfriars, London, UK |
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