LW Alexander, Chaff and Grain Merchants, Preston

Found by my wife when on a shopping expedition in Preston at corner of Plenty road and  Murray road. Unremarkable sign but clearly old and bound to have a good personal and community story behind it. More research required!

Rosella headquarters in Richmond

Signs Fading Fast!!

These signs are in Balmain Street Cremorne, off Church Street near the Yarra and Alexandra Parade. The photos below were taken in about 2012 when the signs were fading significantly but there is now a marked deterioration. Makes you think more about the effects of pollution and climate change on signage. On the one hand there is a love of the faded sign as artefacts of a bygone time but do we want them to disappear altogether? I suspect not.

I have strong memories of Rosella products when growing up, especially tomato sauce (ketchup). Rosella started in a Carlton back yard in 1895 with rosella jam. It grew into a large exporter of a wide range of related products by 1920. 

Profits grew rapidly from 1919 to 1928 and products expanded to include tomato sauce, chutney, canned spaghetti, pork and beans, soup, olives, olive oil and peanut butter. The company was sold to Unilever in 1963, then declined through the 1980's but has revived as an Australian owned company under Sabrands in recent times.

Australian Knitting Mills area Richmond

This is an area rich with signage near Richmond station in Melbourne. It is enclosed by Tanner Street, Punt Road and some small streets leading through the station to Swan Street, the heart of the Richmond Station and Lennox Street, and Dimmeys department store. It has been a close community over the years and was a firmly working class area for a long period. Many cottages still exist.Residents of Melbourne can easily view the Australian Knitting Mills and related firms such as Slonim and Henry Bucks, Mens Outfitters. Much of the area can be see from on high at the Richmond Train Station and then down at the street level going through the station to the platforms or around the back streets searching for a great hand crafted  coffee.

See below for some information about Australian Knitting Mills and other companies in the area.

In August of 1899, Thomas Murray and Co established a small knitting mill in Richmond. Mr F. F. Robinson joined the firm in 1902 and it was incorporated as Thomas Murray and Co Pty Ltd soon after. To keep up with production demands, the mill grew to three times its original size in a few short years. In 1908 the manufacture of Golden Fleece woollen underwear begun and the factory extended its production to include bathing suits. In 1910 and was renamed the Australian Knitting Mills Ltd. The AKM complex was at the centre of the Stewart-Tanner streets industrial  area from 1912 when the supply for World War One uniforms provided an opportunity for its expansion. The complex had another major building addition in 1922-5, the same time that the 'Golden Fleece' and 'Kookaburra' brands were established.

At this point I'm unsure how J Slonim fits in but there was a range of products going through the area including underwear, hosiery and lingerie. J Slonim is apparently still a going concern in hosiery and lingerie and J Slonim Pty Ltd., was listed as trading in brassieres, girdles and allied lines in a Manufacturers directory in 2011, domiciled at Stewart St Richmond. The Henry Bucks building was also in Stewart Street near the AKM building shown here and was well known in the city of Melbourne also, as Mens Outfitters at the high end. Henry Bucks was from Yorkshire and started a business in clothing in 1890 in Melbourne. In 2014 it remains a family run firm and has a strong presence in Victoria, SA and NSW plus overseas links.