BOX, TOFFEE - MACROBERTSON'S TIP TOP

MacRobertson’s was a brand of confectionery founded in 1880 by MacPherson Robertson. In 1967 his heirs would sell the business to Cadbury which merged with Schweppes Australia to become Cadbury Schweppes Australia.

The chocolates Cherry Ripe, Old Gold, and Freddo Frog originally produced by MacRobertson’s continue to this day albeit manufactured by a different company.

Robertson was born in Ballart in Victoria and would move back and forth between countries due his father’s lack of employment. Due to his family’s poverty he would leave school and became an apprentice at the Victoria Confectionery Co. as well as gaining experience at other confectionery firms.

In 1880 Robertson would start making confectionery in his mother’s bathroom and selling it to local shops over the weekend. By the late 1880s his business would be called MacRobertson’s Steam Confectionery Works and begin construction of factories in Fitzroy. Some of the factories still exist in the area and are used as apartments and warehouses.

The early 1900s were favourable to MacRobertson’s. The company’s reputation for quality and variety lead them to gaining majority of the market from English importers. Federation gave the company access to a larger market and World War One disrupted shipping from overseas.

MacRobertson’s manufacturing facilities were renowned for how much was painted white. Machinery to staff uniforms were white. Robertson himself would dress in a fine white suit while around his factory or out in public.

Robertson would die in 1945 at the age of 85 in his home. MacRobertson’s would be sold by his heirs to Cadbury in 1967 which would then be merged with Schweppes into Cadbury Schweppes.

Later in 2012 the company would become a subsidiary of Mondelez International.

The contents of the box were likely consumed by children attending Armadale School long before its closure and transportation to its current location.