Fowler Potteries, later R. Fowler Sydney and R. Fowler Limited, was a manufacturer of

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

in the colony of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, and in the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...

, which still exist as the

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

name Fowler within

Caroma Caroma (Caroma Dorf) is an Australian designer and distributor of bathroom products. Caroma was established in 1941, by Hungarian-born Charles Rothauser, and since closing its last factory in 2017 now sources all products from third-party overs ...

. Fowler is nominally the oldest still existing manufacturer of ceramics in Australia.

History

Fowler Potteries were founded in 1837 by Enoch Fowler in

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

near

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, now part of

Greater Sydney Greater Sydney is the most populous metropolitan area in Australia and Oceania. Located in the state of New South Wales, it encompasses the City of Sydney (the state capital), its neighbouring local government areas and surrounding regions. I ...

. In 1848 Fowler moved to

Glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...

, where Fowler made

ginger beer Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar. Modern ginger beers are often mass production, manufactur ...

bottles och

kitchen utensils A kitchen utensil is a hand-held, typically small tool that is designed for food-related functions. Food preparation utensils are a specific type of kitchen utensil, designed for use in the preparation of food. Some utensils are both food prepar ...

. In 1860 Enoch Fowler bought a machine for making four‑inch drainpipes; this became the mainstay of the works. In 1865 Fowler moved to Camperdown. Fowler grew rapidly when Sydney expanded, and made

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

fire brick A fire brick, firebrick, fireclay brick, or refractory brick is a block of ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. Made of primarily oxide materials like silica and alumina in varying ratios, these insulati ...

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

s och ceramic kitchen utensils. Enoch Fowler's son

Robert Fowler Robert or Bobby Fowler may refer to: * Robert Fowler (archbishop of Dublin) (1724–1801), bishop in the Church of Ireland * Robert Fowler (artist) (1853–1926), English artist * Robert Fowler (athlete) (1882–1957), American marathoner * Robert ...

was manager of the business from 1873, and he inherited the business in 1879. After Robert Fowler's death in 1906, production was moved to

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local government ...

. Fowler became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

in 1919 or 1922, under the name namn R. Fowler Limited. Fowler also made electric insulators. In 1919 the number of employees was 400. Additional factories were set up in Thomastown,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1927 and in Lithgow. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

severely affected R. Fowler Ltd. In 1936 Fowler introduced Fowler Ware, a range of ceramic kitchen utensils, mainly bowls; Fowler Ware was successful, and the company's fortunes were restored. Fowler Pottery ware from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is today collectable. In 1968 Fowler was bought by another company, and was subdivided in 1982. One division and the name were sold to

James Hardie James Hardie Industries plc is an American-Irish global building materials company and the largest global manufacturer of fibre cement products. Headquartered in Ireland, it is cross-listed on the Australian and New York Stock Exchanges. Its ...

; Fowler became the Fowler Bathroom Products Division of James Hardie, producing exclusively bathroom products. In 1997 Caroma bought Fowler from James Hardie. Fowler potteries and Fowler ware were renowned for their standard colours on offer for bathroom and sanitation ware, mainly in lemon, blue, pink and green. By 1983, these colours had been discontinued as part of the company having been subsumed and consolidated into James Hardie. in 1983 the Victorian manufacturing plant of Fowler was closed. The Toilet pans were bearing the brand name Caroma by 2017 when manufacturing ceased in Australia, moving to overseas third-party manufacturing facilities on 24 February, 2017.

References

{{Reflist Bathroom fixture companies Kitchenware brands Manufacturing companies of Australia Manufacturing companies established in 1837 Australian companies established in 1837 Australian brands Australian pottery Ceramics manufacturers of Australia

History

See also

References