John Primrose (1803 – 28 November 1876) was a Scottish distiller and brewer who had a substantial career in the

colony of South Australia A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

. He was the founder of the Union Brewery, also known as Primrose's Brewery, in

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes Ru ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, the colony's first successful brewery.

Early life

Primrose was the son of a distiller in Carsebridge, near

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

, Scotland. He was said to have linked his ancestry to the

Earl of Rosebery Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's w ...

. He was educated at the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves around 1,400 pupils drawn from four feeder pr ...

, and on leaving school he joined his father's establishment, where he remained for some time, gaining sound practical and scientific knowledge of the arts of brewing and distilling. He gained further experience managing a distillery for the Messrs. Shea, of Belfast, then that of Beamish, in Cork. He remained with them for several years, only leaving them to establish a brewery on his own account on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. He was then attracted to Australia, with the prospect of managing a large established distillery in

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 ...

. Primrose arrived in

aboard ''Ariadne'' in August 1839 and decided to travel no further.

Businesses in Adelaide

Shortly after his arrival he set up a distillery in partnership with John Richmond. After carrying it on for about two years he ceased operation because the Government demanded payment of duty upon spirit manufactured in the colony at the same rate as if it had been imported. Primrose then turned his attention to brewing, and in 1841 he and Richmond took over the Union Brewery on Rundle Street. This brewery had been founded on

Robert Cock Robert Cock (25 May 1801 – 23 March 1871) was one of the first European explorers of the Adelaide region of South Australia following the establishment of the colony in December 1836. History Robert was born in Dysart, Fife, Scotland in 1801, ...

Town Acre In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...

80, east corner Rundle Street and James Place (opposite Stephens Place.), by

Daniel Cudmore Daniel Cudmore is a Canadian actor, stuntman, and former professional rugby union player. He is best known for his roles as the superhero Peter Rasputin / Colossus in the ''X-Men'' film series, and as the Volturi Felix in ''The Twilight Saga' ...

in 1838 and put up for sale in 1839. The brewery was referred to as "Primrose's Brewery" in an article in the ''

South Australian Register ''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and ...

'' in February 1861. He ran the business until November 1875, when he transferred the management to his nephew William Ross Sawers (c. 1839–1911) and his son-in-law Arthur Rait Malcom. They were able to use the basement of the Academy of Music, Rundle Street, (opened 1879) for cellaring. Richmond sold his share to Primrose at some point, and the brewery continued into the 1890s.

Death

Primrose died on 28 November 1876 and his remains were interred in the

West Terrace Cemetery The West Terrace Cemetery, formerly Adelaide Public Cemetery is a cemetery in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the state's oldest cemetery, first appearing on Colonel William Light's 1837 plan of the Adelaide city centre, to the south-west of ...

Family

John Primrose married Elizabeth Paton Reid (1822 – 30 August 1867) on 10 April 1845. A daughter, Elizabeth Margaret Adelaide Primrose (1849–1874) married Arthur Rait Malcom (c. 1847–1890) in 1872. Malcom married again on 29 June 1882, to Joanna Barry of South Melbourne. He was a prominent member of the

Adelaide Hunt Club The Adelaide Hunt Club is an Australian fox hunting club founded in the 1840s. History Originally called The Adelaide Hounds, the club was founded in Adelaide in the early 1840s.Adelaide Hunt Club. As early as 3 July 1841, the Governor of South ...

Other breweries

Other breweries operating in the late 1860s included: *

Kent Town Brewery Kent Town Brewery was a brewery in Kent Town, a suburb adjacent to the city of Adelaide on its eastern side, in South Australia. Its original name was Logue's Brewery, after its first proprietor. History The brewery was founded on King Wil ...

; * West End Brewery; *

Pirie Street Brewery The Pirie Street Brewery was a brewery situated on Pirie Street, Pirie and Wyatt Streets, Adelaide, in the early days of the British colony of South Australia. It was succeeded on the same site after a few years by the Adelaide Brewery. Its origi ...

; *

Hindmarsh Brewery The Hindmarsh Brewery was a brewery founded 1844 in Hindmarsh, in the then colony of South Australia, by E. J. F. "Fred" Crawford. Crawford lost possession of the business in 1859, then re-established it on a different site before becoming bankru ...

; *

Morphett Street Brewery The Morphett Street Brewery was a brewer of beer in Adelaide, South Australia. History John Reid ( – c. 24 November 1863) and Isaiah Reid (c. 1832 – 9 April 1877) had a licensed grocery shop on a half acre of land on Morphett Street near No ...

; and *

Walkerville Brewery Walkerville Brewery was a brewer of beer in Adelaide, South Australia, originally founded in the 1840s. The company became a co-operative, and grew by admitting hotel owners as shareholders, and absorbed smaller breweries. After several amalgamat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primrose, John 1800s births 1876 deaths People from Alloa People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Distilleries in Australia Australian brewers Burials at West Terrace Cemetery 19th-century Australian businesspeople

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Drink company founders Drink distillers