Deniliquin was home to quite a few Breweries and Dairies and the past continues to surface as bottles are dug up or emerge from a formerly watery grave or been sitting around somebody’s home or sheds.
Collins & Son
The Collins & Son bottle above is a marble one complete with a stopper inside which is unusual as a Riverine Brewery Co. bottle of the same kind only has the marble, the marble is for the prevention of spilling during carbonation.
Only bits and pieces have been found about Collins & Son through available online newspaper archives.
A clue to the location of the business is a mention in 1905 of ‘the water table in Davidson Street from Mr T Collins cordial factory past Mr McGown’s shop to the creek‘
Thomas Collins died on January 15, 1928
There was a theft in cordial preparation material in 1932 when the business was Collins Bros.
Collins & Son bottles do pop up on other auction sites and can fetch from around $25 to amounts over $50 apiece depending on size and quality as they made bottles of different sizes and kinds.
If you find yourself a stone ginger beer bottle, you may be sitting on $500 if the market is right.
Tru-Frute
The Bottle
This bottle has Tru on one side of the logo (four point star) and Frute on the other side and inside the logo reads Cordials Maher’s Deniliquin.
Below that reads ‘This bottle remains the property of V.P & F.T Maher Deniliquin’, has number 97 on the bottom with F1984 and a manufacturing stamp.
Tru-Frute bottles can also fetch around $40 but the earlier the bottle the better as it is said that bottles from times close to the present are still in plentiful supply.
A collection of Tru-Frute bottles that may be the complete set was shown on Deniliquin Old Stuff on January 18, 2024.
Where did Tru-Frute make their products?
Tru-Frute had their factory at 103 Hardinge Street (see picture from Deniliquin & District Historical Society) and it later became Parts Central, the building still retains its shape with minor changes to the front with things like the shrubs and the grass at the front being removed.
Ernstsen Brewery
(Bottle surrounded by two Riverine Brewery Co. bottles)
The Bottle
Time to time there will be an Ernstsen Brewery bottle up for grabs online, one such bottle previously offered to buyers was a Torpedo Bottle that fetched a handsome price of $80 before P&H.
At least two types of Ernstsen bottles doesn’t have Brewery on it and has just E. Ernstsen Deniliquin on it.
So, who is E. Ernstsen?
E. Ernstsen is Ernest Ernstsen, he was born in Denmark before travelling to Australia in 1853 and he ended residing in Dunolly where he was known in the mining industry and running the Criterion Hotel for twenty-five years.
He arrived in Deniliquin in 1878 and built the brewery before adding on Cordial, Wine and Spirits.
He owned the Bridge Hotel (later the Central Hotel) and in 1897 advertised Pyke’s Hotel to be let.
Ernest Ernstsen died in 1908 at the age of 85 in Deniliquin and was laid to rest in Dunolly.
The Brewery
The Brewery was located on Crispe Street next to the old Chiropractor building that was on the corner of Crispe and Harfleur Street.
The June 7, 1884, edition of the Pastoral Times had the following announcement regarding the Ernstsen’s Brewery Company.
ALL Claims against the above Company are required to be sent in to the Undersigned at once or they will not be entertained.
An 1898 newspaper report reported a fire destroyed a house near the brewery and in 1914 a water pipe was requested to be removed between the ‘property of the late E. Ernstsen’ and Mr Lloyd’s property.
The Brewery was regarded as a ‘Brewery and Cordial Factory’ it was also known as Ernstsen’s Brewery and The Brewery.
Soda water, lemonade, ginger ale, sarsaparilla, hop bitters, hop beer, peppermint, cloves, raspberry vinegar, ginger wine and more were made at the facility.
The factory was recorded as being substantially made of brick and had all the sufficient plants and outhouses needed for business, it was sold by MacKenzie Brothers on December 3, 1908.
The fate of the factory is unknown to us, but we will update readers as more information comes to hand.
Deniston Dairy
We don’t know much about Deniston Dairy at this present time as it seems to have stumped a lot of people, but it is said Deniston Dairy was the largest local dairy.
We know Deniston Dairy belonged to R. S. Bolton and there are at least two bottle designs, one bottle was even found in a wall in great condition.
The second Deniston Dairy bottle contains the phone number 532, an image of a girl and a blue cup, instead of R. S. Bolton, the bottle says Bolton Bros.
Deniliquin Butter Factory
We’ve found one Deniliquin Butter Factory bottle and you wouldn’t even know it was one unless you looked at near the bottom of the bottle as it tells you it is property of the Deniliquin Butter Factory.
Geo. Elliott Deniliquin => Elliott’s Riverine Brewery => Riverine Brewery Co. Deniliquin
The Geo. Elliott bottles have been appearing on eBay in recent years, these bottles are the torpedo bottle type with Geo. Elliot Deniliquin on them complete with the rooster logo.
The Riverine Brewery Deniliquin bottles are most likely just as common as the Tru-Frute bottles as they are everywhere, in the Edward River, in the ground and in homes both near and far.
George Elliot purchased in June 1867 a Soda Water and Cordial Manufactory for £550 from John Taylor, this facility at the Royal Hotel survived a fire in 1866.
They offered Ginger Brandy, Ginger Wine, Soda Water, Sarsaparilla, Raspberry Syrup, Peppermint and Ginger Beer were among the choices offered at the Manufactory.
There are all sorts of bottles available which is good news for those who would like to collect every possible type there is.
L. Langman
Another little-known Dairy is L. Langman, most people only know about a bottle posted on Facebook with L. Langman Deniliquin and 369 being the telephone number but nobody seems to know where the factory was.
We’ll be keeping an eye on developments about this one.
E. Farrell – Riversleigh Dairy
Mrs. E. Farrell of Riversleigh applied for registration (Dairies Supervision Act.) in 1937 for Riversleigh to be a dairy, this registration was recommended to be granted in September 1937.
A bottle from this Dairy was shown in 2022 on Deniliquin Old Stuff.
Deni History 