Castlemaine Brewery
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The Castlemaine Brewery was an Australian brewery and brewing company established in 1857 by Edward Fitzgerald. He was joined in the business by his brother Nicholas Fitzgerald in 1859, after which the firm spread rapidly, opening breweries in Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane, along with smaller breweries at Daylesford and Newbridge. The breweries, though all originating from the same brothers, were either established or later floated as separate companies with distinct histories thereafter, even though the brothers retained a stake in them.[1][2][3][4][5]
The first brewery founded by Fitzgerald was located in Castlemaine, Victoria in 1857. It was closed and the company wound up in 1925, at which time it was reportedly the oldest industry in the district, with many employees who had worked there for much of their careers.[6]
Melbourne
A Melbourne brewery was established in South Melbourne (now Southbank) by Nicholas Fitzgerald and a managing partner, James B. Perrins, in 1871. It was floated as the Castlemaine Brewery Company (Melbourne) in 1885. It amalgamated with five other breweries to form Carlton and United Breweries in 1907, at which time the brewery was closed. Several of the historic buildings remain today.[1][7]
Queensland
In 1878, the Fitzgerald brothers partnered with the Brisbane business and shipping firm Quinlan & Co to form a new company, Fitzgerald, Quinlan & Co., for the purposes of opening a brewery in the Brisbane suburb of Milton. The new firm redeveloped the former Queensland Distillery into a new brewery. In 1887, The Castlemaine Brewery and Quinlan, Gray & Co. Brisbane Ltd was formed to acquire the assets of Fitzgerald, Quinlan & Co. and Quinlan, Gray & Co (the renamed Quinlan & Co). The company purchased competitor Perkins & Co Ltd in 1928, becoming Castlemaine Perkins.[8][9]
