There were many family names synonymous with industry in Parramatta. One prominent name was Meggitt. Henry Meggitt was involved in the prolific cordial industry of Parramatta and also the Oilseed or Linseed industry.
Henry William Meggitt was born in Lincolnshire, England in approximately 1853. In 1877 he married Annie Mary Grey at St Peters in Lincoln. By 1891 as seen in the census of that year the family were still living in Lincoln and had four children, Arthur, Kate, Harold and Dorothy. Henry spent most of his adult life in England working as an oil seed crusher. He was also a member of the United Grand Lodge of England, the Freemasons at the age of 22. Henry also worked for J. W Gray and Co as a junior partner. This company were linseed manufacturers.
In 1893 there was a dissolution of the business ran by Henry William Meggitt and the Gray Family. This was the Seed Crushers at Hull and Wisbech. Then in 1895, after some financial loss, the family travelled to Sydney to start a new life and business ventures.
Henry W was brought out to Sydney to work at the new Sunlight Oil works for Lever at Balmain. The factory also produced soaps. But Henry Meggitt was also involved in other business ventures including the large cordial industry in Parramatta.
In 1903 Henry William Meggitts seemed to take on a purely managerial role in the cordial enterprise of the newly named Newling and Walker in Smith Street, Parramatta. Indeed Meggitts was there to celebrate the implementation of a new cork bottling system in 1904, and was “glowing in his praise for the new system stating that he was extremely satisfied and that it had exceeded all his expectations and those claimed for it”
In 1906-1907 Henry, converted the Smith street building into a desiccated coconut factory. Then in 1908 Henry William Meggitt purchased the old Vallack Brewery site on Macquarie Street Parramatta. It was in poor condition, but it did hold one piece of important machinery, a press for crushing oil seeds. “Initially, about 200 tons of oil per annum were crushed; however by 1909 four modern hydraulic presses were crushing 1,500 tons per year.” This was the start of Meggitt Ltd and the production of linseed oil products.
The two main products of the linseed factory are known as oil cake and meal and these are used to feed livestock.
In 1910 Henry asked his son Harold to join the firm as he was an experienced agricultural salesman. Harold Meggitt was born in England and came to Australia with his parents and siblings. He finished his schooling at Sydney Grammar School and then at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, Richmond. In 1904 Harold began successful work with Massey Harris and married Florence Davidson. Eventually Harold was appointed Sales Manager for the South Western District of New South Wales. Farmers were a little mistrustful of the use of a by-product to feed their animals but Harold Meggitt turned out to be a very valuable employee, with his father stating: "without the assurance of Mr Harold Meggitt's services being available to the Company for this important and indispensable work, there would, today, be no company at all".
In 1914 there was a fire in the factory and it was close to complete destruction. All in all over 100’000 gallons of oil was destroyed and the building sustained serious damage. The foreman’s house was completely destroyed and walls of the mill crumbled due to the immense heat. The blaze was watched by thousands of people and fire brigades were sent from six stations. This included Parramatta, Burwood, Auburn, Lidcombe and Granville.
It was at this time that Henry also retired and was appointed a Managing Director of Meggitts Ltd.
The fire did not dampen the production of Linseed products for long and within two months, the factory was producing again at the Macquarie Street site. “The production facilities in the new factory were much improved, with a better overall design of the factory accommodating the hydraulic presses and storage areas for linseed oil, meal, and cake, while externally storage tanks and silos with much improved capacity were built. These improvements were necessary because production output from the factory, between January 1914 and July 1916, was accelerated to meet the growing demand from farmers for meal and cake by-products"
Henry Meggitt after retirement
Henry William Meggitt passed away in 1928 while living at ‘Gundai’ Macquarie Street Parramatta. He was 75 years of age. After his retirement from Meggitts Limited he had moved to Palm Beach for his health, later returning to Parramatta. But a heart condition meant he wasn’t able to continue his professional work. Tragically, Henry slipped and fell, hitting his head in his bathroom at home. The injury leading to his death. He was well remembered for his personality and accomplishments.
“A cultured and well-informed man, deceased's presence was always welcomed at public or social gatherings. He was for a time a member of the committee of Parramatta District Hospital and was treasurer of Parramatta Bowling Club. He was also prominent in Masonic circles.”
Henry William’s company Meggitt Limited traded until 1966 when it was purchased by Pacific Safflower (Aust.) Pty Ltd., which was itself purchased by Meggitt Limited in 1973, only to close permanently the following year in 1964.
Harold Meggitt
Harold passed away in 1949 at the age of 68. And he had accomplished much. In 1904 he had married Florence Davidson and they had four children; Harold, Florence, George and Henry. Before he took on the position with his father, he had worked successfully in many parts of Australia. He eventually retired from the position of Managing Director at Meggitts Ltd in 1917. Harold had a strong relationship with the workers on the Parramatta site. He had doubled their wages and promised them a share in any profits the company made. After some disagreement with the banks of the time regarding his profit sharing ideas, he left the company his father had started.
In 1923, he opened up his own linseed mills in Gladsville, Harold Meggitt Ltd. And it was here that he “pioneered the excretion process of linseed oil manufacture, which at the time was not used anywhere else in the world.” Under a new trademark of HALMEG linseed oil was produced in a new factory that was owned and managed by Harold Meggitt. After some financial distress during the period of 1937-1943 Harold was again in charge of the company. Harold Meggitt Ltd profited, used new technologies and had a strong reputation of support for the people he employed. With good wages and working conditions, profit sharing, and employee satisfaction, all in the time Harold was managing director.
The HALMEG mill closed in 1974 and the land was purchased by the State Government and Ryde Municipal Council. It was made into a public park. It incorporates the old stone building, 'Rockend Cottage', which is of State Significance' It has a connection with Banjo Paterson as well as Harold Meggitt Limited. It was restored and became the 'Banjo Paterson Cottage Restaurant'.
“Harold Meggitt in his life proved that he was a great man, and now that he has passed on, his example and precepts will long remain to do him honour.”
Emma Stockburn, Research Facilitator, Family History, City of Parramatta, Parramatta Heritage Center, 2021
References:
Jones, David, Thirsty Work: the story of Sydney’s Soft Drink Manufacturers. 2009.
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Late H. W. Meggitt (1928, July 20). The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), p. 4. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107093118
Struck his Head (1928, July 6). The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), p. 1. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107105392
MR. H. W. MEGGITT (1928, June 8). The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), p. 12. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107100392
COLLAPSE OF HUGE SILO. (1924, April 30). The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), p. 1. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104449203
Product containers from Meggitt Limited: https://collection.maas.museum/object/407377
Hunter Hill Industry: https://greenbook.huntershilltrust.org.au/industry/