The Rosella Preserving Company in North Carlton

The iconic Australian brand name Rosella is traditionally associated with the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, where the company's jams, sauces and preserves were manufactured until the 1980s. It may come as a surprise that Rosella had its origins in North Carlton, a decade before the Richmond factory was established in 1905. Rosella's founders Horatio McCracken, a commission agent, and Thomas Press, a grocer, began making jam as a backyard business in the 1890s. In July 1895, they registered the Rosella Preserving Company trade mark. The address of 266 Station Street, North Carlton, was originally a brick blacking factory built by James Dunster in 1880 or 1881. The factory was owned by the Royal Insurance Company from 1893 to 1898. In November 1895, the Rosella Preserving Company Limited was registered, with an office address of 134 and 136 Flinders Street, Melbourne. According to rate book records, McCracken and Press occupied the North Carlton factory site in 1896. In November 1897, the Rosella Preserving Company moved to Errol Street, North Melbourne, then to purpose-built premises in Balmain Street Richmond in 1905. The Station Street factory was demolished and replaced by two cottages (nos. 266 and 268) in 1899.

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