John Primrose (brewer)


John Primrose was a Scottish distiller and brewer who had a substantial career in South Australia. He was the founder of the Union Brewery in Rundle Street, the colony's first successful brewery.

History

Primrose was the son of a distiller in Carsebridge, near Alloa, Scotland. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh, 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.
He was then attracted to Australia, with the prospect of managing a large established distillery in Sydney.
Primrose arrived in Adelaide aboard Ariadne in August 1839 and decided to travel no further.
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 all 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 took over the Union Brewery in Rundle Street, which had been founded on Robert Cock's Town Acre 80, east corner Rundle Street and James Place, by Daniel Cudmore in 1838 and put up for sale in 1839.
He ran the business until November 1875, when he transferred the management to his nephew William Ross Sawers and his son-in-law Arthur Rait Malcom.
They were able to use the basement of the Academy of Music, Rundle Street, for cellaring.
The brewery ceased operations around 1900.
Primrose's remains were interred in the West Terrace Cemetery.

Family

John Primrose married Elizabeth Paton Reid on 10 April 1845. A daughter, Elizabeth Margaret Adelaide Primrose married Arthur Rait Malcom 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.