The Morphett Street Brewery was established in 1855 by brothers John and Isaiah Reid. Situated along Morphett Street, the brewery operated at a modest but efficient scale, typical of many early city breweries that served nearby public houses and hotels. At its height, the brewery employed nine men, maintained six horses for local delivery, and produced around 130 hogsheads of beer per week, approximately 8,500 litres, a significant output for a mid-1850s operation. The brewery’s first brewer was Thomas Moulden, who crafted the firm’s flagship Moulden’s Pale Ale, a popular English-style ale praised for its clarity and crisp flavour. Moulden, however, departed the company in March 1856, possibly to pursue independent ventures, leaving the Reids to manage brewing operations themselves. For several years, the Morphett Street Brewery supplied beer to local hotels and traders. In November 1863, co-founder John Reid passed away, leaving Isaiah Reid to continue the business alone. Though determined to preserve the family enterprise, Isaiah struggled with mounting financial pressures during a period of stiff competition and fluctuating grain prices. By 1866, he had brought in Mr. John B. Harrison as a business partner, and the firm traded under the name I. Reid & Co. Despite the partnership, the company soon faced insolvency later that same year. The brewery and its equipment were sold to Frederick Robinson Fuller, a local businessman with ambitions of reviving the operation. Meanwhile, Isaiah Reid moved north to Port Augusta, where he established the Stone Brewery, one of the earliest breweries in the far north of South Australia. Under F. R. Fuller & Co., the Morphett Street Brewery continued for another four years, but profitability remained elusive. The brewing industry in the late 1860s was entering a period of consolidation, with increasing competition from larger and better-capitalised city breweries such as the West End and Union Breweries. Fuller’s company was eventually declared insolvent in 1870, and brewing on the site ceased. That same year, the brewing plant was purchased by Charles Chambers and Frederick Blades, who relocated the equipment to South Terrace, where they established the Dragon Brewery, also known as the Green Dragon Brewery due to its proximity to the hotel of that name. This new enterprise would go on to enjoy notable success in the following decades. After the closure of the brewery, the Morphett Street site found new life as a bottling works operated by Mr. T. Ryan, who was contracted to bottle beer for Simms and Chapman’s West End Brewery. Bottling was still an emerging trade at this time, most breweries sold their beer by the cask. However, when West End cancelled his contract in 1874, Ryan vacated the premises, and the site once again fell silent. In 1877, the property was purchased by Mr. Henry Edmeades, a skilled brewer and entrepreneur who completely refitted the old buildings with modern brewing equipment and aerated water machines. Under Edmeades, the brewery enjoyed a brief revival, producing both beer and aerated waters, carbonated beverages such as lemonade and soda water, which were becoming increasingly popular in South Australia. His products were well regarded, earning four first prizes for stout and numerous awards for aerated waters at local exhibitions. Encouraged by his success, Edmeades purchased the Kangaroo Brewery in Hindmarsh in 1883, expanding his operations. Tragically, this new chapter was marred by a fatal accident. On Monday, 29 October 1883, the brewery’s assistant brewer, Christopher Kuymias, accidentally fell into a vat of boiling wort. Despite being pulled out quickly, he died later that night from severe burns. The coroner’s inquest described the brewery’s working conditions as “decidedly unsafe and dangerous”, recommending that the premises not be used again for brewing purposes. The tragedy dealt a devastating blow to Edmeades and his business. Financial losses compounded in the aftermath, and by the following year the company was declared insolvent. Brewing ceased permanently on the site, closing the chapter on nearly three decades of beer-making at Morphett Street. The premises were later repurposed by D. & J. Fowler Ltd., who used the facilities as part of their Lion Factory, producing aerated waters and soft drinks, a fitting transformation that linked the old brewery’s legacy to Adelaide’s continuing tradition of beverage production. Henry Edmeades 1937 Aged 100

Brewery c1867 State Library [B 73122/1/6]