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Rundle & Gow
| In 1895, Joseph C. A. Rundle and John Gow formed a partnership in conjunction with J. & A. G. Johnston’s Brewery at Oakbank to acquire a patent for a new method of compressing aerated waters and beer. The patented process utilised compressed carbon dioxide to pressurise liquids, a significant improvement on earlier techniques that relied on chemical reactions, typically the dissolving of acids, to generate carbon dioxide. At the same time, Rundle and Gow began distributing Johnston’s ales and aerated waters in Adelaide, expanding the brewery’s reach into the metropolitan market. They also operated as merchants for a large wine and spirits firm, further broadening their commercial interests within South Australia’s beverage trade. By 1896, the partnership between Johnston’s Brewery and Rundle and Gow was dissolved, prompting the company to seek alternative investors. The innovative pressurisation method attracted the attention of the South Australian Brewing Company, and plans were developed for Rundle and Gow to establish a dedicated bottling plant and act as sole bottlers for the company’s products. However, this venture failed to proceed. Ultimately, continued difficulties led to the dissolution of the Rundle and Gow partnership in 1900, bringing an end to what had been an ambitious but short-lived attempt to modernise beer and aerated-water production in South Australia. |