How Australia’s Willy Wonka founded chocolate empire in parents’ Fitzroy bathroom
He brought us the Freddo Frog, Cherry Ripe, Old Gold chocolate, fairy floss and chewing gum — but very few know the rags-to-riches tale of the man dubbed “Australia’s Willy Wonka”. NEW PODCAST LISTEN NOW.
Black and White
Don't miss out on the headlines from Black and White. Followed categories will be added to My News.
He’s known as “Australia’s Willy Wonka” — an eccentric confectionery king and marketing genius every bit as colourful as the fictional chocolate factory owner.
In a classic rags-to-riches tale, Sir Macpherson Robertson started out making sugar mice in the bathroom of his parents’ home in working class Fitzroy in 1880.
Yet his company, MacRobertson’s, grew to become the biggest confectionery works in Australia 20 years later.
At the height of production in 1939, when World War II erupted, he had 5000 staff and 19 buildings over five blocks in Fitzroy.
Robertson created such beloved classics as the Freddo Frog, Cherry Ripe and Old Gold chocolate, and introduced fairy floss and chewing gum to Australia.
But it was his knack for self-promotion and colourful eccentricities that helped earned him the moniker “Australia’s Willy Wonka”.
The chocolate king is the subject of the new episode of the free weekly In Black and White podcast.
Podcast guest Ben Oliver, founder of Drinking History Tours and self-confessed “history nerd”, says Robertson was beloved by the public both for his generous philanthropy and his many eccentricities.
Oliver says each building in the factory was painted white to contrast with the grimy industrial streets of Fitzroy, and the precinct was dubbed “White City”.
“All his staff had to wear white uniforms to portray this image of cleanliness and wholesomeness, and MacRob himself became an iconic figure in a white suit and hat,” he says.
“And he would often be seen in public riding in a carriage through the streets of Fitzroy pulled by two white ponies.”
He owned two Arab horses, which he trained to lie down, kneel, sit and shake hands, and one, Sultan, was once called “the finest educated horse in Australia”.
While Robertson may not have matched Willy Wonka’s golden ticket contest, he often staged beauty competitions that called for “pretty Australian children”.
And Oliver describes him as “the original crowd sourcer”, frequently running competitions inviting the public to submit ideas for sweets and marketing jingles.
Robertson even crossed paths with notorious Melbourne gangster Squizzy Taylor when his commercial manager, Arthur Trotter, was shot in his Fitzroy home by one of Taylor’s gang.
Robertson, whose MacRobertson’s empire was acquired by Cadbury’s in 1967, was born more than a century before Roald Dahl created Willy Wonka.
He was a fitness fanatic who worked out in his gym daily and could still jump a 142cm bar in his 60s.
But it was his love for all things fast that landed him in serious trouble in 1905.
MORE:
WHAT HAPPENED TO MELBOURNE’S SUBURBAN SPIRES
THE PHOTOS THAT HELPED END MELBOURNE’S SLUMS
THE REMARKABLE STORY OF THE MAN BEHIND THE BROWNLOW
Robertson bought his first car in 1902 soon after the first motor vehicles began arriving in Australia, and became the first driver in Victoria to be involved in a car fatality.
Find out more in today’s new free episode of the In Black and White podcast on some of Victoria’s forgotten characters.
And listen to our previous podcasts on the piano prodigy who became a “musical spy” in World War II, the one-legged gang called the Crutchy Push that menaced Melbourne’s streets, and the secret life of famed Navajo wrestler Big Chief Little Wolf.
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here or Spotify here or on your favourite platform.
Check out In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday to see more stories from Victoria’s past.