MacPherson Robertson, the founder of MacRobertsons Chocolates, was not only responsible for our love of Freddo the Frog but it seems that in 1896 the Collingwood Football Club loved and relied on a product he introduced into Australia. They claimed, in a testimonial, that Pepsin Chewing Gum, helped for exceptionally severe tussles and spins!
At a recent exhibition of MacRobertson by the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, we also found that in 1928 he financed the Round Australian Expedition, in 1929 donated 10,000 pounds towards the costs of the Mawson Antarctic Expedition, in 1928 he founded a freight airline and also a cycling school.
MacRobertson entered politics, and in his personal life, married the woman he had a long term affair with shortly after the death of his wife.
He founded the company in 1880 from virtually nothing, building it into an empire, and in 1967 his heirs sold it to Cadbury.
The Macrobertson Bridge over the Yarra, the MacRobertson Girls’ High School and the beautiful fountain near the Shrine of Remembrance are reminders of a truly remarkable man who, from humble beginnings, gave so much to others.
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