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Private Revenue Perfins of South Australia

An Elsmore Coath Howard production

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Section 2 - Commercial Overprints

H

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HENRY BERRY.a

RECEIVED/HENRY BERRY/&Company Pty.Ltd/per.............. 

Address: Franklin St, Adelaide, SA.

Revenue Use:

c1915 Series 2d on 1d.

Rarity Scale:

1915 Series 2d on 1d R4.

Background: *Henry Berry was born in 1836 in Boughton-under-Blean, Kent, England, and in February 1856 he arrived at Melbourne in the 'Nimrod'. He tried to establish a grocery business but in 1859 he formed a partnership with John May, a salt and general merchant. Soon Berry was the sole owner and he looked to expand the business by sourcing salt locally. His first attempt at Cundare, near Colac, Vic, was a failure but he later developed the important deposits at Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsula, SA, which later became the Castle Salt Co-operative Co.

In 1878 Berry opened a branch of his general merchandise business in Adelaide. Other branches soon followed in New Zealand 1885, Sydney 1890, Brisbane 1891, and Perth 1896, and in addition he opened offices in London and Toronto. In 1879 his brother Howard joined the firm and Berry's son, Henry Parton May, became a partner in 1888. By 1899 the company had 600 employees in Australia and New Zealand.

Henry Berry premises Franklin St, Adelaide.

Despite ill health in his later years Henry (senior) and Board steered the company towards consolidation with the creation of Henry Berry & Co (Australasia) Ltd in 1920 that collected up the various Henry Berry companies from the Australian States and New Zealand as well as some other wholesale and retail grocery companies into a single corporate entity. Henry (senior) died on 10 January 1923 aged 86.

The company continued to trade successfully and became increasing involved in the manufacturing of grocery items. This trend continued into the 1970’s when the company was absorbed by the US food giant Beatrice to become Beatrice Australia Pty Limited.

Device: Preprinted

Related Patterns: Refer to other Henry Berry patterns in:

VIC – Perfin Section- HB.a  HB/&CO.a

* Australian Dictionary of Biography

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