Mac was born in
Ballarat in
1859 to an Irish mother and Scottish father. The family soon left Ballarat
and eventually moved (minus father) to Scotland. At the age of 9 Mac was
trying to support the family and get schooling at the same time. This often
involved several jobs and a 3am start and a 9pm finish. Schooling eventually
had to be abandoned and one of his jobs was in a confectionary factory.
The family returned to Melbourne to rejoin father and Mac apprenticed
himself to a Fitzroy confectioner. By the age of 19, Mac (or to give him his
full name MacPherson Robertson) had set up a small lolly factory in his
mother�s bathroom and was selling the products at the weekends. With a
combination of good products and good marketing, MacRobertson�s Chocolates
became more and more successful. In the 1920s, Fitzroy and Collingwood were
dominated by three men, John Wren, Squizzy Taylor and Mac who now employed
several thousand people in his �White City�. Ever the marketer, Mac had his
factories painted white, employees dressed in white and he himself often
wore a white suit and would travel around pulled by two white ponies. (Ask a
White Hat Accredited Guide to point remains of the White City was.) Some of
his confectionary lines such as the Freddo Frog and Cherry Ripe
still remain popular today in Australia and many will remember other
products such as Old Gold Chocolates, Milk Kisses and
Columbines. Mac also knew the value of staying abreast of the times and
was continually introducing new technology and new products. For instance he
introduced chewing gum and fairy floss to Australia.
A remaining section of Mac's White City
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Mac become one of Australia�s great philanthropists and helped fund many
good causes. However, he was also one of the first to realise the marketing
potential of sponsorships. If he could help a good cause and it also
increased the brand awareness of MacRobertson�s Chocolates then he wouldn�t
complain. Some of the projects around Melbourne that resulted from his
sponsorship include the MacRobertson Fountain behind the Shrine, the
MacRobertson Bridge
over the Yarra, the MacRobertson's Girls High School and the Herbarium at
the Botanic Gardens. He also sponsored
the London to Melbourne Centenary Air Race knowing that it would focus much
world attention on Melbourne � oh, and MacRobertson�s Chocolates.
Part of Antarctica is called MacRobertson
Land. Douglas Mawson named
it in appreciation of Mac�s sponsorship of Antarctic exploration.
His company continued after his death, and moved to Ringwood in the 1960s
before being taken over by the Cadbury empire.
By the time he died in 1945 he could lay claim to having built a major
enterprise from nothing, providing employment through two major depressions
and two world wars, having an enviable industrial relations record, and
becoming arguably Australia's greatest marketer. In addition his monetary
contribution to society was huge in three different ways:
- as one of Australia's greatest philanthropists
- as Australia's top taxpayer of his day he made significant
contributions to Australia's social wellbeing
- by being mainly responsible for shaping the laws that made Victoria
the philanthropy capital of Australia - as such the monetary
contributions still continue and Victoria still far outstrips other
parts of Australia in philanthropy
One would think that such an important and colourful person would not be
soon forgotten. Unfortunately, few Melbourne students could tell you who Mac
was. You might also have to search hard to find a Melbourne history teacher
familiar with Mac and his contribution to Melbourne and Australia. Mac and
numbers of other great Melbourne achievers are seriously out of fashion in
such circles at the moment. However, we at White Hat are not slaves to such
fashion and had no hesitation in placing him high on our list of
Significant Melbourne People
Some forthcoming events related to Mac Robertson: