In 1874, long before the Bundaberg and Beenleigh Distilleries began operations, Brisbane entrepreneur Owen Gardner began distilling rum from locally-milled sugarcane and molasses on a riverbank property beside present-day Westfield Strathpine. He named it Normandy Rum and it remains one of Australia’s oldest distillery labels.
Normandy Rum’s Storied Past
Named after the first river steamboat to supply the mill with molasses and an early Queensland Governor, Normandy Rum earned a bronze medal at the Paris International Exhibition in 1878, solidifying its reputation for high quality. As a result, it attracted interest from buyers in America, Canada, England and even Jamaica.
Frederick Bennett took charge of distilling operations in 1888. By 1889, the distillery produced 1300-1800 litres of rum per week, with peak production reaching 5000 litres a day in the 1920s. Something of Bennett’s character is revealed in reports he offered employees a nip of overproof rum when a job was complete – along with a cautionary word that the distillery’s version was more potent than rum provided at a hotel bar.
At first, the distillery bottled its own rum, switching later to supplying overproof rum to Castlemaine Perkins, Bulimba and Dalgety’s breweries. The breweries diluted it further with tankwater, re-bottling it under Red Seal, Blue Jacket and Normandy Rum labels.
Head Distiller J Hansen said, “In those days, people’s drinking habits were different. Men drank rum with a beer chaser. Normandy Rum was advertised as rum for a man.”
In 1911, a rail branch line was constructed across Gympie Road to transport molasses from Strathpine railway station to the distillery’s storage tanks in Rum Lane (now Dixon Street). When rail locomotives were unable to use the branch line, bullock teams hauled the 120-tonne wagons across Gympie Road. In 1949, a tractor replaced the last bullock team and Punch, Plum, Rowdy, Speck, Jimmy and Fred were retired to a Strathpine butcher.
The distillery was sold in 1963 to Qld United Foods. Production ceased in 1968 and Sam McMahon purchased the remaining rum stock. In 1969, as the last Normandy rum was maturing in vats, vandals broke in, releasing 7500 litres into the South Pine River.
The distillery buildings fell into disrepair and were destroyed by fire in 1975. In 2009, The Sunday Mail reported the last bottle of Normandy Rum had been located in a pub in Gympie. However, the Blue Jacket label lives on with hobbyist brewers at Old Petrie Town’s boutique distillery.
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