The workers in this picture can be seen using a machine to inject soda water into the elliptical shaped bottles popular at the time.

They were employed by Thomas Girvan Weir and Mr George Emberton at their new soda factory set up on the Hill End gold fields. But the enterprise must have experienced problems as Weir and Emberton appeared in the insolvency court just a year later.

As it turns out this may have been a blessing in disguise for the locals at Hill End as the ingredients included carbonate of lime, (better known as primary ingredient in white-wash) and sulphuric acid all pumped through lead pipes.

Collection Reference
Interior, Weir & Embleton's cordial factory, Hill End, 1872, by American & Australasian Photographic Company, from glass photonegative, Presented by Mr Holtermann in 1952, State Library of New South Wales, archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110041075

Info:

Owner: State Library of NSW
Source: Flickr Commons
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