Griffiths Brothers Teas
| Company type | Public company (from 1920) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tea, coffee, cocoa merchant |
| Founded | 1879 in Melbourne, Australia |
| Founder | James Griffiths |
| Fate | Ceased original tea and coffee trade by 1980s |
| Headquarters | Melbourne , Australia |
Area served | Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide) |
| Products | Tea, coffee, cocoa, chicory, baking powder, gift hampers |
Griffiths Brothers Teas, also referred to as Griffiths Teas, and incorporated as the public entity Griffiths Brothers Limited, was a prominent Australian merchant specializing in tea, coffee, and cocoa. Originating in Melbourne, the company expanded its footprint to include Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide. It gained recognition for its unique advertising signs placed along railway routes, which displayed the distance remaining in miles to reach Griffiths Bros. Teas.
Beginnings
James Griffiths (1850–1925) emigrated from Wolverhampton, England, to Melbourne sometime between 1873 and 1879 (dates vary by source). Although he initially engaged in the timber trade, by the early 1880s he shifted his focus toward importing bulk quantities of tea, coffee, and cocoa for local packaging and distribution. During this period, Australians were among the highest consumers of tea per capita worldwide, with an average yearly intake of approximately 6.61 pounds per person. James later convinced his brother John to join the enterprise.
Griffiths Brothers: formation and corporate development
The enterprise commenced under James Griffiths’ sole proprietorship in 1879. By late 1882, he formed a partnership with his brother John Moore Griffiths (1855–1943), after which the company became known as Griffiths Brothers. The suffix 'Teas' was likely added to distinguish it from another business named 'Griffiths Brothers,' a foundry located in Toowoomba.
Griffiths Brothers Teas Pty Ltd was first registered as a proprietary limited company in Victoria in 1898 and underwent re-registration in 1913. It transitioned into a public company named Griffiths Brothers Ltd on 2 December 1920. This public entity continued operations into the 1980s but had ceased involvement in its original tea and coffee trade by that time.
'Ferndale' estate and tea cultivation
James and Emily Griffiths owned 'Ferndale,' a property spanning 184 acres situated in the Dandenong Ranges, near The Basin and close to Bayswater railway station. Acquired in 1888, the estate featured a large residence built in a style reminiscent of a Swiss chalet. Initially serving as a countryside retreat while they resided at 'Monnington' in Kew, 'Ferndale' became their primary home from 1905 onward. By the time it was sold, the property had grown to cover 320 acres.
At 'Ferndale,' James Griffiths conducted experiments with tea cultivation and by 1901 had successfully grown varieties such as Orange Pekoe and Souchong, which he considered superior to those imported from Ceylon. Despite these promising results, he determined that commercial tea production in Victoria was not economically feasible due to labor expenses.
Expansion beyond Victoria
Griffiths Brothers extended their operations into major Australian cities including Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane, establishing strong market positions there. Although they did not open a branch in Perth, they maintained an agency presence to facilitate distribution.
Sydney
By late 1898, Griffiths Brothers operated both a warehouse and manufacturing facility at 534 George Street, directly opposite Sydney Town Hall. This location featured display windows designed to attract customers. In 1912, the Griffiths Teas building located on Wentworth Avenue in Surry Hills, Sydney was constructed based on designs by architect Henry Budden.
Adelaide
In 1901, Griffith Brothers inaugurated an Adelaide branch housed within a newly built four-storey structure on Rundle Street. Later, in 1930, they introduced a tea room situated on Gawler Place, Adelaide.
Brisbane
Constructed between 1923 and 1924, Griffiths House is a six-level structure located on Queen Street, Brisbane, close to Eagle Street. Its ground floor and a portion of the basement were dedicated to tea rooms, which also served as venues for art displays.
Family, evangelism and philanthropy
James Griffiths wed his cousin Emily Moore (1848–1925). Although they did not have children of their own, in 1890 they adopted five children of James's deceased brother, George Friend Griffiths. John Moore Griffiths, James’s brother, married Margaret Wrightman Davidson (1867–1928) in 1891; together they had seven children but tragically lost two sons—one due to a cycling accident and another during the First World War.
Both siblings were committed Anglican evangelists and prominent philanthropists who closely intertwined their religious beliefs with their business endeavors and charitable contributions.
Products and marketing
At the outset of James Griffiths's career as a tea merchant in Melbourne, tea was usually sold in bulk by grocers. Concerns about product adulteration and initiatives to support British-controlled Indian and Ceylon teas led to regulatory measures and the rise of branded, factory-sealed tea products.
Although tea remained the flagship item, Griffiths Brothers also produced packaged coffee, chicory, coffee-chicory mixtures, cocoa, malted cocoa, and baking powder. They promoted gift hampers containing these goods, which sometimes included specialty items like sugared peanuts, confectionery, teapots, and strainers.
Tea was available in both retail packaging and larger tinplate containers that were either embossed or printed. These tins often bore labels for other cooking ingredients—such as currants, oatmeal, sago, tapioca, barley, starch, and spices—encouraging consumers to reuse them for kitchen storage and to purchase multiple items to complete collections.
The branding of Griffiths Brothers was heavily influenced by railway motifs. Their emblem featured a railway semaphore signal indicating 'all clear.' The 'Red Signal' label identified blended Ceylon tea, while 'Green Signal' denoted China Pekoe tea; the 'Signal' branding was also applied to their baking powder. The 'Sunbeam' trademark encompassed a range of products including tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, and baking powder.
A distinctive advertising method involved installing blue-and-white vitreous enamel steel signs along suburban, rural, and interstate railway routes throughout eastern Australia. By 1913 these signs displayed distances in miles to Griffiths Bros. Teas locations. The New South Wales Department of Railways entered into agreements to replace these signs every five years.
In some instances, walls of buildings adjacent to railways were painted with similar blue-and-white advertisements instead of erecting standalone signs. Another enamelled sign design showed a large white 'T' on a blue background with "Griffiths Teas" written in red beneath it along with mileage information; these were visible on Victorian Railways platforms well into the 1970s. As automobile traffic increased, analogous roadside signs on major highways communicated the same branding message.
First World War
During the First World War period, Griffiths Brothers assembled hampers intended for soldiers serving overseas. The company’s advertising was so widely recognized that it became a source of amusement among Australian troops during both World Wars. Soldiers improvised signage bearing the brand’s name at various locations they passed through—including the Somme Valley and Ribemont railway station in France—demonstrating its strong recognition among military personnel abroad.
Fatalities of James and Emily Griffiths
The company’s emblem prominently displayed a railway semaphore signal conveying 'all clear'. In a tragic twist of fate, James Griffiths lost his life on 6 April 1925 in an accident at a railway level crossing while driving a wagonette en route to Bayswater railway station. Investigations revealed his watch was running ten minutes slow, which may have played a role in the crash.
Janet Emily Harris, James Griffiths, and Elizabeth Morton all perished instantly at the scene; Emily Griffiths passed away from her injuries four days later. The only individual to survive was Dr. Joe Shelley, the son of the company’s tea taster and a close family acquaintance. Notably, the horses involved in the incident were unharmed.
James Griffiths’s funeral took place on 8 April 1925 at Boroondara Cemetery. Shortly after his passing, Emily Griffiths drafted a new will on 9 April but died the following day.
World War II Period
Photographs from 1941 depict signs in Libya painted by Sapper Leslie John “Doc” Dawes of the Royal Australian Engineers, utilizing paints captured from Italian forces. Prior to the war, Dawes had been a professional signwriter. Some of these signs bore resemblance to advertisements for Griffiths Brothers Teas.
In 1942, amid heightened concerns about invasion, New South Wales authorities removed distance markers from roads—including those featuring Griffiths Brothers Teas branding—to prevent providing navigational aid to potential enemy forces.
Company Developments in Later Years
John Moore Griffiths, the final surviving brother of the Griffiths family, retired in 1936 and passed away in 1943. By this time, the company had expanded its operations beyond tea production. In 1938, it launched Griffiths Bros. Credits Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary focused on hire purchase and financing services. Additionally, by 1946 the firm operated a furniture showroom located in Melbourne.
By the early 1950s, tea sales represented only a minor fraction of overall profits, with general merchandising—including household appliances—and financial services emerging as primary income streams by 1954.
Griffiths Tea products continued to be marketed into the late 1980s under the 'Red Signal' and 'Green Signal' labels. During the 1960s, however, Melbourne-based Robur Tea Company Limited acquired the tea division; subsequently, only the 'Griffiths Tea' brand name remained in use without direct reference to the founding brothers.
As of 2025, a Melbourne-based coffee roaster operating under the name 'Griffiths Bros' asserts heritage tracing back to the original enterprise established in 1879 and offers specialty teas.
In 1970, Griffiths Brothers Limited placed its Sydney real estate holdings on the market to reinvest capital. By 1976, Associated Rural Industries had purchased a 38% stake before the company was delisted later that year. Although active through the 1980s, Griffiths Brothers was deregistered in 2003; it had previously been registered under ACN 004 068 857 as both Griffiths Brothers Pty Ltd and Griffiths Brothers Limited.
Legacy and Remaining Artifacts
Only a handful of the distinctive blue and white Griffiths Brothers advertising signs remain along railway corridors today, despite their prevalence through the 1960s. Several examples are preserved within collections at institutions such as the Powerhouse Museum, Puffing Billy Railway, and Yarra Ranges Regional Museum. Numerous others exist in private collections and continue to be highly sought after by collectors, alongside original Griffiths Brothers metal tea canisters.
The original Sydney premises of the company still stand and had been repurposed by 2018 after years of neglect. Conversely, the six-storey 'Griffiths House' building on Queens Street was demolished in 1975. The former Griffiths Brothers Tea warehouse in Melbourne—constructed in 1899 and later converted into the Lindrum Hotel—is slated for redevelopment into office space as of 2025.
The family residence known as Ferndale was converted into a successful guesthouse before being destroyed by bushfire in 1962. The property was subsequently subdivided but later reclaimed as parkland due to ongoing fire hazards. Griffiths Falls on Griffiths Creek serve as geographical reminders honoring both the family and their former estate.
While tea production continues within Australia through companies such as Nerada Tea and Madura Tea Estates, most tea consumed remains imported; Australia ranks as the twentieth largest global importer of tea. Coffee has overtaken tea as Australia's preferred hot beverage.
The final product from the era of Griffiths Brothers was 'Green Signal Tea', a blend featuring China Pekoe with a smoky character, marketed under Billy Tea - Robur branding. Robur Tea was later acquired by Tetley, which itself became part of Indian conglomerate Tata. Tata discontinued 'Green Signal Tea' early in 2025, leading devoted consumers to seek remaining supplies at IGA and Foodworks outlets throughout that year.