Peter Grant Hay
Peter Grant Hay | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 July 1879 Bright, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 29 August 1961 (aged 82) |
| Occupation(s) | Brewer, landholder, pastoralist, racehorse breeder |
| Known for | Founder of Richmond N.S. Brewing Company; introduction of Nathan Brewing System to Australia; pasteurisation in dairy industry |
Peter Grant Hay (9 July 1879 – 29 August 1961) was a prominent Australian figure known for his roles as a brewer, landholder, pastoralist, and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He established the Richmond N.S. (Nathan System) Brewing Company Ltd in Melbourne, which eventually merged into Carlton & United Breweries.
He was instrumental in introducing pasteurisation to Australia's dairy sector and was responsible for bringing the Swiss-developed Nathan Brewing System to the Australian brewing industry. Grant Hay was the youngest sibling among five children.
Early life and background
Grant Hay was born in Bright, Victoria to James Grant Hay, who was a partner in the Melbourne shipping enterprise Coulson Hay & Co., and Catherine Margaret (née Cox), whose father, Charles Cox, founded an Irish distillery. The family owned hop farms located in Bright as well as Tasmania’s Derwent Valley, primarily providing hops to Carlton & United Breweries.
United States & England
Following his father’s passing in 1914, Grant Hay journeyed to San Francisco, where he connected with Arnold Resch, the manager of Tooheys Brewery. Together, they toured prominent American breweries in Milwaukee such as Valentin Blatz, Joseph Schlitz, and Miller Brewing Company, along with visiting the Anheuser-Busch facility in St Louis. Subsequently, he traveled to London to evaluate operations at Courage Brewery.
Switzerland & Germany
He then moved on to Zurich, where he met with Dr Leopold Nathan, a Swiss chemist who had developed an innovative brewing method. Prior to World War I, Grant Hay also attended Oktoberfest in Munich and returned to Australia equipped with knowledge that would shape his future brewing enterprises.
Australia
In 1918, Grant Hay wed Margaret Glover, related to Australian landscape painter John Glover. The couple had four children and made their home in Toorak, Victoria. They also owned 'Kilby Park,' a 100-acre dairy farm and thoroughbred horse stud located in Kew.
By the time he reached fifty years of age, Hay had become one of Victoria’s leading hop merchants. In 1925, during the onset of the Victorian beer wars, Carlton & United Breweries, Australia’s largest brewing company, employed monopolistic price strategies against hop suppliers like Hay’s 'Kentdale' hops from Derwent Valley.
Hop Merchants
Kentdale Hop Estate near Hobart encompassed thirty hectares dedicated to high-quality hops. In 1927, Carlton terminated its contract with Kentdale amid a price dispute. In retaliation, Hay shifted his hop supply to Carlton’s competitor Tooheys and gathered his hop estate managers at Coulson Hay & Co.’s Melbourne offices to strategize establishing his own brewery.
Zurich, Prohibition & Chicago
On 4 April 1927, Hay placed an order for the first Swiss Nathan Brewing System directly from Dr Leopold Nathan in Zurich, accompanied by Master Brewer Heinrich Walter Haenggi. Over the course of three months, he secured five industrial properties near his Church Street location. Additionally, he imported 3,000 units of purified gin from the British Army headquarters in Lahore and sold it to American bootleggers operating in prohibition-era Chicago, generating one million pounds that funded the brewery’s construction.
Construction & Legal Matters
On 13 August 1927, the Richmond City Council granted approval for Hay's brewery license at Church Street. When excavation work was delayed, Hay personally detonated three tonnes of dynamite on 23 August 1927 to clear the site—an explosion audible as far away as Brighton, which caused disturbance among local residents and officials. Despite opposition and legal disputes initiated by the council and nearby inhabitants, Hay succeeded on appeal and proceeded with building.
Hay appointed Brigadier Sir Eugene Gorman KBE MC QC as his dedicated legal counsel and advisor. Renowned for his expertise in litigation, Hay later contested the liquor licensing regulations of Camberwell City Council before the UK Privy Council. Melbourne’s Equity Chambers honors Gorman by bearing his name.
Nathan System
On 24 October 1927, Heinrich Walter Haenggi and his wife arrived at Port Melbourne delivering the largest shipment of steel equipment for brewing machinery destined for Church Street. To celebrate their arrival, Mr. Grant Hay hosted a formal dinner.
By Easter 1928, construction of the Richmond Brewery was finalized, and its inaugural batch of Richmond Lager and Bitter Beer was released on 24 April 1928 with an initial production of 88 dozen bottles per week. Production increased to 200 dozen by 1929 and escalated to approximately 1,000 hogsheads weekly (317,974 bottles) within three years. The beer’s reputation for quality and independence from large conglomerates significantly enhanced consumer demand. Utilizing his own hop cultivation, Grant Hay reduced manufacturing expenses and adopted a strategy similar to Courage Brewery by acquiring pubs and hotels nationwide to exclusively distribute Richmond beer.
Growth & Production
The Richmond Brewery prospered, distributing its products to Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide by 1940. By 1950, annual revenue approached three million pounds. Export markets expanded to include India and Brazil, with product lines such as Richmond Pilsener, Lager Bitter, and Stout featuring the Tiger's head emblem designed by Mrs. Grant Hay.
World War II & Horse Racing
During World War II, Grant Hay secured contracts to supply Richmond Beer to Australian forces in North Africa and American troops stationed at his Sandown Racecourse. He acquired land on Flinders Island in Tasmania for breeding champion racehorses including Counsel (winner of the 1944 Caulfield Cup) and Warra Nymph (an American champion). Additionally, he owned the ketch "Jane Moorhead," which General Douglas MacArthur utilized for troop landings in the Pacific theater.
By 1960, the brewery commanded a 16% share of Victoria’s beer market and an 8% share nationally. Despite deteriorating health and lacking a succession strategy, Grant Hay maintained tight control over operations, rejecting offers for public listing or mergers from both Courage Brewery and Carlton & United Breweries.
After his passing in 1961, Mrs. Grant Hay managed negotiations for the sale of Richmond Brewery among interested parties including Courage Brewery, Asahi Breweries, and Carlton & United Breweries. The sale was finalized with Carlton & United Breweries on January 26, 1962.
Settlement Details
The agreement involved a confidential cash-and-share arrangement with the Grant Hay family within Carlton & United Breweries, accompanied by a non-compete clause preventing any family member or heir from entering Australian brewing competition against Carlton & United Breweries or its subsidiaries until after 2018. Mr. Grant Hay’s lineage includes his grandson, James Grant Hay.
Carlton & United Breweries shuttered the Richmond Brewery on April 13, 1962, subsequently demolishing the facility and selling the property in 1964. The company continues to hold rights to Richmond Brewery’s intellectual property labels. Foster's Group Limited was renamed Carlton & United Breweries prior to its acquisition in 2011 by British-South African multinational SABMiller.
Appendix
The main office of Richmond Brewery was located at 654 Church Street in Richmond, while additional branches were established in Sydney at 26 Hunter Street, Sussex Street, in Perth at 86 King Street, and in Fremantle at 5 Cliff Street. The firm maintained a workforce of 135 permanent employees and managed a portfolio of twenty-eight hotels and public houses throughout Australia.