a history of the firm
Phil Wedderburn, M.D.
article by Des Duggan
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a history of the firm Phil Wedderburn, M.D. article by Des Duggan |
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In 1896, just seven years after the Centennial Hall, (Sydney's Town hall) was opened, Jabez William Wedderburn opened his doors for business as Wedderburn Scales, just around the corner at 88 Liverpool Street. A son of the Wedderburn scalemakers in London, Jabez thought that his brothers would end up with the family business so he decided to try his luck in the colonies. However, it was not as simple as jumping on a ship, coming out and hanging up the shingle. Jabez had no help from London, and for quite a while, although he was a qualified scalemaker, he was forced to work as a coal miner in the Blue Mountains, a wharfie on the Sydney Docks, and also as a professional runner. However, by the turn of the century, he had five employees and a reputation around Sydney town not only as a proficient mechanical scale maker, but also had notoriety with city weights and measures officials.
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He would often challenge the local establishment to "press" the scale weights, and rumor has it he never lost a bet. His running prowess was also of some renown, being a regular winner in the George Street footraces. This was a period of growth in Australia. The gold rush had almost run its course, the country was heading into Federation, and the formation of Prime Minister Edmund Barton's first administration. |
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In the ensuing years, the Wedderburns purchased property in Redfern, and set up a manufacturing plant in Chippendale. About the same time the company bought a building at 73 Liverpool Street for its shopfront and there the company remained until 1970. Jabez, the founder, had two sons (Walter Ernest and Jabez August) and two daughters - all went into the family business. Walter, father of the present chairman Bill Wedderburn, subsequently bought out his brother Jabez. |
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The big break for the company was the introduction of decimal currency in February 1966. As chairman, Bill reflects "all scales had to be changed over and we were in a position to take advantage of this, being on the spot." Bill's competitors were the big companies in England, Europe and the U.S. who had to go back to their boards to get approval to change machinery. These companies had a lot of investment in mechanical equipment. As if this was not enough, the changeover to metric measures in the mid-70's put the seal on Wedderburn's growth. Now all scales had to change from pounds to kilograms - the Imperial age was at an end. It was also around this time that scales changed from mechanical to electronic. |
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Walter Ernest Wedderburn |
Japan was emerging as a major electronic
scalemaker on the world scene. "We were the pioneers in accepting the
technological change, we trained people, got in the supplies," Bill's
son Philip said. The days of mechanical weighing being an art and a science
were at an end. However, the changes were not being accepted too gracefully.
Bill recalls a scales convention he attending in the U.S. at the time.
"Several of the attendees were walking around with Presidential-style
buttons which said "Levers
Forever" - levers being mechanical scales", he said.
It was also a time for Wedderburn to consolidate. The big UK and US companies were on the takeover trail and Wedderburn decided it was time to batten down the hatches and move its Redfern and Chippendale factories and premises to the one building at Summer Hill. |
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It also decided to expand its market penetration and in 1977 it opened its first interstate office in Melbourne with other states following quickly. Today the company is enjoying a privileged position in the Aus$ 600 billion trade measurement industry. It has offices in all states and in 1990 opened in several cities in New Zealand. Its competitors appear to be contracting rather than expanding, and the market is splitting into "niche" companies. There are three brothers, Philip, Stuart, Bruce and a sister Tracy, all working in the family business. |
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