H. T. Hooper & Co. Soap and Soda Factory

Description

Business TypeManufacturingHistory

In 1866 the Isambert Bros started a soap and candle making works on the left bank of the Bremer at their 72.5-acre property, Toongara Vineyard, near Churchill. A few years later G.E. Meyer was taken into partnership and subsequently the business was acquired around 1882 by William Hancock. The production of his soap and candles required tallow from the local Ipswich rendering works, and Hancock advertised his willingness to purchase both small and large quantities.

Following the devastating flood of January 1887, and capitalising on the opening of the Fassifern railway, by March 1887 Hancock had moved the factory to the present site on Lobb Street, Churchill. Here he erected a new facility, the current building, and in October 1887 the following detailed description of the site and the process of soap making was provided in the press:

Three acres and a half of land were secured, immediately above Mr. J. O'Mara's tannery and the railway siding, and on it there has been erected a new and roomy building, of somewhat peculiar appearance as to the exterior. It is built with a wooden frame, the walls and roof being covered with galvanised corrugated iron. It is 72ft. long b 52ft. wide, and is in one large room, but its three semi-circular roofs give the appearance of three distinct rooms. The factory, though not what would be termed an extensive one, is compact and well arranged, and seems to possess facilities for a greatly increased output if required. A ton of soap (1000 bars) per day. and a ton of candles per week could be turned out if desired. On entering, the steam engine and boiler are met with. The former is four horse power and the latter six horse power, it having to supply steam for soap boiling as well as for driving the machinery. In the left-hand corner is a platform some few feet above the floor level. This gives access to the boilers, which are set in it, so to speak, though most of the brick-work is below the platform. One of the soap boiling vessels is 8ft. 6in. deep, with a diameter of 6ft. 6in,, and the other is about 7ft. by 6ft. There are also smaller ones - a caustic boiler, two silicate boilers, and a ship's tank boiler, with steam-heating apparatus for cleaning dirty soap. Direct fire heat is used for the larger utensil and steam for the smaller ones. A very handy little "Yankee lift" is suspended from the roof near the platform, and with it the casks of tallow can easily be raised from the floor to the platform beside the boilers. As most people are aware, the ingredients of soap are tallow or oil, resin, caustic soda, silicate of soda and water; and long toiling is necessary. Here it takes five days to make a boiler of soap, though the stuff is actually boiling only three days out of the five. For instance, after steam heating for twenty four hours, the vessel and contents are allowed to cool and rest for thirty-six hours. Before boiling again, the "lees" are drawn off through a tap in the bottom of the boiler. This apparently is the waste material from the soda which remains after the alkali has cut up or saponified the tallow: and the drawing off of the refuse is repeated. "HANCOCK'S SOAP FACTORY." Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 - 1908) 18 October 1887: 3.

Hancock produced two grades of soap: a cheaper one with silicate of soda added; and a better quality one. His tallow candles, while not in high demand, were considered of excellent quality and utilised Dresden-made moulds.

Hancock died suddenly in 1892, leaving a widow and two married daughters, and in 1901 his soap-making business was acquired by Henry Tivoli Hooper who carried on the business as H.T. Hooper & Co. for many years supplying soap and laundry soda to the community and Government institutions. Born in Ipswich in 1867, Henry Hooper began working in his father Harry's general store business of Ginn and Hooper, which was established initially in Brisbane and Wharf Street in 1879. In 1894 Henry married Elizabeth Cooper and in 1897, set up his own business in Nicholas Street as general storekeeper and seed, tobacco and produce merchant under the name of H.T. Hooper & Co. by taking over Ginn and Hooper after the death of his father in 1896. Then in 1901 he expanded his operations by acquiring the Churchill soap works.

In 1919 Henry’s son Fred joined the company then Fred’s son John began working in the family wholesale grocery business. Henry Hooper died in 1944. His grandson John later opened a furniture store that also sold rolls of carpet. This company went on to become Hooper’s Carpet One, focusing on carpet and floor coverings. Hooper’s Carpets was later managed by John’s son Andrew and was situated at 63 Brisbane Street, Ipswich, in the 1990s. By this period the old soap factory was used by Nissen Welding Industries.

Research & written byKevin Rains

Location

Street Lobb StreetSuburbChurchillCity & StateIpswich, QueenslandGeo Coordinates^[1]

Connections

Defining Tulmur | IpswichAdversity & Resilience: Industry & ManufacturingShaping Our Identity: Industry & ManufacturingBoom & Bust: Industry & Manufacturing

Linked To

Defining Tulmur | Ipswich

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