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Our History

“We will make quality chocolate, at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but we will make quality chocolate.”
Hillier’s Mission Statement

Originally from England, Chocolate enthusiast Ernest Hillier left his homeland for San Francisco in the early 1900’s to learn the confectionery and soda trade with his Australian born wife Magdalen May. Broke, after an earthquake destroyed a number of restaurants they built, the Hillier’s moved to Sydney in 1906 where Ernest began a sequence of Australian firsts. In 1911 Hillier opened the first Soda Fountain in Australia, “Hillier Refreshment Services,” at the Imperial Skating Rink.

With the success of Hillier Refreshment Services, it wasn’t long before Hillier was put in charge of catering at the then well known amusement park at Rushcutters Bay, White City. That same year he also looked after Gauts refreshment service and a fountain shop in George St, opposite Central Railway Station.

In 1914, Hillier set up shop at 162 Pitt Street Sydney, quickly establishing a reputation for manufacturing premium quality chocolate, a proud tradition still carried out today. The Pitt Street store had seating for 600 customers and featured a 42 foot long fountain. This was the start of a proud era for Australians, marking the beginnings of Australia’s first chocolate manufacturer.

Prior to Ernest Hillier’s, Australia imported chocolates from the USA and Europe. Due to the distance and climatic conditions, together with transport restrictions, the chocolate always arrived in poor condition. In his own words Ernest Hillier explained his aspirations to a local newspaper at the time, “It is our aim to offer our patrons only the highest grade confectionery, made fresh each day.” Hillier pioneered the use of newspaper advertising for chocolate and was the first to use mail order. In the next 14 years he opened 6 more stores in Sydney, a chocolate factory in Surry Hills, an ice cream factory and a pastry bakery employing 400 people.

After the depression the sales of chocolate dramatically declined in Sydney. With a need for change, Hillier moved to Melbourne in 1934, where he believed the market for chocolate was strong, opening the famous Collins Street store in the Regent Theatre. Hillier eventually sold the business later in life and to this date the company remains privately owned. In October of 2000, Hillier’s added to its gratifying portfolio the well known historic Australian confectionery company Newman’s. The aim was to continue Newman’s iconic reputation for manufacturing and distributing quality confectionery products. Today, 95 years on, this privately owned family company still shares the original vision of creating the same height of perfection, retaining Ernest Hillier's tradition of chocolate making, using only the finest ingredients and the same age old process.

From humble beginnings, Hillier’s has grown to be  a household favourite, supplying loyal chocolate fans Australia wide. There are now over 600 chocolate products in the range with the iconic Yard of Chocolates, which was initially designed for Post World War II cinema goers, still proving to be a favourite.

Post script: A number of people contact us from time to time and tell us about their memories of Hillier’s chocolates and the soda fountain.

Please feel free to drop us a line and share your story, we would love to hear from you.

As Ernest once said “It is the sweetest story ever told”.

 

A Visit to Ernest Hillier's Factory (c.1926)

Ernest Hillier, having established Australia's first chocolate manufacturing company, made the promotional film " A Visit to Ernest Hillier's Factory". The aim of the film was to combat the fierce competition  cropping up around Australia with Cadbury producing confectionery in Tasmania in 1922, MacRobertson's based in Melbourne and Haigh's established in 1915 in South Australia.

View Short Videos ... Courtesy of Australian Screen Society and National Film & Sound Archive.

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