British Ever Ready Electrical Company Ltd.
163 Pitt Street, Sydney (1901 – 1920)

The Ever-ready Co. (Gt. Britain) Ltd.
163 Pitt Street, Sydney (1920 – 1934)

The Ever-Ready Company (Australia) Ltd. (1934 – 1939)
Eveready (Australia) Pty. Ltd. (1939 – 1985)

Eveready (Australia) Pty. Ltd. (1939 – 1985)
40 Marshall Street, Surry Hills, Sydney NSW.
Factory -30-40 Harcourt Parade,  Rosebery, NSW.

Eveready batteries and electrical accessories were manufactured and distributed in Australia by the various subsidiaries of The Ever-ready Co. (Gt. Britain) Ltd.  The company merged with the Union Carbide Company USA in July 1957.

Brands:   

• Ever Ready
• Ever-Ready
• Ever-Ready “Superdyne”
• Eveready
• Eveready “Nine Lives with cat”
• Eveready “Air Cell”
• Eveready “Energiser”

In February 1901 Harry Veen and his wife opened the first factory in Rowe Street, Sydney to manufacture batteries in Australia. [1] At the time of writing, it is not clear how Veen became involved with the British Ever Ready Electrical Company Limited  but by 1908 they were tendering to Australian Government departments for the supply of batteries under the British name.[2]

In 1925 the company name changed to The Ever-ready Co. (Gt. Britain) Ltd. [3]

The Ever-Ready Company (Australia) Ltd., was registered in July 1934 with Directors R.P. Walter, A Jewell & S.W. H. Newman to take over The Ever-ready Co. (Gt. Britain) Ltd. [4]

The Company opened a new factory at Rosebury, NSW in January 1938.[5]

In April 1939 the company changed its name to Eveready (Australia) Pty. Ltd. [6]

The company’s major shareholder was the Eveready Company (Great Britain) whose controlling company was the International Eveready Coy., in which the major shareholder was the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation of U.S.A. [7]

In 1957 a merger took place between Eveready Australia Ltd., (wholly owned subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation) and Timbrol Ltd., which was Australia's first major manufacturer of organic chemicals to form Union Carbide Australia Ltd., with Eveready as their battery division. [8]

In June 1969 the company expanded the Rosebery factory to produce Eveready Mercury, Silver – Oxide and Alkaline–Manganese batteries. This was the first plant of its kind established by Union Carbide outside of North America. [9]

Union Carbide ceased operations in Australia in 1985. [10]

The Eveready factory at 30-40 Harcourt Parade in Rosebery was of such local heritage significance in terms of its historical and aesthetic appeal it was preserved. The internals have been altered and turned into offices to house a range of business and the facade was repainted. [11]

[1] Australian Women’s Weekly, Jan 27, 1951 Page 16.
[2] Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National) Oct 24, 1908, Page 1522.
[3] The Sun (NSW) Jul 27, 1925, Page 1.
[4] The Age (Vic.) Jul 6, 1934, Page 14.
[5] Australasian wireless World Feb 1, 1938, Page 8.
[6] The Daily Telegraph (NSW)   Apr 20, 1939, Page 19.
[7] The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW)  Jul  8, 1941, Page 7.
[8] The Canberra Times (ACT) Jul 4, 1957, Page 18.
[9] The Canberra Times (ACT) Jun 27, 1969, Page 1.
[10] "Union Carbide Australia Ltd. (1950–1985)". National Library of Aust. Retrieved June 2014.
[11] NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, Eveready Australia. Retrieved March 2019