Victoria Brewery Gold Top Lager

Thomas Aitken came to Victoria from Scotland in 1842 at the age of nineteen. In 1851 he founded the Corio Brewery in Geelong, and later started the Union Brewery in Melbourne. By 1854 he was in business at Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, where he had built a new brewery, distillery and malthouse. The large complex was called the Victoria Parade Brewery and a substantial business developed.

Following the death of Thomas Aitken in 1884 the business passed to his son, Archibald. At that time the brewery was described as being ‘one of the largest and handsomest in Victoria’. Telephone communication had been linked between the exchange in the city and the company’s distillery in Collingwood, and further innovations included gas for heating, and electric bells to assist communication between and within the buildings.

Archibald Aitken retired in 1887, and James and Alfred Nation purchased the total business for £80,000. On 13 March 1888 the business was floated as the Victoria Brewing, Malting & Distilling Co. Ltd, with Alfred Nation continuing as managing director. At the Centennial Exhibition at Melbourne in 1888, the Victoria Brewery was awarded First Order of Merit for its entry of bottled beer in the Light Sparkling Ale section. In  the early 1890s they put a new layering brewing plant as a response to the success of Foster’s Lager that was being produced across the road. The launch brands were Gold and Silver Top Lager.