Now that, Suzanne, is a really interesting question. The Adelaide Rosella
is of course of the other (blue-cheeked) variety, similar to a Crimson
Rosella. According to Cozzolino & Rutherford's 'Symbols of Australia' the
trademark was used 'as early as' 1897 on letterheads. The NAME 'Rosella'
had been adopted in 1894 by persons called McCracken and Press who marketed
jams and preserved fruits, although whether they were based in SA I cannot
say. They went into liquidation in 1895 and the acquiring business became
the Rosella Preserving Co Ltd. The earliest illustration I have is dated
1899 and is black and white but appears to show a white-cheeked (Eastern)
Rosella and a 1905 emblem is certainly an Eastern Rosella, which would not
be surprising as the RPC was a Melbourne firm. So what we need to know is
whether McCracken and Press were South Australian merchants and whether they
ever used a rosella illustration in connection with their products: they
did not have it as a trademark because this was not registered until 1899.
Although the backmost recesses of my grocery cupboard contain some fairly
ancient items, I am reasonably sure that none of it would be more than 100
years old.
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