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AMSCOL (Adelaide Milk Supply Co-Operative Limited) was a South Australian dairy company. It was particularly well known for its range of ice creams,[1][2] and its advertising slogan "It's a food, not a fad".[3] It was founded in 1922 and was bought out by Streets in the early 1980s.[4]

Background

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Amscol Milk stand at the 1929 Show

The business that later became AMSCOL was established by the Beauchamp brothers, who operated a milk delivery business from premises at 150 Carrington Street, Adelaide. They were sons of John Beachim Beauchamp (c. 1830 – 7 August 1913)[5] who was married to Jane Caroline Beauchamp, née Baker (c. 1841 – 6 December 1897).[6] In the late 1800s, Beauchamp left Somerset for South Australia and, after failing as farmers, the family purchased a dairy on Junction Road, Rosewater, where the younger brothers spent their childhood.[7] The Beauchamp brothers included Herbert, Frank, George, Walter, Harry, and Richard. One brother, George W. Beauchamp left for the United States around 1906 and founded a thriving ice cream business in Chicago.[8] By 1926, he was a major shareholder in the Whelan Icecream Company and Hydrox Dairy Corporation, but had little day-to-day involvement.[9]

Walter John Chancellor Beauchamp (21 August 1884 – 25 January 1966), started work delivering milk for James Anderson in Melbourne for three and a half years. On returning to Adelaide in 1909,[7] he purchased a horse and milk cart and soon had a daily "round" of 120 customers, delivering 110 litres (24 gallons) before 8:30am.[10] He brought in several of his brothers to operate the business. The Beauchamp Brothers and Anderson (as Anderson & Co.) were competitors in 1915,[11] but combined in 1917 as Adelaide Milk Supply Company, employing 35 men, including 28 carters.[12]

Company history

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1 pint (570 ml) AMSCOL milk bottle

In January 1921, a dairy manager in Enfield, P. C. Manuel, helped set up the Wholesale Milk Producers' Association.[13] In 1922, 579 (or 94%) of the milk producers agreed to purchase an established milk distribution company (so that supply could be controlled from production to distribution) and decided on A. M. S. C.. The new company, now renamed AMSCOL, was set up on the co-op model, with farmers supplying more or less milk depending on the number of shares held and being paid according to its butterfat content.[14]

Manuel and Walter Beauchamp became directors, with Harry Beauchamp as depot manager in Murray Bridge.[13] The only other brother who figures prominently in the company is Francis Charles Zebedee Steeds "Frank" Beauchamp (1879 – 27 September 1949),[15] who was employed as works manager.[16] Woodside butter factory was also purchased at this time, adding butter and cheese production to the business.

By 1922 the company had 41 carts delivering a total of 18,000 litres (4,000 gallons) daily to 26,000 homes. They also supplied 50 vendors and eight or nine milk shops.[10] George W. Beauchamp returned to Adelaide in 1927 to help his brother install new ice cream plant and block ice manufacturing machinery capable of producing 70 tons of clear ice daily (this was 30 years before most houses had an electric refrigerator). He also advised on delivery of milk in bottles, rather than doling it out into "billy cans".[7] The co-op also began supplying bottled milk to schools as part of governmental health initiatives.

Popular items from the 1950s included ice cream blocks (convenient for early square-shaped freezer compartments), Dandies, Eskimo Pies, Dairy Chocs, Hi Tops, Twin Chocs, and Berry Bars.[17]

In 1978, rival cooperative dairies SA Farmers Union and Dairy Vale purchased the company as competition increased.[18][19] In 1982, the company was purchased by Streets,[17] a subsiduary of the British company Unilever. In 2012, the brand was sold to private interests who revived it as part of their restaurant business.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Flashback: Amscol returning to Adelaide, 7 News Adelaide, 8 July 2020
  2. ^ Joy of Amscol sticks in the memory[permanent dead link], Bob Byrne, The Advertiser, July 6 2015
  3. ^ “It’s a Food, Not a Fad”, Adelaide Remember When, Bob Byrne, October 23, 2014
  4. ^ Beloved SA dairy brand AMSCOL is back at a retro burger bar, Adelaide Advertiser, October 15, 2019
  5. ^ "Family Notices". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXXVIII, no. 20, 824. South Australia. 8 August 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 5 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Family Notices". South Australian Register. Vol. LXIII, no. 16, 246. South Australia. 7 December 1898. p. 4. Retrieved 5 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b c "Captain of Industry". The News (Adelaide). Vol. X, no. 1, 394. South Australia. 2 January 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Romance of Adelaide Man". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 15, no. 755. South Australia. 13 November 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia. includes family photograph.
  9. ^ "Adelaide Milk Supply Company". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 26 February 1927. p. 16. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ a b "A Milk Vendor's Success". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXXXVI, no. 25, 321. South Australia. 27 October 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "The Rural Voice". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXXX, no. 21, 366. South Australia. 4 May 1915. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "In the Courts". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXXXII, no. 21, 915. South Australia. 3 February 1917. p. 6. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia. This article includes price of milk and men's hours and wages.
  13. ^ a b "Amscol company in 1922 formed by Adelaide milk supply dairymen; gains an establishment base of shareholders". Adelaide AZ. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  14. ^ "Adelaide Milk Supply Co-operative Limited". The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser. Vol. 42, no. 2162. South Australia. 24 March 1922. p. 1. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia. Much detail on milk handling
  15. ^ "Family Notices". The News (Adelaide). Vol. 53, no. 8, 158. South Australia. 28 September 1949. p. 22. Retrieved 5 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "A Pure Milk Supply". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 17 August 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ a b "Amscol milk creates a classic range of 'it's a food not a fad' icecream melting into an icon of South Australian life". Adelaide AZ. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  18. ^ "Farmers Union, Dairy Vale take over Amscol in 1978 before all three disappear as South Australian companies". Adelaide AZ. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  19. ^ "Factory relic at Mount Compass only trace of Dairy Vale's boom in South Australian milk industry in 1960-80s". Adelaide AZ. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
  20. ^ Beloved SA dairy brand AMSCOL is back at a retro burger bar, Adelaide Advertiser, October 15, 2019
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