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George Marchant (17 November
1857 – 5 September 1941) was an Australian soft-drink
manufacturer and philanthropist.
Born in Brasted, Kent, he left
England for Brisbane, Queensland, Australia at age 16. He
worked as a station hand in the country until returning to
Brisbane for employment as a carter in an aerated waters
factory, himself purchasing a similar business in 1886.
His soft-drink business
eventually became the largest in Australia, with plants in
Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Newcastle adding to the one
in his home city of Brisbane.
He also invented a bottling
machine that came to be used worldwide. Marchant was the
benefactor of many charitable causes, including providing land
in Ann St for the New Jerusalem Church and in Chermside, where
Marchant Park is named after him.
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