Geo. Hall & Sons facts for kids

"Stonie" (non-alcoholic) ginger beer gained its name from the ceramic bottles they were sold in.

Later bottle (around 1940)

Geo. Hall & Sons, also known as Halls, was a company that made soft drinks. It was started in 1849 in Marryatville, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide. The founder was George Hall (1818-1881), an immigrant from England.

The company later moved to Norwood. They used water from natural springs there. Their most famous drink was ginger beer, often called "Stonie's." After George Hall passed away, his family continued to own the company. It was then bought by another company in 1972. The Halls brand name was used until the year 2000.

History of Halls Soft Drinks

How Halls Began

George Hall was born in England in 1818. As a teenager, he enjoyed making non-alcoholic drinks as a hobby. He worked as a laundryman for about 14 years. Then, George and his family moved to South Australia in 1849. They settled in a new village called Marryatville.

By 1851, George Hall started making soda water. He became very good at making "Stonie" ginger beer. This special ginger beer was sold in ceramic bottles.

Commemorative plaque on the Jubilee 150 Walkway

Geo. Hall & Sons was one of the oldest companies making fizzy drinks in South Australia. In 1869, George's sons Henry, Thomas, and Edward joined the business. The company then became known as Geo. Hall & Sons. In 1872, they moved to a bigger factory in Norwood. This new factory was on the corner of Edward Street and Norwood Parade.

By 1970, Hall & Sons could produce 30,000 bottles of soft drink every hour.

In 1880, Geo. Hall & Sons won six first prizes at an exhibition in London. They won for their fizzy water and soft drinks. People were very surprised by their success. They said the excellent quality was because of the water from Adelaide.

After George Hall died in 1881, his sons Henry and Edward took over. The Hall family continued to run the company for many more years.

Halls in the 20th Century

During the 1900s, the company made many different soft drinks and cordials. They even bottled Passiona, a drink from another company called Cottee's, for local sales.

In 1972, C-C Bottlers bought Geo. Hall and Sons. C-C Bottlers was a company that made Coca-Cola for South Australia. They kept making soft drinks under the Hall's brand name. Later, in 1990, Coca-Cola Amatil bought C-C Bottlers. In October 2000, Coca-Cola Amatil stopped using the Halls name. They combined several local brands under one name, Kirks.

Halls Soft Drinks Relaunch

On November 7, 2020, it was announced that Halls soft drinks would return! Cameron Ballard, who owns Coffee World in South Australia, got the rights to the Halls name. He planned to bring the brand back.

The drinks were expected to be available in South Australian stores by mid-summer 2021/2022.

For the relaunch, Halls announced four original flavors would return. These were Halls Lemon Twist, Halls Fruita, Halls Lemonade, and Halls Stonie Ginger Beer. They hoped to bring back more original flavors later.

Cameron Ballard worked with the Hall family. They wanted to make sure the new recipes tasted just like the original drinks.

Halls soft drinks started production again on October 23, 2023. This happened in Willunga, South Australia.