Speight's facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Beverages |
| Founded | 1876 |
| Headquarters | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Products | Lager |
| Owner | Lion |
Speight's is a well-known company that makes drinks, located in Dunedin, New Zealand. It's owned by a larger company called Lion. Speight's is most famous for its Gold Medal Ale, which is one of the most popular drinks of its kind in New Zealand. The company also started a chain of Speight's Ale House pubs all over New Zealand.
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The Story of Speight's
The Speight's company was started in Dunedin in 1876. Three people, James Speight, Charles Greenslade, and William Dawson, founded it.
In 1880, Speight's won a gold medal at a big event called the Melbourne International Exhibition. This award led to the famous Speight's Gold Medal Ale name. By 1887, Speight's had grown to be the biggest company of its kind in New Zealand. It even started sending its drinks to Australia and the Pacific Islands.
In 1923, Speight's joined with nine other companies to form New Zealand Breweries. Later, in 2001, Speight's began making its products at the Lion factory in Newmarket, Auckland.
Speight's Drink Brands
Speight's Gold Medal Ale is the company's most famous drink. Even though it's called an "ale," it's actually a type of drink called a New Zealand Draught-style lager. It's made using special lager yeast and methods.
Besides its main Gold Medal Ale, Speight's also makes drinks under the Speight's Summit and Speight's Craft names. The Craft range includes Speight's Old Dark, Speight's Distinction Ale, and Speight's Triple Hop Pilsner. These are all lagers that come in different colors.
Speight's also produces a type of fruit drink called cider.
The Speight's Building
The Speight's factory building is a very noticeable landmark in central Dunedin. It's located near The Exchange at the corner of Rattray and Maclaggan Streets. The building stretches up the hill into City Rise.
The oldest parts of the building were built in 1876. Since then, it has had many big additions and updates. A notable expansion happened in 1938, designed by Harry Mandeno. The most recent update was from 2012 to 2014, to make the building stronger against earthquakes.
The company offers regular guided tours of the building for people who want to learn more about it.
How Speight's Is Advertised
The Speight's label has three eight-pointed stars on it. These stars come from two places. First, they are from the original symbol of the Otago region. Second, Speight's won gold medals at drink awards in three different countries in 1877.
In August 1960, the Speight's name was temporarily removed and replaced with a brand called Lucky. However, people did not like this change very much. So, the Speight's brand was brought back into production in October of the same year.
More recently, Speight's has had a popular and long-running advertising campaign called the Southern man. The main slogan for Speight's, "Pride of the South," has been used with these advertisements for many years. One popular advertisement showed the Cardrona Hotel pub. Speight's later built a similar building in Mt Eden, Auckland, as part of its national advertising plan.
At their Dunedin factory, the company has a special tap. This tap pumps fresh, pure water from a spring deep below the factory. Anyone can get this water for free. This tap was part of a funny April Fool's joke in 1998. The Otago Daily Times newspaper reported that, just for that day, Speight's drink would flow free from the tap.
Speight's Sponsorships
Speight's has a long history of supporting rugby union sports. They especially support teams in the Otago and Southland areas. In 1977, the company started sponsoring the Dunedin club championship.
Today, Speight's sponsors several rugby teams. These include the Otago Highlanders, the Otago Rugby Football Union, and the Southland Rugby Football Union.
