Emu Brewery

The Emu Brewery was a brewery in Perth, Western Australia, which traced its history to the first decade of the colony. Founded in 1837 by James Stokes as the Albion Brewery, it was located beside the Swan River on a block bounded by Mounts Bay Road, Spring Street and Mount Street. The business changed hands — and names — several times, until its ultimate acquisition by competitor the Swan Brewery in 1927.

New brewery buildings were constructed over the years. The most notable of these was an imposing Art Deco building erected between 1936 and 1938. This building continued to be used to produce Emu-brand beer until the late 1970s, when production was shifted to a new factory in Canning Vale. Emu beer continues to be produced as a brand of Swan Brewery owner Lion Nathan.

In the early 1830s, the Swan River Colony was in its infancy and did not have a substantial local beer industry. Preachers from the Temperance League lobbied against the drunkenness prevalent in the Colony, however the lack of locally produced beer meant that they focused their attention on spirits drinkers.Governor James Stirling believed that the construction of a local brewery may reduce the Colony's drunkenness problems by allowing the men to drink beer instead of spirits.

Scotsman James Stokes had arrived in Western Australia in 1834 at the age of 24. He saw the opportunity in the market for a brewery, and investigated potential sites. Surveyor-General John Septimus Roe had set aside a small triangular lot for use as a brewery; this block was bounded by Spring Street, Mount Street and St Georges Terrace. Stokes preferred the much larger block across Spring Street, which extended almost all the way to the riverfront. The site was more suitable because it featured a natural spring, there was a sufficient different in elevation to enable the use of gravity in the brewing process without the need for a large tower. The proximity to the river also made river transport an attractive option. Stokes bought this land from George Leake, and was operating his brewery by 1837. Although the brewery was named the Albion Brewery after the ancient name for Great Britain, it was more popularly known as Stokes' Brewery. It was the colony's first major stand-alone brewery.

...
Wikipedia