George Marchant was born in 1857 in England but he lived most of his life in Brisbane, Australia. He was a philanthropist and a manufacturer who went from having no money in his pockets (he moved to Brisbane almost penniless) to having one of the biggest soft-drink companies in Australia.
His father, Richard Marchant was a builder and his mother, Sarah, worked as a hotel keeper. They didn't have much money and even though they couldn't give Gorge many possibilities to study, he ended up moving to Australia when he was only 16 years old. When he arrived to Brisbane, he had to immediately start working, as he had no savings. He worked as a gardener and as a carter.
His life changed completely in 1886 when he bought a ginger beer factory and then he got to built his own factory. He also got married and his business company started to grow and grow. Apart from his delicious drinks, he also made another contribution: he invented and patented a bottling machine that ended up being used worldwide. He and his wife adopted a child and named him Christopher John, and George left him in charge of the company when he retired.
He became of course really rich, but was not ignorant of those who had nothing. He believed in social equality and had a really good relationship with labour thinkers and union workers. He also founded a Bellamy Society and dedicated almost a decade raising money to support workers strikes.
He also supported so many other causes, and as a religious man, he donated money to establish Swedenborgian churches all over Australia. He also was a really strong opponent of liquor trade and donated a really important amount of money to the Queensland Prohibition League's in Canberra.
Sadly, he died in 1941 and his company didn't stay in the family. By 1964, Coca-Cola Amatil, a huge non-alcoholic drinks company had bought all his company.
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