Cadbury's Chocolate Factory, Tasmania

Commencing construction in 1920, the factory was built entirely of white ferro-concrete. Consisting of 9,200 cubic metres (12,000 cu yd) of concrete, weighing approximately 22,000 tonnes (22,000 long tons; 24,000 short tons), the factory was designed as six rectangular blocks, five of which containing three stories measuring 46 by 15 metres (150 ft × 50 ft).[11] These included ancillary buildings for the warehouse and power and transformer houses, which were interconnected by covered arches on each floor.[7] Forty workers (consisting of twenty-four men and sixteen women) from the original Cadbury factory in Birmingham and Bristol in the United Kingdom relocated to Tasmania to oversee the factory construction and train newly recruited staff.[12] Cadbury's Chocolate Factory at Claremont was officially opened on 21 October 1921.[1] Between March and May 1922, Cadbury's Managing Director Dorothy Cadbury visited the factory, overseeing working conditions from both the perspective of the employee and employer. Her parents, Chairman of Directors Barrow Cadbury and Dame Geraldine Cadbury DBE, and sister Geraldine Mary Cadbury accompanied her on the visit.[10][13] Bound for Sydney, the first shipment left Cadbury's Claremont on Saturday 8 April 1922, containing Pascall confectionery.[14] Dorothy and Barrow Cadbury returned to Claremont in 1930.[15] Designed by architects Hutchinson & Walker, an additional three-story building measuring 100 metres (340 ft) in length was erected in 1939 at a cost of £A40,000.[16][17]

Promotional illustration of the factory, estate and surrounds, 1950s

Based upon the model village of Cadbury's Bournville estate in Birmingham, the newly established 'Cadbury's Estate' embodied Quaker ideology, providing housing for workers, shops, sporting facilities, a school, a Friends meeting house and parkland, complete with purple benches.[18] To assist worker education and social welfare, a variety of organisations and social activities were created within the self-contained community including a youth club, girls’ club, cricket club, a floricultural society and a camera club called "Candied Camera".[9] Located north of the City of Glenorchy, the estate has views of kunanyi / Mount Wellington to the west and both the City of Clarence and Brighton local government area on the eastern shore.[8] Bound by Bilton Bay to the north and Windermere Bay to the south upon the River Derwent, the 246-acre (100 ha) site comprised the model village occupying 108 acres (44 ha) of the peninsula, the factory covering 41 acres (17 ha), recreational and shore reserves consisting of 58 acres (23 ha), and supporting infrastructure occupying a further 43 acres (17 ha).[7]

Within the estate are various roads and buildings containing historical industry namesakes, such as Bournville Road, named after Cadbury's original worker's estate. MacRobertson's Road pays tribute to MacRobertson's, the Australian company which created Cherry Ripe, Freddo Frog and Old Gold, acquired by Cadburys in 1967.[4] Today, the Cadbury's Estate has a rich history with eighteen heritage-listed buildings located on the site, including the former Claremont Primary School.[19]

Constructed at a cost of £A247, the first school at Claremont opened in July 1890.[20] In 1922, land for a new school was purchased with a brick building constructed for £A1,600. With frontage along Windermere Bay, the new Claremont School was completed on the Cadbury's Estate in 1924 to facilitate factory worker's children. In 1936, a second plot was acquired and a new building constructed at a cost of £A914. The school underwent two rounds of extensions in 1941, with the first wing costing £A2,070, and a second costing £A1,297.[20] The school was closely tied to the Cadbury factory workers, including students planting eighteen trees alongside Cadbury Road leading to the factory in 1949.[21]

As part of the City of Glenorchy's Building the Education Revolution plan in 2009, the Claremont Primary School (as it was then known) was set to close following the proposal of two new primary schools facilitating the area.[22] The school closed in 2013 under the pretence it was be developed into housing.[23] In 2015, a $79 million subdivision was put forward to develop the site.[24] In 2017 the school was victim to an arson attack, causing upward of $150,000 in damages and destroying one of the school's historic buildings.[25][26] The school was purchased by businessman Kai Yang in 2019. In 2021, a $200m development on the site called the Windermere Bay Precinct was proposed, featuring 315 apartments and townhouses, a childcare centre, local shops, a cafe, and a gym and pool within the parkland setting. Designed by Circa Morris-Nunn Architects, the remaining heritage-listed school building will be retained and used for community facilities.[27]

The Cadbury's Estate was previously connected to the former North–South rail corridor via a dedicated spur line, terminating at Cadbury's station.[28] The station was operational by September 1921,[29] with Tasman Limited operating 26 weekday services along the North–South corridor until its closure in 1974.[9][30] The former rail corridor has since been repurposed into a cycle track.

From 1948, the factory conducted public tours of the facility, showcasing the manufacturing process, including the fermenting, drying, roasting, and separating of cocoa beans from their skins to create cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The tour also included an inspection of the factory's pure granite conching machines dating back to the 1950s, industrial machinery and wrapping process, ending with a taste-testing and the collection of free samples. The tours were discontinued in 2008 due to health and safety regulations adopted by the company globally and replaced with a newly built visitor centre at the site in 2010.[32]

During the 2013 federal election campaign, then-opposition leader Tony Abbott offered a $16 million grant to develop and upgrade the visitor centre. Once the Abbott government came into power, the parent company Mondelez stated that they had not met the criteria for the grant.[33] In spite public outcry, the visitor centre was permanently closed on the 18 December 2015.[34]

In April 2009, Cadbury Australia announced its commitment to Dairy Milk chocolate blocks achieving Fairtrade International certification by Easter 2010.[37][38] When Cadbury was purchased by Mondelez International in 2010, the parent company was already devising its own internal sustainability programme, named Cocoa Life, which commenced in 2012. In 2016, Mondelez International discontinued Cadbury Dairy Milk's Fairtrade certification in favour for the Cocoa Life program. Labelling citing Fairtrade International had partnered with Mondelez International for the Cocoa Life program appeared on packaging, which also saw the removal of the International Fairtrade Certification Mark.[39] 100% sustainable cocoa in Cadbury's Australian-made goods was achieved in 2021 due to the Cocoa Life programme.[40][41][42]

In September 2022, Cadbury Australia announced that all future Dairy Milk varieties would be wrapped in 30% recycled soft plastic, replacing former single-use packaging.[6]