History

BookHistoric black and white photo of Northcote Pottery site

Northcote Pottery have been setting the standard in pottery and garden decor in Australia for over 110 years. Despite facing many challenges including wars, depressions and changing business practices, Northcote Pottery has evolved from small beginnings in the Melbourne suburbs, to become the largest distributor of pottery and garden decor in Australia and New Zealand.

The Book

If you want to learn more about Northcote Pottery's rich history, contact us to order a copy of our book,
"Northcote Pottery: A Story of Survival and Prosperity Over 110 Years." The book was commissioned to celebrate 110 years of Northcote Pottery. Written by Laura Donati, it provides a fascinating insight into the history of early industry, commerce, migration and urban development in Melbourne's inner north.

A Brief Overview

1897 George Westmoreland established a pottery factory, known as "Westmoreland's", in suburban Melbourne. The company was soon after renamed "The Northcote Tile and Pottery Company".
1972 Brothers, Bill and Wally McMahon acquire Northcote Pottery.
1986 Under direction of new owners, Peter Faulkner and Russ Porter, Northcote Pottery begins to complement its own production with various collections of imported pottery from Italy and South East Asia.
1988 New branch is opened in Sydney to service the large NSW Market.
2001 Andrew & Jenni McMahon acquire the Victorian, Tasmanian, South Australian and West Australian distribution rights and open a new custom built distribution centre in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne.
2003 New branch in Adelaide, to service the South Australian and Northern Territory markets is opened.
2006 Andrew and Jenni McMahon purchase the New South Wales and Queensland distribution rights.
New branches in Brisbane and Perth are opened.
2008 New office in Auckland, New Zealand commences trade under the name 'Tiki Trading' .
Office and showroom is opened in Jiangsu Province, China.
2009 Queensland branch relocates to a brand new, custom-built distribution centre and office in Larapinta.
2011 Northcote International is created to drive international product development, sourcing, manufacturing and trading initiatives.
2014 The Northcote Pottery group of companies (Northcote Pottery, Tiki Trading & Northcote International) are aquired by Griffon Corporation. Northcote Pottery becomes part of Ames True Temper, Griffon's Home and Garden Division. For more information, please view the media release.