I just can't get that jingle out of my head!!

The person I have decided to honour in this my 100th blog for Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries (I can barely believe how fast that number has been reached!), is someone I expect most of you wouldn't know by name, but his top selling product would be familiar!

ADOLPHUS HERBERT (BERT) APPLEROTH

Adolphus or Bert as he became known was born in December 1886 in Stanley Street West Melbourne to Wilhelm Berndt Albert Appleroth and Emma Audebairt, their only son. Wilhelm was from St Petersburg Russia and was rumoured to be a Russian-Finnish sea captain who jumped ship in Melbourne and his mother was the daughter of a wine merchant. Bert's elder sister Alberta Mabel died in 1887, the same year his mother gave birth to his sister Leonora Alexandra.

The family were residents of Sydney when Bert began work in 1902 as a messenger boy at Lipton's Tea Agency then took a job as a tram conductor. He began experiments with mixtures of gelatine and sugar in the bath in his parents' home at Paddington, (hmmm..) and sold the jelly crystals that he produced door to door using the trams as his personal delivery mode.

In 1910, aged 23, he married Ferri Marion Wotzasik, a dressmaker and eldest daughter of the late Count Emil Wotzasik.

Bert left the tramways seven years later and rented premises in which to manufacture his jelly crystals where he marketed some under the name "De-Luxe". In 1926 he formed Traders Ltd and was joined by a partner Albert Francis Lenertz who became the Managing Director. The business operated from Sussex Street in the city before moving to Alice Street Newtown the following year. With so much interest in the feats of aviation, Bert named his product "Aeroplane Jelly".

Bert Appleroth and his product - getty images via find-a-grave

In 1930 Lenertz wrote the words and music of the Aeroplane Jelly song. Originally, the song was a tribute to Prime Minister Billy Hughes, but he rewrote the lyrics, and it became an extremely popular advertisement for the product later that year.

The jingle was first recorded by Amy Rochelle, a music hall entertainer who did child imitations and that version was used until 1938 when it was re-recorded by a seven-year-old girl, Joy King, who had won a NSW wide competition to find a new singer. Her recording was used for more than 50 years! Lenertz produced and announced radio programmes over Sydney station 2KY and 2SM and used the song as the signature tune. The song was eventually broadcast 100 times each day.

"I like Aeroplane jelly,

Aeroplane jelly for me,

I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,

A little each day is a good recipe..."

When Lenertz left the company in 1934, Bert chartered a Tiger Moth aeroplane, decorated with his product's name to make deliveries to rural areas. This form of advertising proved extremely popular with children who were the greatest consumers of his product. In 1935 Bert held a model aeroplane display in Centennial Park Sydney and with other publicity stunts and together with the popular jingle, he made his product a national icon. By 1949 Bert's factory had an annual turnover of £170,000.

Tommy Dawes, who was one of Joy King's contestants in 1938, became a feature of the Aeroplane Jelly packaging as the whistling boy from 1950. He stayed in various forms on the packaging for another 20 years and then revived several times thereafter.

Advertisement with the "whistling boy" - Wikipedia

Bert was a freemason and gave donations to the Federation of the NSW Police-Citizens Boy's Club and to the Hospital Saturday Fund. He gave back to his major consumers, children.

Advertisement with flavours - National Library of Australia

Bert suffered from high blood pressure and died from a heart attack in July 1952 at his home in Croydon, his wife, Ferri and son surviving him. Ferri was appointed the managing Director of several family companies.

In 1970, Aeroplane Jelly was launched outside of NSW and into Victoria, Queensland, SA and WA.

Vintage Truck advertising - National Museum of Australia

After Ferri died in 1972, the company remained in the name of Traders Ltd. until 1988 when it was acquired by McCormick and Company.

Bert, Ferri and their son Herbert are buried in the Anglican area not far from the Rookwood General Cemetery office.

The Appleroth grave site - Find a grave 

In 2021 Appleroth Street in Melrose Park was dedicated to Bert. It was the area where Aeroplane Jelly was manufactured from 1973 to 2017.

It's amazing to think that jelly crystals, so much a part of Australian lives, started as an experiment in the bath at Bert's home in Paddington. Thank you, Bert, for daring to believe in jelly crystals and making them an Australian icon.

I wish I had a dollar for everytime I've sung the jingle or eaten Aeroplane Jelly - Port Wine flavour was my favourite - it made me feel grown up!!

For today's 100th blog I have referenced ancestry.com; the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry by Paul Brunton; Aeroplane Jelly History; Marrickville Heritage Society article from 10 November 2012; Parramatta History and Heritage and various Trove newspaper entries for births, deaths and marriages.

Let me know your association with Aeroplane Jelly or add any other insights into its story at the comments below or at the group Facebook page found under

rookwood cemetery discoveries

or simply send me a personal message at

lorainepunch@gmail.com

I'd love to know your favourite flavour!

Until next week