Arthur Tilley arrived In Australia in 1851 aged 8 Tilley & Clack was established in 1865, after a few years Clack left, taking the Soap-maker, a Mr Bear to start in opposition. Arthur Tilley managed to get a German Soap-maker and kept on as ' Arthur Tilley. In the early days, soap was made under what was called the "cold soap process", where fats and caustic soda were heated to a medium temperature, and combined, leaving all ingredients in, and giving a soap that stayed soft longer.

Tilley's Soap wagon

Old Soap making machinery .

Old Soap making machinery..

Old Soap making machinery
In 1881, machinery was imported from France and England, and a pan installed for a boiling process, where different ingredients were used by boiling and leaving to stand daily for the required number of days; from this process what is known as "spent lyes" was run off and from this Glycerine is distilled. This Soap could be dried and different perfume, colour and 'other Ingredients mixed by milling and later compressed in a plodder and stamped in various shapes in dies. This was done in hand stampers and in those days employees each tried to outdo the other in the numbers stamped per hour. This varied according to the size of the tablet, a record for half ounce tablets being 120 per minute.
After World far 2, automatic stampers were purchased to speed up output. Some of the machinery still being used dates back to 1881 because it has been
well looked after by the family.
After Arthur Tilley passed away on the 31st December 1912, the firm was carried on by three of his sons, Arthur, Frank and Robert, From 1934 after the retirement of Arthur and the death of Frank, it was carried on by Robert until it was taken over, as Arthur Tilley Pty.Ltd. by his three sons Henry, Roy and Ronald.
The company’s focus has always been production line manufacturing, and it has become very efficient at this process. Tilley Soaps is based in Bayswater, Victoria, and employs some 40 people.

Sea & Hard Water Soap
My first knowledge of Tilley's Soap was back in 1967 at Balladonia,WA I had a shower and this soap was the one they told me I should have used under the hard salty water .
Note: I find it interesting to notice the names used back then, in my Family, my father was Ronald as is my middle name, my Grandfathers name was Frank, One of my Uncles was Dudlry Robert, his Son is Robert, I do not know of a Henry but had a relation Henry Richarson , most of my relations come from Modbury and Tea Tree Gully in SA. On my side Henry and Son
John Tilley also arrived in Australia 1851 on the Osceola a ship of 709 ton registry under Capt Robinson Waite with 253(284) passengers on board took her departure from Plymouth on the 25/12/1850, arriving at
Port Adelaide, SA on 6/4/1851 Two of the listed passengers were, Henry Tilley,agriculture laborer, aged 39 years.
and
John Tilley,(son) aged 10 years, from Hilcott in Wiltshire,England. After leaving
Port Adelaide on her return voyage she was lost at sea. No trace of ship or crew were ever found.
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