Waterview Rum Spectator

Researcher + Journalist + Rum Enthusiast

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Bundaberg’s Next Big Thing!

Waterview Unveils Replica of its ‘Unearthed’ Wooden Box

On January 15, 2014, Waterview Distilling Company announced its 1st public product release in over 100 years. The official launch date will be held on January 26, 2014, Australia day. In conjunction…

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Bundaberg’s Next Big Thing!

Waterview Unveils Replica of its ‘Unearthed’ Wooden Box

On January 15, 2014, Waterview Distilling Company announced its 1st public product release in over 100 years. The official launch date will be held on January 26, 2014, Australia day. In conjunction with its launch, the Company has created a 3.8-metre-high replica of the now famous and much-awaited Waterview Unearthed wooden box.

The mega box first made its debut on December 11, 2013 at the East End Hotel in Bundaberg East, QLD 4670. The box was commissioned and hand made by Schmeiders Cooperage to match that of the Waterview ‘unearthed’ Silver release.

Locals and visitors have been quick to get their pictures taken beside the massive replica. Rick Prosser was one of the 1st to use the hashtag “#mytruespirit” to upload his proud snap to social media inviting everyone to get involved in this great moment.

When asked about the box, Prosser commented with cheeky grin “Wait till you see it for Australia Day” he further continued, “Waterview is big on locals and that means we’re big on Australia and at 3.8m we’re showing our Aussie Pride”.

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Waterview Rum Unearthed Release in Bundaberg on Australia Day, January 26, 2014

Bundaberg, December 24, 2013 — Waterview Distilling Company, the newly-relaunched company of Bundaberg industry pioneer Samuel Johnston, announced the launch of “Unearthed,” its first rum product in a 110 years, on Australia Day 2014.

Through an…

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Bundaberg Community Celebrates Comeback of Waterview Rum

On December 11, 2013, Waterview Distilling Company marked a new milestone after its successful Waterview Unearthed event in North Bundaberg.

The day-long event started at 2 Gavin Street, North Bundaberg, beside the Bundaberg Foundry, where the old…

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1 month till Waterview Rum Unites Bundaberg. Who bought a souvenir copy of yesterday's Heritage themed Bundaberg News-Mail? If anybody missed out there...

And, the wait is over. Waterview Rum is coming back, according to Bundaberg Rum Showcase.

Like treasure that has been found from an underwater wreck, Waterview Rum is said to be unveiling next month, and for some reason, my family, friends, and I can't wait to fall in line for a bottle. Neighbors said that they got a copy of the Waterview rum ad which was attached at the back of the Bundaberg newsmail. Perhaps, because we love everything that comes from Bundaberg (region) and anything of high quality - good enough to be sold as Bundy rum (speculation).

(Call me crazy, but I'm much more looking forward to this Waterview rum instead of the 125 launch.) Christmas came early this year. :)

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Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, post links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

OKAY. I am apalled.

After weeks of doing research and following different rum forums on Facebook (trying to get more info on Waterview rum and Samuel Johnston), I came across this post about the legitimacy of Bundaberg's 125 anniversary claim.

An Aussie guy posted on Ministry of Rum ( a credible channel or network of rum enthusiasts from around the world.):

How does Bundaberg Rum Claim 125 Years when the first company went into liquidation and then started again under a new company?? That’s like saying you’ve been married for 50 years even though you moved out with your girlfriend 10 years ago and have 2 kids now.  It was not called Bundaberg Distilling Company, it was a different company name. 125 Years IS NOT TRUE!! Just typical INNOVATIVE DECEPTION https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/RegistrySearch/faces/landing/panelSearch.jspx?searchTab=search&searchType=OrgAndBusNm&searchText=Millaquin&_adf.ctrl-state=12u6ks3omj_28

I clicked on the link. And, allow me to repeat it.

I AM APALLED.

This is one of the moments which remind me of how the Internet plays a modern role in research and UNCOVERING FACTS. How come no one else saw this? 

WHAT DOES BUNDABERG HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS???

 I AM GREATLY APALLED.

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Black Rat Recipe - Food.com - 507380

A popular dark rum-based drink that is enjoyed by sailors.

Sipping on this while cruising the Whitsundays! REFRESHING! :)

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Bundy 280: Bundaberg Master Distillers' Collection

I just really need to share this.

After weeks of waiting for the release of the Bundaberg 280, my dad and my brother finally got their hands on the (highly-coveted) new addition to the Master Distillers' Collection. So, as they both expected, there were a lot of serious Bundy fans who were so eager to get the Bundy 280 that they queued for hours – just like everyone else.

Like a private fair that was just for Bundy, the lucky ones who got their Bundy 280 early were all smiles until they got a close look at the bottle. My dad overheard someone ask a guy working for Bundy rum, “Where are the signatures? Where are they?” Dad thought it was just cause of his old age that he asked my brother to check out what is going on.

“You know Rick Prosser, Phillip Larsen, and Damon O’Neall. Where are their signatures?” Upon hearing that, my dad got up from his seat and talked to this complainant. He asked if he could borrow the bottle of his Bundy 280. And, yes, “Where are the signatures?,” my dad asked.

Funny thing, if you’re a rum collector or a Bundy fan, and you happen to hear something about the Master Distillers’ Collection, you MUST know what those signatures should mean to that collection. It’s called the Master Distillers’ Collection because of the Master Distillers’ who made the collection possible. So, where are the signatures? The signatures mean so much to that collection that it’s just not the same without them.

Just a thought, does that mean the Master Distillers did not make the Bundy 280?

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http://www.grouprecipes.com/137125/queensland-diesel.html

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Waterview Rum and Bundaberg: UNCOVERED

Truth be told, my curiosity began after watching several heated exchanges between Bundaberg fanatics and rum aficionados. Yes, heated exchanges like bashing and mongering on Facebook and other forums. As much as I enjoyed the rivalry, it got me to thinking, “What is the deal with Bundy and Waterview? Who is this bespectacled Samuel Johnston with big ears?”

For the record, my family has been collecting spirits (yes, alcohol = spirits: e.g. Bundaberg Rum, Grange, and other collectibles) for decades now, and I have never heard anything about Waterview.

Scepticism about Waterview led me to doing research. Is it real? Is it made up by some marketing company or someone just having a go? I just had to answer my own question: “What is Waterview, and where was, or better, where is it?”

Of course, I Googled it. Some things came up about an old saw mill, but the results weren’t enough. The quest for significant answers led me to digging deep into Queensland Government’s Office of Economic and Statistical Research.

And, I found it.

As a researcher, I am accustomed to spending hours on research and finding legitimate and credible sources. In this case, it’s the Q150 digital book Triumph in the Tropics, 1959 (Part Three, Chapter XXVIII, The Story of the Cities, Towns and Shires — Continued).

On page 358, under The City of Bundaberg, it says, “The history of Bundaberg really began on Christmas Day 1866, when John and Gavin Stewart, two brothers, timber-getters from Baffle Creek, pitched their camp on a site near the present railway station at North Bundaberg. In 1865 Samuel Johnston came from Rockhampton and took up Waterview Estate.”

Upon reading that paragraph, my sceptic self just walked out the door like a football fan whose team just lost a game. I wouldn’t say that I am a Bundy fanatic (Bundy to those of us who love it), but I grew up knowing that Australia’s Bundaberg Rum is the only rum an Aussie would dare drink.

I almost believed that someone is just trying to make up all the talk about Waterview and Samuel Johnston to perturb Bundy rum. Thank heavens and rum gods, I let my instinct guide me to disproving my first impression. (Or else, I’d probably be in my room and suffering the shame that I have brought on myself because of aggression.)

Now, there is some talk among my friends, who are also rum collectors, about Waterview, what it means to the City of Bundaberg, and the creation of Industry. Apparently, there was a flood and fire that affected both Bundaberg Distillery and Waterview Distillery during the 19th Century.

Some articles say Waterview was destroyed in the floods of 1907, but many refer to the war between Bundaberg Rum and Waterview ending in 1913. I have yet to confirm the information about Waterview Rum being sold to Bundaberg Rum, but the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture website has a record on Waterview and the massive flood.

Here’s what is worth following. While doing my research on Waterview and Samuel Johnston, I found a few Waterview rum ads on Facebook. They’re obviously reintroducing the Waterview rum again, but what caught my attention was the slogan: Unearthed 2013.

It seems planned. Is it a coincidence that floods hit Bundaberg in 2013, and probably brought back Waterview 100 years later? But, how could it be?

If there is someone from the town of Bundaberg who happens to read this blog, please let me know if there is anything going on at Waterview Estate North Bundaberg because the things I have been reading relate to the sale of Waterview or parts left over from the distillery.

At the moment, I am just dreaming about a century-old rum distillery, which has long been buried, that has finally been found. It’s probably the century-old rum distillery that can finally give rum collectors something which truly deserves to be on the top shelf.