Queen Anne

Son of a master baker, Ernest Alfred Adams already had extensive baking and business experience when he met Hugh Bruce, a Christchurch baker who was intending to sell his business to retire. Instead they decided to go into partnership, and formed Adams Bruce Limited.

By 1925 the successful company had bakeries in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, and decided to expand into chocolate and ice cream manufacture. Two Canadian confectioners were brought in to help set up the Queen Anne Chocolate ‘Studio’ in College Street, Wellington. A three-story factory was built for both chocolate and ice cream production.

Adams Bruce expanded its bakery empire and chain of retail shops throught the 1920s, until its brand of chocolates, ‘Queen Anne’, had become a household name.

By 1929, Queen Anne Ice Cream was beginning to make its name as a high quality product as well, "in three distinctive flavours", Maple, Vanilla and Chocolate, served in a dish (ice cream 6d, sundae 9d and banana split for 1/-), in three sizes of take-home container (6d,1/-, and 2/-) and in "the big Queen Anne Cake Cone":


                                             Queen Anne Ice Cream advertisement, Evening Post, February 1929.

The Depression led to the formation of a new company, Ernest Adams Ltd., to take over the South Island part of the business, with Adams Bruce continuing to cover the North Island.


                Queen Anne Ice Cream advertisement, Auckland Star, 23 December 1929



                Queen Anne Ice Cream advertisement, Auckland Star, 18 November 1933

With their distinctive black-and-white tiled interiors and ornate lead-lighted frontages, featuring the now-famous "Queen Anne" symbol, the iconic Adams Bruce and Queen Anne shops became synonomous with luxury treats, and hold fond memories for anyone who grew up in those times.


                Original Queen Anne shopfront, Dunedin.
                - Chris Gregory.

In 1932, in Auckland, there were two Adams Bruce Queen Anne shops selling ice cream in Queen St, and two in Karangahape Road. You could buy ice cream cones in three sizes; 1/2d (or two for a penny!), 1 1/2d, and 3d. Sundaes were 9d each, with three new flavours announced: Butterscotch, Caramel (vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and a pink wafer on top), and Walnuts in Maple.

Factory manager Vic Kent worked for the company for 30 years, including the war years, when he remembered people queuing for Queen Anne chocolates, and the time that the company was fined for putting too much cream in its ice cream during rationing.

In 1945, the Adams Bruce business was sold to two of the company's managers, Hollis Reed and John Rhodes, who set about expanding the operation even further.


                                                             Queen Anne cardboard 1 pint pack, ca 1960?
                                                             - Mike Davidson.

Continued growth in the 1960’s meant that cake, ice cream and confectionery shops were opened in almost every centre in the North Island. The shops competed with the milk bars, complete with scoop ice cream, milkshakes and ice cream sundaes, plus of course, cakes, biscuits, chocolates and other goodies. However the spread of the supermarkets began to eat into their viability.


                                                           Queen Anne Half-Gallon can lid, 1960s.
                                                           - bjubes.


In 1976, after 50 years of chocolate and ice cream making, and facing extensive costs to upgrade the factory, the Queen Anne College Street business closed down and the famous Queen Anne brand disappeared.

Ernest Adams died in Christchurch on 29 August 1976.

After the company left the ice cream business, the Queen Anne Ice Cream brand was purchased by Westland Snowflake Ice Cream Co, Greymouth. Queen Anne brand ice cream was manufactured for some years, through into the late 1990s, but sadly it is no longer available.


                                                      Header from Queen Anne Ice Cream flavour list, ca., 1995?.
                                                      - Owen Norton collection.


In 1997, the Queen Anne Chocolate brand was resurrected by Sarah Adams, granddaughter of Ernest Adams, and in 2011 a new Queen Anne factory was opened at 19 Cable St, Sockburn, Christchurch.


 
You can read more about the history of Queen Anne, recollections of its customers over the years, and the current range of Queen Anne products on their website:

www.queenanne.co.nz

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Ernest Adams

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