Expo 67 welcomes you

Product copy

Expo 67 welcomes you

This is your Expo 67 commemorative folder and a souvenir of your trip on the Red Rose Tea bus.

Red Rose Tea operates two London double-decker buses, providing a transportation service between downtown Montreal and the La Ronde entrance gates at Expo 67.

We are sorry that we are unable to serve you a cup of delicious Red Rose Tea on the bus. However, we would like you to save on your next purchase of Red Rose Tea with the enclosed 10¢ off coupon. You may, then, enjoy a cup of rich, satisfying tea at home and reminisce on your wonderful memories of Expo 67.

Au Revoir, Come Again

With the compliments of Brooke Bond – the people with the flair for flavour.

The Story of Brooke Bond Canada Limited

The story of Brooke Bond Canada Limited has three separate beginnings: in Manchester, England in 1869, Winnipeg in 1882 and Saint John, N.B. in 1894.

Arthur Brooke, founder of the Brooke Bond organization, learned the elements of the tea trade from his father, a wholesale tea dealer in Manchester, and in 1869, opened a retail shop selling tea, coffee and sugar. He devoted considerable efforts developing consistently high-quality blended tea and he pioneered selling tea in small packages. Arthur Brooke called the firm Brooke Bond & Company. By 1881, he began to sell Brooke Bond blends to the wholesale trade and branches were opened in other cities including London.

In 1912, Gerald Brooke succeeded his father as Chairman of Brooke Bond & Company Limited which had expanded abroad to Calcutta, Colombo and Kenya.

In 1882, two brothers, G.F. and J. Galt, were developing a thriving wholesale and grocery business in Western Canada. An important item among the commodities they offered was “G.F. and J. Galt’s Blue Ribbon Tea”. Shortly after the turn of the century, many items from tea to sulphur wore the Blue Ribbon label and in 1930, the company added new lines by joining with a well-established Ontario corporation, the manufacturers of Pure Gold Spices and Chocolate products.

Returning in time, we find a story in Eastern Canada running parallel to the others. In 1894, T. H. Estabrooks entered the tea business in Saint John, N.B. and developed tasty blends of rich Indian and flavoursome Ceylon teas which were packed under the name “Red Rose” the first packaged teas in the Maritimes.

Mutual interest in the tea business brought Gerald Brooke and T. H. Estabrooks together and they became friends. In 1932, T. H. Estabrooks retired and Brooke Bond acquired the flourishing Estabrooks business and the famous “Red Rose” name.

In 1951, the company extended its strength through the purchase of the Blue Ribbon Company which, by this time, ‘had become known especially for its Blue Ribbon tea, coffee, spices and baking powder.

In 1957, Red Rose and Blue Ribbon merged completely under the name Brooke Bond Canada Limited, although still maintaining the well-known brand names for the products.

North American progress has continued. Red Rose and Blue Ribbon teas and coffees are well established across Canada and Brooke Bond is now the largest tea company in this country. Brooke Bond Canada Limited exports large quantities of Red Rose tea to the United States with distribution in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, upstate New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and California.

Since 1829 The London Bus

In 1829, a Mr. Shillibeer, coach builder and undertaker, operated the first omnibus drawn by three horses abreast. It carried 18 passengers.

In 1855, the London Omnibus Company came into existence many of the drivers were true characters of the Dickensian era. Mr. G. Smith, pictured below, drove the route from Holloway to Westminster (184 to 1879).

When horse-drawn omnibuses went out of style, the next type was the steam-driven bus pictured above.

This was followed by the “Petrol Public Service Vehicle’” which was claimed to have reached a point of efficiency compatible with the requirements of London passenger traffic.

Mr. J. Harding began to drive in 1848 from Blackwall to Knightsbridge.

By 1905, there were over 2,500 buses in London. Each bus ran an average of 64 miles and carried a total of 420 passengers per day to earn the astonishing amount of £2.10.0 (about $6.50 present exchange rate). The cost of producing the vehicle was £150.0.0 (about $450.00). The wood used was ash and oak except for the panelling which was of mahogany.

The halfpenny motor omnibus was a great boon to our grandfathers and great grandfathers but compared with the latest Red Rose Tea Bus (two of which will carry passengers between Dominion Square and Expo 67) it would hardly satisfy the people of today.

With the compliments of Brooke Bond
“The People With The Flair For Flavour”