In 1879, Thomas and Jane Edmonds – founders of the ‘Sure to Rise’ baking powder brand – arrived in Canterbury.
As a young man he worked for a several different confectioneries in England where he learnt the mixing of different kinds of cooking powders. It was here that Thomas began to get ideas about making his own baking powder.
They opened a grocery store that was situated on the corner of Edmonds (so named since 1886) and Randolph Streets in Woolston. While Jane managed the store, Thomas was working away at perfecting his mixing and remixing of what would become ‘Sure to Rise’ baking powder.
He was so confident in his product that when he began to market the new baking powder, he gave away free samples, telling those who took an interest that they could pay him if they were happy with the results.
As the Edmonds climbed up the social standing in Christchurch with their great success, they never lost sight of the city’s needs and poured a lot of money into the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, Plunket and the Y.M.C.A to name a few.
For a more in depth look at, please check out the following link: http://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/the-edmonds/
* Image courtesy of New Zealand History On Line – http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/ – ‘Edmonds cookery book’, URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/edmonds-cookbook, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 20-Dec-2012
