Guinness is a name instantly recognised the world over – the famous stout has been brewed at St James’s Gate in Dublin for over 250 years and is now brewed under contract in fifty countries. Over nine million glasses of Guinness are drunk each day, and Australia and New Zealand are a small, but significant, part of that success.
“Guinness Down Under” is the result of extensive research over many years in several countries. The brand itself was established in Australia and New Zealand through exports and eventually in-country brewing, and the family history records how four grandsons of Arthur and Olivia Guinness, Arthur Burke, Michael Burke, Frank Guinness and Rev William Guinness, made a new life Down Under, where many of their descendants remain to this day.
As well as describing events in Australia and New Zealand, the book sets the background in Ireland - the achievements of the grandsons, Edward Burke and John Burke, who launched and ran the Guinness export business until its demise 100 years later; and the family members who nurtured Arthur Guinness’ legacy over five generations until the company merged into a new empire.
But there is more than just history. Woven through are the imaginary reminiscences and letters of Sarah Anne Guinness who went with her father Rev William Guinness to Melbourne in 1855, married and lived in New Zealand and Fiji. They give a unique and poignant insight into the life of just one member of this remarkable family.
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About the Speaker
Rod Smith is a Wellington-born writer whose longstanding interest in family history led to his major work, Guinness Down Under, exploring the remarkable Australasian stories of the Guinness family. His connection is personal: his wife Glennis is the great-granddaughter of Sarah Guinness, a central figure in the narrative. A former journalist and long-serving public sector professional, Rod has channelled a lifelong passion for research into documenting the Guinness legacy, as well as broader family histories. His work on Guinness Down Under and subsequent projects reflects decades of meticulous investigation and extensive travel to Guinness-related sites across Ireland, Britain, and beyond.
