Harvey House 1913 & The Roesner Family
Built in 1913, Harvey House served the town as tearooms, a newsagent, and a confectionery store until the 1940s by Mrs C Roesner, known locally as ‘Ma’ Roesner.
The building formed part of the first block of brick shops built in Harvey and the owner, Oscar C.J. Rath (1865-1939) was a prominent community member as an orchardist and property owner.
The shops originally had premises at the rear.
Meet The Roesner Family
From simple beginnings, the Roesner Family has led the way in agriculture machinery.
It started with Arthur Roesner in 1900. His business (located a couple of shops down from Harvey House) was the place to go for a new horse-drawn cart, trap, or wagon. Roesner worked as a blacksmith and coach builder, as well as manufacturing and repairing agricultural machinery.
In 1956, Arthur Marshall of a local fertiliser company, CSML (now CSBP) approached Arthur’s son Roy to create a bulk-use alternative to spreading fertiliser from bags.
Today, Roesner Pty Ltd, now located in Turnbull Street, is one of Australia’s leading manufacturers of fertilizer spreaders–under the Marshall Spreaders brand.
