Conrik brand information and history – Nock and Kirby

As far as I can tell Conrik was an in-house brand of the Australian business Nock and Kirby – which was a long-running retail store in Sydney that started in 1894 and became a company in 1906. The brand was a household name in NSW and was eventually acquired by Burns Philips in 1983 whereafter the stores were renamed BBC Hardware.

As Michael from Adelaide pointed out to me, Conrik is an anagram of the first three letters of Nock and the first three of Kirby.

Here is an image of the Conrik logo on a Nock and Kirby drill press - a vintage Australian-made product by Servian

The earliest reference I can find to Conrik is on the 9th June 1939 in The Sydney Morning Herald, where Nock and Kirby are advertising a Conrik 10-inch surfacing lathe. July 1939 in the same paper displayed an ad for a Conrik 3 3/8″ gap-bed screwcutting lathe, a Special Heavy Duty 5″ Precision Lathe and a 4 3/4″ Workshop Lathe.

The Bulletin on 21st August 1940 shows an “Improved” Conrik 10″ swing, automatic cross-feed lathe for sale at Nock and Kirby.

On the 8th May 1940 the Sydney Morning Herald ran an ad for a Conrik Bench Milling Machine – model 2 – with countershaft.

Anyone with any further information please drop me a line via the contact page!

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