British-Australasian Tobacco Company
The British-Australasian Tobacco Company Limited was an Australian tobacco manufacturer with offices in Sydney and Melbourne.
The company was formed by a merger of the Dixson Tobacco Company Limited and William Cameron Brothers and Company Proprietary. Sir William Dixson was company director from 1903–1908.
The company seems to have still been operating under this name in 1942 but later became part of the W.D. & H.O. Wills (Australia) Group.
Dixson Tobacco Company
Founded by Hugh Dixson, who migrated to Sydney in 1839 and set up a tobacco business shortly after arrival. By 1864, the firm incorporated his sons and became Dixson & Sons, rapidly expanding under the leadership of Sir Hugh Dixson and his brother Robert Dixson The company pioneered twist tobacco, importing raw leaf and processing it locally. This business capitalized on tariff advantages, turning raw leaf into hand-rolled products domesticallyIn 1883, a new "Conqueror Tobacco Works" industrial complex was built in Sydney, featuring a flat roof for drying tobacco leaf and employing dozens of skilled rollers
Premises in other cities followed, including a four-storey factory in Brisbane—overseeing production, drying, and packaging. By the late 1890s, the firm had offices and factories in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Fremantle
The company issued branded products such as Dixson’s Yankee Doodle flake tobacco, which became collectible long after operations ceased