Founded 1865 | ||
Roberts Limited is an Australian agricultural services company, based in Hobart, Tasmania. Established in 1865, until 2006 it was Australia's oldest publicly listed company. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Ruralco since a reverse merge with Ruralco in May that year.
It operates the only livestock sales yards in Tasmania, 14 feed stores. and insurance, irrigation, fertilizer, wool sales and real-estate services for rural customers.
History
Roberts Limited was established as Kemp, Roberts and Co, an auctioneer business founded by Henry Llewelyn Roberts (husband of Mary Roberts Grant, founder of Hobart Zoo), George Anthony Kemp and John William Abbott. Its first operations were in Conara, Tasmania. Early on it acquired a Launceston wool merchants, amalgamated with Allan Stewart Pty, and later purchased the Farmers' Co-Operative Auctioneers in 1957 to become Roberts, Stewart & Co Ltd. It also acquired the local Massey-Ferguson distribution business.