160-year-old family food company McKenzie settles family feud

A family feud has been settled at the family-owned food company Ward McKenzie, with two sisters and employees holding a 23% stake in the 160-year-old business reportedly ordered to pay their stepsister a lump sum after she was left out of her stepfather’s will.

Sisters Helen Ward and Lynne Burgess were sued as the executors of their father’s will by their stepsister Lisa McCann. McCann, whose mother was Harold Ward’s second wife, was excluded from Ward’s will when he died in 2007.

But, according to a report in the Weekend Australian, the Victorian Supreme Court has ordered the “very wealthy” sisters to pay McCann $750,000 – to be held in a trust – plus $50,000 in annual living expenses until her mother dies.

Although the sisters had reportedly argued that their father had only wanted “blood relatives” to receive money, and that it would be difficult to provide for McCann given their father’s desire for the shares to remain within the family, the court ruled that the sisters could provide for their stepsister without selling any shares.

Ward McKenzie’s Melbourne office was contacted for comment this morning, but was not available before publication. It is a public holiday in Victoria.

Three family members still run the business, whose products include herbs and spices, beans and pulses, soups, cereals, baking and cleaning products. The company sells to supermarkets, commercial customers such as hospitals and restaurants, and overseas.

According to its website, the Ward McKenzie business was born in 1852 when William and Frances Ward set up a hay and corn store in King Street, Melbourne. A son, Harold Seymour Kellam (HSK) Ward, was born in 1863, around the same time as a rival food production company James F McKenzie was established.

HSK’s sons became involved in the company on his retirement in 1925. Son Harold was appointed managing director on HSK’s death in 1934, although like most companies, it struggled during the depression.

Harold died suddenly in 1950, prompting his 19-year-old son David to step in. “Despite his best efforts, profits steadily waned and by 1966, the future looked dismal,” the company says.

“A timely opportunity for a fresh start came with the acquisition of the McKenzie business, which comprised profitable activities to complement Ward’s. From December 1967, the new entity traded as Ward, McKenzie Pty Ltd.

“In 1981, David’s son Steve joined the company and over the next decade was instrumental in its expansion as a national operation.

“David’s daughter, Helen, returned to the company in 1990 and her husband, Callum Eddington, in 1994.

“Today the three are joint managing directors of Ward McKenzie, proudly continuing the family tradition which began when Melbourne was just a settlement.”