Esky

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Australian brand of portable coolers

title: "Esky" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["australian-companies-established-in-1884", "australian-brands", "brands-that-became-generic", "food-preservation", "cooler-manufacturers", "vacuum-flasks", "australian-subsidiaries-of-foreign-companies", "camping-equipment-manufacturers"] description: "Australian brand of portable coolers" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esky" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Australian brand of portable coolers ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	Esky
logo_size	200
type	Subsidiary
foundation	1884
founder	Francis Malley
location_city	Sydney
location_country	Australia
industry	Outdoor recreation
products	Camping equipment
parent	Coleman
homepage
::

| name = Esky | logo = | logo_size = 200 | type = Subsidiary | foundation = 1884 | founder = Francis Malley | location_city = Sydney | location_country = Australia | key_people = | industry = Outdoor recreation | products = Camping equipment | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | num_employees = | parent = Coleman | subsid = | homepage = }}

Esky is a brand of portable coolers, originally Australian, derived from the word eskimo. The term esky is also commonly used in Australia to generically refer to portable coolers or ice boxes and is part of the Australian vernacular, in place of words like cooler or cooler box.

The brand name was purchased from Nylex by Coleman in 2009.

History

Some historians have credited Malley's with the invention of the portable ice cooler. According to the company, the Esky was "recognised as the first official portable cooler in the world." The company's own figures claim that, by 1960, 500,000 Australian households owned one (in a country of approximately three million households at the time).

The brand "Esky" was used from around 1945, for an Australian-made ice chest, a free-standing 44 x 23 x 16 in insulated cabinet with two compartments: the upper to carry a standard (23 lb) block of ice, and the lower for food and drinks. It was made in Sydney by Malleys but did not carry their name until around 1949.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Malleys_Esky-1.jpg" caption="Early "Malleys Esky""] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Malleys_Esky.jpg" caption="Malleys Esky c. 1965"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/WTW_NOV_2013_Lianna_Henwood_055.JPG" caption="Willow Ware Australia"] ::

The first (metal-cased) portable Esky appeared in 1952, sized to accommodate six 26 impoz bottles of beer or soft drink, as advertised nationally. By 1965 "esky" (no capital E) was being used in Australian literature for such coolers, and in 1973 Malleys, owners of the tradename, acknowledged that the term had entered the vernacular and was being used for lightweight plastic imitations.

One such brand was Willow, an Australian manufacturer, previously known for domestic "tinware" — buckets, bins, cake tins and oven trays.

Nylex started making the plastic-cased Esky in 1984. In 1993 Nylex was still defending their ownership of the Esky trademark, but by 2002 they had allowed it to lapse.

Outdoor recreation company Coleman bought the Esky brands from Nylex after the company went into administration in February 2009, and later that year Coleman was producing most of the Esky line in Melbourne. The sale was seen as symptomatic of the decline of Australian-made goods due to cheaper imports.

Construction

Current models are constructed with two layers: polypropylene on the outer shell, with a polyurethane inner layer. This makes it lightweight and portable with excellent insulation. The original Esky had a lightweight galvanized iron outer shell and lining, and used cork compound insulation. Later models had a plastic inner and polystyrene foam insulation. Later coolers have been moulded entirely from polystyrene foam. They are lightweight and inexpensive, but are easily damaged or destroyed.

The lightweight construction makes most eskies float in water, and they have been recommended by safety specialists to be used as an improvised lifebuoy, if more specialised equipment is not available. Numerous people have been saved after using either the whole esky or the esky lid as flotation devices after boating accidents.

Generic use

In Australia, the 'esky' name has become, or as a legal matter nearly has become, genericised: the popularity of the product has led to the use of its name to refer to any cooler box, regardless of the brand. Many dictionaries, including the Australian National Dictionary and the Macquarie Dictionary, now include definitions in their publications defining it as such. However, the use of the Esky trademark must be approved by the brand owner to avoid any liability.

Government agencies and media outlets in Australia have used the term in preference to generic alternatives.

In Australian culture

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Adelaide_beach_scene_1965.jpg" caption="Adelaide beach scene 1965, an Esky may be seen at centre."] ::

The esky has played a unique role in Australian culture, especially with regard to outdoor activities, camping, and sporting events, and for reasons of novelty. In particular, the design and use of the esky has evolved through its relationship with Australia's drinking culture. The first portable Esky was designed to carry six "standard" 26 fluid ounce (740ml) bottles as well as a triple level food section. Malley's Esky was created as a tool for camping and caravanning holidays and was called the Esky Auto Box, encouraged by the post-war popularity of the private motor vehicle. Due to their portability and extensive use outdoors, an esky can also double as makeshift cricket stumps, with some companies making hybrid products that include retractable stumps (among other useful features such as a bottle opener).

Though not unique to Australia, Australian media have widely reported on a number of high-profile incidents involving motorised eskies fitted with small motors and wheels. Police have impounded offending vehicles and have issued fines to those operating them on public property.

Spectators at the closing ceremony at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney each received a promotional pack of a small polystyrene Esky containing other items of memorabilia.

In another uniquely Australian piece of culture, poly-foam bodyboards used in the surf are often referred to by the slang term, "Esky-lid”, or “shark biscuit”.

Notes

References

[https://www.esky.com.au/about-us.html About] Esky
(2012). "Bold Palates: Australia's Gastronomic Heritage". [[Wakefield Press (Australia).
(2011). "History of the Esky – a cool Aussie icon". [[Reader's Digest]].
(13 January 1945). "Advertising". [[Newcastle Herald.
(3 February 1943). "1/1 Ice Blocks Should Weigh At Least 23lb". [[The Herald (Melbourne).
(14 February 1946). "Advertising". [[The Newcastle Sun]].
(22 August 1949). "Advertising". [[Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga).
(24 December 1952). "Advertising". [[Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga).
(21 November 1956). "For every purse...". [[Australian Women's Weekly]].
(1988). "The Australian National Dictionary". [[Oxford University Press]].
(19 February 1941). "Advertising". Star Weekly.
(24 June 1901). "Family Notices". [[The Age]].
(5 October 1931). ""Wilow" Tinware". [[Sunraysia Daily]].
(13 December 1930). "Personal". [[The Argus (Melbourne).
(11 April 1896). "Family Notices". [[The Argus (Melbourne).
(24 October 1936). "Bandits in Motor-car". [[The Argus (Melbourne).
(5 June 1929). "Vandals in Factory". [[The Age]].
(1 October 1931). "Advertising". [[Toowoomba Chronicle.
(10 December 1931). "Family Notices". [[The Age]].
(22 June 2014). "Willow Ware Australia: A journey from tin cans to robots".
(18 September 1950). "Esky auto box invented by Malleys - Australian food history timeline".
(16 December 1993). "Advertising". [[Canberra Times]].
"The Esky Australia Trademark Information". Trademark Elite.
Higginbottom, Nick. (2 July 2009). "American company Coleman buys Esky from ailing Nylex". [[Herald Sun]].
Oakes, Dan. (15 August 2009). "Cool plan to take rescued Esky to the world". The Age.
"Esky". The Coleman Company.
(8 July 2009). "They've taken my Esky away". [[Sydney Morning Herald]].
"Wine Casks, Eskys and Lamingtons". [[Questacon]].
Newton, John. (12 October 2002). "Playing it cool". Sydney Morning Herald.
Simpson, Willie. (9 December 2003). "Case of the chills". The Age.
(5 January 1979). "Esky a lifesaver.". National Library of Australia.
(2 May 1989). "Esky keeps man afloat 25 hours.". National Library of Australia.
Tobin, Mark. (5 January 2012). "Four rescued as boat sinks off Sydney".
(27 November 2000). "Another Oz shark victim?".
(2005). "The Macquarie essential dictionary". The Macquarie Library.
Powerhouse Museum. "Esky by Malley's". Powerhouse Museum, Australia.
(20 August 1954). "Advertising". National Library of Australia.
(23 October 1993). "An Esky for all occasions". The Sunday Age.
"Cricket Cooler - Backyard Cricket Stumps with a 33 Litre Cooler {{!}} Catch.com.au".
"Cricket Cooler {{!}} Halfords UK".
(18 January 2015). "Rosebud man fined for driving Esky without a licence". Herald Sun.
(6 January 2015). "Adelaide man riding motorised Esky reported for driving unlicensed, unregistered vehicle". ABC News.
"2001/84/28 Promotional kit, Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, cardboard / polystyrene / metal / plastic / paper, Sydney, 2000". [[Powerhouse Museum]], Sydney.

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