Torpedo bottle

Torpedo bottles, also known as Hamilton bottles, were used for aerated or carbonated water. They were oval shaped with a neck at one end, and were deliberately designed so that they could not be stored upright. The goal was to keep the cork wet so that it did not dry out and crack, thereby releasing the carbonation. Torpedo bottles were in common use from the 1840s to the 1870s, when they were superseded by the Codd bottle.

Aerated water

Carbonated water was first produced in New Zealand in 1845, and by the end of the century there were aerated water factories in towns and cities across the country. As an article printed in the Star in March 1881 explained, aerated water was produced by 'impregnating' pure water with carbonic acid gas under heavy pressure.