William Arnott (biscuit manufacturer)

William Arnott
Born 6 December 1827
Pathhead, Scotland
Died 22 July 1901 (aged 73)
New South Wales, Australia
Citizenship Australian
Organization Arnott's Biscuits Holdings
Spouse(s) Monica Sinclair (m. 1848; d. 1865)
Margarete McLean Fleming (m. 1865)
Children 12
Parent(s) David Millie (father)
Isobella Arnott (mother)

William Arnott (6 December 1827 – 22 July 1901) was an Australian biscuit manufacturer, founder of the Arnott's Biscuits Holdings (now Arnott's Biscuits Limited)

Early life

William Arnott was born 6 December 1827, in Pathhead, Scotland,[1] the eldest of eight children.[2][3] His father was David Millie and his mother was Isobella Arnott.[2][3] In October 1847,[4] he and his brother David set out for Sydney, Australia on board the ship Sir Edward Parry;[2] they reached Sydney some 135 days later, on 17 February 1848.[5] They stayed for a short while at Hunter Valley.[4]

Career

Arnott's Biscuits

The William Arnott's Steam Biscuit Factory in Newcastle, New South Wales (photographed circa 1868)

After arriving in Australia, he first started a baking company in Maitland, New South Wales.[1] He continued working as a baker, together with David, for three years.[5] Arnott decided to try his luck gold mining in 1851, and left for the Turon River diggings alone.[4][5] He was not successful; he failed to find any gold and eventually returned to life as a baker.[4][5] In 1865,[4][5] Arnott established the William Arnott's Steam Biscuit Factory in Newcastle, New South Wales.[1] It was so named as his biscuit-making machines (or "rotary ovens"[6]) were steam-powered.[4][7] In 1894, Arnott employed numerous workers[5] after purchasing a biscuit factory in Forest Lodge, Sydney;[1] his biscuits had already begun shipping to Sydney in 1882.[4][5] The factory in Forest Lodge was relocated to Homebush circa 1908.[4] During his career as a biscuit manufacturer, Arnott came up with the Milk Arrowroot biscuits, a combination of arrowroot biscuits and plain milk biscuits; they were marketed as "children's food" and were very popular, to the extent that other rival companies tried to come up with imitations of the Milk Arrowroot biscuits.[8] Arnott also produced Tim Tam, Jatz and Sao biscuits.[9]

Personal life

William Arnott, c. 1869

William Arnott was also a prominent member of the Wesleyan Church and taught Sunday school for close to 25 years.[10] In 1848, Arnott wed Monica Sinclair, who already had four children at the time of the marriage; Sinclair died aged 36 on 11 April 1865.[3] That same year, Arnott married Margarete McLean Fleming. She assisted him in his baking business and they had eight children.[3]

Death and legacy

On 22 July 1901,[11] Arnott died at his ‘Arnottholme’ 65–67, Albert Road residence,[12] aged 73.[11] Shortly after his death, Arnott's sons spread out the business to other parts of the world, including East Asia and South Africa.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Arnott's Australian Biscuit Tins". Pittwater Online News.
  2. 1 2 3 "Our History". Morpeth Sourdough Bakery. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "History of Cookie's Lounge Bar". Cookie's Lounge Bar. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Farrer, Keith (2005). To Feed A Nation: A History of Australian Food Science and Technology. Csiro Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 9780643099722.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Gold Rush and William Arnott". Education Scotland. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Humphery, Kim (1998). Shelf Life: Supermarkets and the Changing Cultures of Consumption. Cambridge University Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780521626309.
  7. ↑ Symons, Michael (2007). One Continuous Picnic: A Gastronomic History of Australian Eating (2 ed.). Melbourne University Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780522853230.
  8. ↑ Santich, Barbara (2012). Bold Palates. Wakefield Publishing. p. 279. ISBN 9781743050941.
  9. ↑ Dale, David (2010). The Little Book of Australia. p. 121. ISBN 9781459603868.
  10. ↑ Gregory, Denis (2010). It's All About Australia, Mate. Exisle. p. 45. ISBN 9781775590453.
  11. 1 2 "The Descendants of William ARNOT circa 1780.: Third Generation". Airgale. 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  12. ↑ "Arnott Family". Strathfield Heritage. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
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