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William Arnott founder of the Arnott’s Biscuits company was born on December 6th 1827 in Pathhead.

One for our Antipodean branch of the Scottish diaspora, or at least the Australian branch.

As happens quite often there are differing details with William Arnott, namely his place of birth, one version gives it as Pathhead, Midlothian, which I know fairly well, another tells me it was Pathhead near Kirkcaldy in Fife, which had me googling away like mad as, not being a Fifer I had was not aware of the latter, all I could find was Pathhead Sands though, but I am not discounting him being born there.

There’s nothing about his formative years, his parents David and Isabella migrated with his younger siblings in the 1840s, possibly as part of an assisted migration scheme. we pick up the story of William Arnott in October 1847 he and his brother David set out for Sydney, Australia on board the assisted-immigrants' ship Sir Edward Parry; they reached Sydney some 135 days later, on 17th February 1848.

Having apprenticed as baker quickly got a job with his brother at a Maitland bakery. William left in 1851, to work the goldfields.

In 1853 he returned to Maitland to start his own bakery after failing as a gold miner. He was successful as a baker until affected by a succession of floods in 1856, 1857 and 1861. Having gotten into debt from the flood damage, he moved to Newcastle in 1865. In the next few years, he became known for his biscuits. By the time he retired 1899, he employed over 800 people in his Newcastle and Sydney factories. His company soon became a well-known, home-grown Australian brand.

The reputation of his biscuits reached further afield and from 1882 he began sending boatloads to Sydney. Arnott paid off all the debts incurred in the 1860s and in 1883, his creditors held a luncheon in his honour — and integrity — presenting him with a gold medal.

In 1888 Arnott created a biscuit using arrowroot flour, something he had learned was a staple for sailors. The Milk Arrowroot biscuit became a favourite with the public and was marketed as a way of introducing babies to solid foods.

After a trip to Scotland in 1870, Arnott was gifted a Macaw by the ship’s captain. The bird developed a taste for Arnott’s biscuits, and became a cherished pe the pet still features as the company logot. Arnott made a visit to Scotland in 1893 and when he returned in 1894 he bought a factory at Forest Lodge in Sydney, and made his sons partners in the business.

As the demand for his products grew, Arnott planned to move the company headquarters to Homebush. When he retired in 1899 Arnotts employed over 800 people in his Newcastle and Sydney factories.William Arnott died aged 73 in 1901 before the plans could be realised. However, his 7 sons took over where their father left off.

In 1906 work began on what would become the largest biscuit factory in the southern hemisphere at Homebush, which, at the time, lived up to its name being surrounded by bush. Detractors thought it was too far out of Sydney to be practical, but in 1908 Arnott’s dream factory opened and the town of Homebush grew up around it.

Arnotts are most famous for their biscuit, the Tim Tam the story behind it is in 1958, Ian Norris, head of Food Technology at Arnott’s went on a worldwide fact finding trip, looking for new product ideas for the company.

While in the UK he came across the ‘Penguin’, a brand I am sure all us at home know. Norris said in an interview that

‘I thought it was not a bad idea for a biscuit: so, we’ll make a better one. There is nothing wrong with coming up with a similar product.’

Norris brought the idea of the Penguin back to Australia, and set to work, experimenting with different biscuit textures, and cream flavours. But getting the mix right proved elusive. The new Australian version would be five years in development. Named after an American racehorse that one of the Arnott brothers sw winning the Kentucky Derby, they launched the Tim Tam and it was an immediate hit. It soon established itself as Arnott’s best-selling product, and has remained so through the subsequent decades.

The company now sells about 30 million packets of Tim Tams a year.

In 1997 the company became a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company, but Arnott’s still manufactures its biscuits in Australia.

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William Arnott founder of the Arnott's Biscuits company was born on December 6th 1827 in Pathhead.

Not a name us Scots will know, but any of my Antipodean followers will of course know the name, if only by the company Arnott's Biscuits. I will also point out to our friends in the US that biscuits are not those bread/scone like things you dip in your gravy, they are what you guys call cookies.

He was apprenticed to a baker and confectioner and, with his younger brother David, followed his family to Australia, arriving at Sydney in the Sir Edward Parry on 17th February 1848.

One version says the brothers were the son of a convict, transported to Australia in 1837, other versions have no mention of this at all, well nobody wants to admit to a criminal past do they!

Both brothers were bakers in Maitland New South Wales until 1851 they tried their luck prospecting for gold. William had no luck as a gold miner but did well baking bread and pies on the field and early in 1853 he was back in Maitland as a baker and pastry-cook, building a small business before being flooded out at least twice in a number of years, in 1865 he also lost his wife Monica, née Sinclair, who he had met on the long journey from Scotland.

Later that year William had had enough of Maitland and relocated to Newcastle NSW, where he didn’t hang about, started a new business and found himself a new wife, who assisted him in his baking business.

The bakery supplied the local population with a whole assortment of products, such as biscuits, pies and bread.

The locals of Newcastle, NSW, were not the only people who were supplied by William Arnott. The nineteenth century was a period of the industrial revolution, and many coal-powered ships were in use. These ships had to dock in Newcastle’s port for supplies, and their crews were often famished after long voyages. In order to prepare themselves for the long journey ahead, the sailors would buy biscuits and pastries from Arnott.

Of course, these sailors would bring these sweets to their friends and families, and soon, Arnott’s bakery soared in popularity. It became known across the country, and from these humble beginnings rose to become one of Australia’s favourite biscuits and most recognizable symbols.

As well as their version of shortbread, the “Scotch Finger” Arnotts are famous for the “Tim Tam” a crème biscuit sandwich coated in Tim Tam chocolate. It is the go-to biscuit treat for many Australians, and it comes in different flavours and types.

William continued to lead his business up until the year 1899, when he retired and moved to Strathfield near Sydney. He would pass away two years later, on 22 July 1901, leaving his company in the capable hands of his sons James Haydon Leslie and Samuel Sinclair, nowadays Arnott’s is one of the largest food companies in the whole of the Asia Pacific region.

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