William Arnott (6 December 1827 – 22 July 1901[1]) was the Scottish founder of the Arnott's Biscuits Holdings (now Arnott's Biscuits Limited) in Australia.
William Arnott | |
|---|---|
 Arnott in c. 1899 | |
| Born | 6 December 1827 Pathhead, Scotland |
| Died | 22 July 1901 (aged 73) New South Wales, Australia |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Organization | Arnott's Biscuits Holdings |
| Spouses | Monica Sinclair
(m. 1848; died 1865)Margarete McLean Fleming
(m. 1865) |
| Children | 12 |
Early life
editWilliam Arnott was born 6 December 1827, in Pathhead, Fife, Scotland,[2] the eldest of eight children.[3][4] His father was David Millie and his mother was Isobella Arnott.[3][4] In October 1847,[5] he and his brother David set out for Sydney, Australia on board the assisted-immigrants' ship Sir Edward Parry;[3] they reached Sydney some 135 days later, on 17 February 1848.[6]
Career
editArnott's Biscuits
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After arriving in Australia, he first started a baking company in Morpeth, New South Wales, 22 miles north-west of Newcastle.[2] He continued working as a baker, together with David, for three years.[6] Arnott decided to try his luck gold mining in 1851, and left for the Turon River diggings alone.[5] He was not successful; he failed to find any gold and eventually returned to life as a baker.[5][6] In 1865,[5][6] Arnott established the William Arnott's Steam Biscuit Factory in Newcastle, New South Wales.[2] It was so named as his biscuit-making machines (or "rotary ovens"[7]) were steam-powered.[5][8] In 1894, Arnott employed numerous workers[6] after purchasing a biscuit factory in Forest Lodge, Sydney;[2] his biscuits had already begun shipping to Sydney in 1882.[5][6] The factory in Forest Lodge was relocated to Homebush circa 1908.[5] 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.[9] Arnott also produced Tim Tam, Jatz and SAO biscuits.[10]
Personal life
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William Arnott was a prominent member of the Wesleyan Church and taught Sunday school for close to 25 years.[11] 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.[4] That same year, Arnott married Margarete McLean Fleming. She assisted him in his baking business and they had eight children.[4] His son William was also a baker and his daughter, Margaret Oppen, was a noted artist and embroiderer.[12] It is not in the Australian Dictionary of Biography[1] but his father David Millie Arnott[13] had been transported here for breach of trust, fraud and embezzlement following sentence in 1837.[14][page needed]
Death and legacy
editOn 22 July 1901,[15] Arnott died at his ‘Arnottholme’ residence.[16] aged 73.[15] Shortly after his death, Arnott's sons spread out the business to other parts of the world, including East Asia and South Africa.[4]
References
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- ^ a b Mander-Jones, Phyllis (1969). "Arnott, William (1827–1901)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 3. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
- ^ a b c d "Arnott's Australian Biscuit Tins". Pittwater Online News.
- ^ a b c "Our History". Morpeth Sourdough Bakery. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "History of Cookie's Lounge Bar". Cookie's Lounge Bar. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g Farrer, Keith (2005). To Feed A Nation: A History of Australian Food Science and Technology. Csiro Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 9780643099722.
- ^ a b c d e f "Gold Rush and William Arnott". Education Scotland. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ Humphery, Kim (1998). Shelf Life: Supermarkets and the Changing Cultures of Consumption. Cambridge University Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780521626309.
- ^ Symons, Michael (2007). One Continuous Picnic: A Gastronomic History of Australian Eating (2 ed.). Melbourne University Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780522853230.
- ^ Santich, Barbara (2012). Bold Palates. Wakefield Publishing. p. 279. ISBN 9781743050941.
- ^ Dale, David (2010). The Little Book of Australia. ReadHowYouWant.com. p. 121. ISBN 9781459603868.
- ^ Gregory, Denis (2010). It's All About Australia, Mate. Exisle. p. 45. ISBN 9781775590453.
- ^ Grahame, Rachel, "Margaret Oppen (1890–1975)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 12 February 2024
- ^ Malcolm David Prentis published in 1983, in "The Scots in Australia"
- ^ Prentis, Malcolm David (1983). The Scots in Australia. Sydney University Press.
- ^ a b "The Descendants of William ARNOT circa 1780.: Third Generation". Airgale. 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ "Arnott Family". Strathfield Heritage. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2013.