William Arnott Ltd Letterhead 1926
The Arnotts Biscuit Factory operated at Homebush from 1908 to 1997, when it was relocated to Huntingwood. However, the administrative offices of Arnotts are still located in Homebush.
Arnott’s Biscuits were originally established in Newcastle. The first Sydney factory was opened at Forest Lodge in 1894. In 1905, the Arnott family wanting to expand, decided that a larger factory was required. Requiring access to the railway for transportation, the Arnott’s purchased a six and half acre site at Homebush in 1906. The factory was designed by architect Charles Slatyer and built in 1907 at a cost of £10,400.
The purchase was known as ‘Arnott’s Folly’ as the site was considered too far from the City to attract workers. However, the Homebush factory which opened in 1908 was eventually the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and exported biscuits from Homebush to the rest of the world.
The Homebush factory had little difficulty in finding workers in the district and it has been commented that there were few families in Homebush who didn’t work for Arnott’s. The Arnott’s were regarded as good employers. During the economic Depression of the 1930s, Arnotts reduced the operational hours of the factory rather than dismissing their workers, which was the usual practice. Many members of the Arnott family lived in Strathfield, including the founder William Arnott.
"Arnotts rail bridge", Parramatta Road Homebush
The original Homebush factory expanded with increased production, requiring a new building on the western side of George St. The two factories were connected by an overhead walkway, which is shown in the aerial photograph below. By 1933 the number of employees peaked at 2,500 and annual production exceeded 10,250 tons.
Deliveries were originally made by horse and buggy, but these made way for the famous red delivery vans in the late 1920s.
The Homebush factory covered three floors. The bottom level had an ingredients preparations section and processing department where icing, chocolate coating and cream filling were made. The middle level had a mixing room, Bakehouse and wafer and packaging department. The top floor had packaging facilities, office areas and workshops.
Arnott’s Biscuits were originally delivered in tins. Tins were returned and recycled. However, biscuit tins which were damaged or broken were crushed. Many were buried under the car park and Arnott’s Bowling Green (which is now part of the Powell’s Creek Corridor).
Some tins were melted and used for land reclamation in nearby Mason Park. Albert Mason was the Mayor of Homebush and Chief electrician of Arnott’s Biscuits. The park is named after him.
The Arnott’s factory was relocated to Huntingwood in 1997 and the Homebush factory was closed. The former factory has been readapted into the Bakehouse Quarter. This site provides many references to its Arnott’s history ranging from the SAO sign to small Arnott’s Parrot emblems woven into building facades. George St has been recast with a cobblestone road and Edwardian style-lighting harking back to the days in the early twentieth century when the Arnott factory was first built.
Written by Cathy Jones 2006.
Attachment
Arnotts End of Era at Homebush 1997 (article from Inner West Courier)
As a young girl I used to visit friends in George Street, Homebush and walked past the Arnotts factory and smelling all those wonderful smells.
I belong to a group called Friends over Fifty and we organise a quarterly programme for the group, such as tours, walks etc. Does your company organise tours of Arnotts Factory? If so, would you kindly advise me of day, times and costs for our consideration to place in the next programme. Many Thanks Gail Turner
Posted by GAIL TURNER | 04/07/2010, 5:48 pmAs a young girl I used to visit friends in George Street, Homebush and walked past the Arnotts factory and smelling all those wonderful smells.
I belong to a group called Friends over Fifty and we organise a quarterly programme for the group, such as tours, walks etc. Does your company organise tours of Arnotts Factory? If so, would you kindly advise me of day, times and costs for our consideration to place in the next programme. Many Thanks Gail Turner
Posted by GAIL TURNER | 05/07/2010, 11:49 amGail
We don’t organise tours of Arnott’s Factory as the factory has been redeveloped into a shopping/restaurant/office district called the Bakehouse Quarter, which anyone can visit.
Cathy
Posted by Cathy Jones | 07/07/2010, 10:19 pmMy father in law was in the paper as a little 2 yr old as an advertisement for Arnotts years ago. The newspaper advert in the paper has been mislaid. Wld Arnotts still have any of these details so we can get a copy. His name was Harry Kiely. He lived around Forrest Lodge when Arnotts where open there and selected for the advert.Pls reply if we can get any information.
Posted by Christine Kiely | 28/07/2010, 11:14 amCould you put me in touch with someone who could identify and old Arnotts biscuit tin I have.
Posted by Margaret McDowell | 09/09/2010, 9:19 amDear managment of Arnotts biscuits please do something about bringing back the good old days of honey snap biscuits,as a young lad many years ago the times spent with family with a plate of honey snaps.i believe that there is a lot of aussies that feel the same way please do consider this request.or tell me were i can get the original arnotts recipe from.there is no substitute for a arnotts biscuit.
Posted by gregory b-jones | 29/11/2010, 2:02 amYes we want Honey Snaps’s back.
Great idea or sell us the recipie
John Peoples
Posted by John | 06/09/2011, 9:50 amHi,
could you tell me what technolgy was used when the company first opened and how is it
different from the technogy used today, and how does arnotts biscuits cater for australians today?
Posted by emma | 04/03/2011, 5:05 pmEmma
You may be interested in an archaelogical assessment that was written in 1995 about the Arnott’s site. A copy of this assessment is available at http://nswaol.library.usyd.edu.au/view?docId=pdfs/11201_ID_1995_ARNOTT'S_FACTORY_SITE.pdf;query=strathfield;brand=default
Regards
Cathy
Posted by Cathy Jones | 21/03/2011, 3:26 pmHello,
I just wanted to enquire about the modern Arnott’s Factory. Can one visit it? We are curious to find out about the different technologies used in the factory in order to compare them to how they were previously. We are also interested in finding about about the production methods.
Thanks : )
Posted by Meg and Mads | 28/04/2011, 1:54 pmYou should contact Arnott’s directly. I am unaware of any tours of the new Arnott’s Factory at Huntingwood. I noticed an article in Time Out about a visit to the factory http://www.au.timeout.com/sydney/aroundtown/features/5145/time-out-and-the-chocolate-factory
Cathy
Posted by Cathy Jones | 30/04/2011, 5:55 pmMy nane is Frances Quayle( Maid names Stockton) I used to at Arnott’s from 1975 till 1981 Is there any one who work there it be great to here from you
Thank you
Frances
Posted by frances Quayle | 30/04/2011, 3:15 pmI served my apprenticeship as a plumber at Arnotts in the sixties. Just wondering if any other apprentices are still out there.
Posted by Doug Dundas | 25/05/2011, 8:40 amMy father was the foreman plumber at Arnotts and worked there for 34 years. I have inherited an Arnotts mirror which he had framed when he retired in 1981. I am interested to find out how many mirrors were produced and if Arnotts themselves are interested in buying
Posted by Narelle Dark | 10/06/2011, 11:50 pmI am currently compiling our family history and my mother (Patricia Dyason) said she worked at Arnotts Biscuits in Homebush as a young girl before she got married. It would have been about 1943-1945 after she left school. She said it was her favourite place to work. She had a lot of friends there and Arnotts was good work for. She also said she loved those pink VOVO biscuits!
Posted by Leanne Brown | 08/09/2011, 3:08 pm