Murray,

Do you mean Chocolate Wheatmeals (not Granita's)?

I'll tell you guys a story I was taught in primary school about William Arnott, the founder of Arnott's biscuits, who make Tim Tams etc.

I grew up in Maitland, NSW, Oz (120 miles north of Sydney) where Arnott's Biscuits first started in the 1880's, I think. The company was doing well for a number of years and then a big flood wiped out the factory and Wm Arnott had to go bankrupt. He was a good Baptist and he told his creditors that even though he had been legally cleared of his debts by paying the percentage decided by the bankruptcy court he would pay them all back in full as soon as he could.

He moved his factory to Newcastle, 20 miles away (where I live now) and started making a profit again. (By the way, he diversified his product at this stage and started making ship's biscuits because of the shipping trade here in Nukes.) When he had enough money made up he paid off his previous creditors in full.

Now there is no Arnott's factory here - it moved to Sydney sometime later, but there are streets named after him, etc, and it is still considered to be an important part of the local history.

When I hear about people eating Arnott's biscuits all around the world it brings back the stories I have heard of Wm Arnott and his company.

A few years ago there was a big controversy about whether to let the Canadian(?) company Campbells buy into the Arnott company, and probably take it over. There was an amazing national response, an outcry really, almost as if someone had offered to buy the rights to all the kangaroos or koalas in the country. It seems that Arnott's, like Vegemite, has become a bit of a national icon.

Helen