The story of Australia’s favourite biscuits begins a long time ago and a long way away, when a little boy named 
William Arnott is born in Scotland.

After completing an apprenticeship as a baker and confectioner, William and his brother David board the ship Sir Edward Parry bound for Australia’s shores.

With the gold rush of the early 1850s, William is lured to the fields by the promise of fortune. Little did he know, he wouldn’t strike gold until he went back to his passion of baking breads and pies.

Armed with little more than a knack for baking, William opens his first factory in Newcastle – and it isn’t long before the Arnott’s name becomes synonymous with a different type of golden nugget: delicious sweet and plain biscuits.

On returning from a visit to his native Scotland, William is gifted a colourful macaw parrot by a ship’s captain – a fated fowl that would become the face of Arnott’s biscuits for more than 150 years – and counting.

By this time, Newcastle’s best kept secret is out. Arnott’s famous biscuits are sent to Sydney by the ship load and a fleet of bright red delivery vans donning the company’s peckish parrot.

MILK ARROWROOT

Arnott’s Water Crackers, Full of Fruit 
& Milk Arrowroot biscuits hit the market.

After becoming Australia’s founding father of biscuits, William retires and soon after passes away – but not before leaving his family with 
all the knowledge they need to follow in his footsteps.

MILK ARROWROOT

Arnott’s Water Crackers, Full of Fruit 
& Milk Arrowroot biscuits hit the market.

In the decades that follow, William’s sons go on to create some of the country’s most iconic bikkies, from, melt-in-your mouth Scotch Fingers to decadent Shortbread Creams.

Tim Tams and TeeVee Snacks are released and become quick Aussie favourites.

The Tim Tam Slam was invented in 1983 and has been the country’s most iconic way to enjoy a cuppa ever since.

More than one hundred years after Arnott’s was founded on a steadfast insistence on the finest quality, the company celebrates its 125-year anniversary as Australia’s favourite biscuit company.

With a goal of giving back to the families and communities that have supported Arnott’s across generations, the Arnott’s Foundation was created, fostering moments of real connection for Australian families 
when they need it most.

One and a half centuries on from the first factory William Arnott opened in Newcastle, Arnott’s celebrates its 150th birthday, setting its sights on the next 150 years with a year of product innovations and community events.