Another fine Scotsman leaves his mark on the Colony.

Well it seems that there is a huge connection with this part of the world and many great Scottish people.
William Arnott (1827-1901), biscuit manufacturer, was born on 6 December 1827 at Pathhead near Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. He was apprenticed to a baker and confectioner and, with his younger brother David, followed his family to Australia. He prospered until the two great floods of the Hunter River in 1857 brought disaster. The new building he had put up in 1856 was flooded and he had hardly recovered when he was flooded out again in 1861. In 1862 he was forced to compound with his creditors and in 1864 there were more floods. In February 1865 one of his creditors demanded full payment and in April his wife Monica, née Sinclair, died; he had met her on the voyage to Sydney and they were married in 1850.
Arnott moved to Newcastle in 1865. By September he was established in Hunter Street, Newcastle, and quickly built up a successful business, helped by his second wife, Margaret Maclean, née Fleming, whom he married at Morpeth in October. The move to Newcastle was made possible by loans from friends but he repaid all his debts within twelve months. In the next few years the name of Arnott became famous for bread and cakes but especially for sweet and plain biscuits and ships' biscuits, in which there was a big trade with the growing number of ships in port. Thank you Mr Arnott for your great biscuits - you used to give your broken ones away to the poor in Newcastle.

Here is a picture of Mr. William Arnott

You can see the tip of Mr Arnott's headstone here- this is all that is left of this fine man's burial site.