My PhD in Aussie lollies

Toni Risson, Ipswich, Qld


Toni was astonished to discover no-one was documenting all her favourite lollies growing up.

Sitting at my desk, I gazed at the lollies spread out in front of me. There were Jaffas and Minties, Fantales and Cherry Ripes.

The Violet Crumbles seemed to be screaming 'Eat me!' and the Clinkers and Freddo Frogs were making my mouth water.

Where should I start?

Deciding on a Cobber, I popped it into my mouth. Yum!

The taste immediately took me back to my long journey to and from school. I used to nibble off the chocolate coating and, sucking on the caramel inside, I'd make a Cobber last the entire half-hour train trip.

But school was long over, a distant memory of 30 years ago. Yet here I was, still studying.

But rather than the maths and science of old, my studies were now of a far more lip- smackingly good nature. I was doing a PhD in lollies!

Well, more accurately I was researching the history of Australian confectionery.

Three years ago, after my kids, Casey, Abbey, Portia and Caleb, had grown up, I'd stumbled on some photos of old glass lolly jars in a cafe.

It got me thinking about the lollies of my childhood and when I looked into it, I was amazed nobody had ever documented the history of Aussie lollies.

'All the Australian companies have now been taken over by multinationals,' I told my husband Glenn sadly. 'Someone should get the history of these lollies down before it's lost.'

He nodded and that was all the encouragement I needed!

'I'm going to do it,' I said.

So in March 2007, I started working on a PhD. I began by contacting confectionery organisations and businesses and I called old picture theatres in search of advertising posters.

Then I spoke to groups of senior citizens and generated local newspaper articles in search of stories and memories.

My family was puzzled. 'How come you're writing about lollies?' asked Abbey. 'Yeah,' said Caleb. 'Why now? We were never allowed lollies as kids!'

I wasn't surprised when everyone I told wanted to be my research assistant. 'Nestle has given me permission to go through their archives so we're off to Sydney,' I told Glenn. 'Lots of free samples!' he smiled.

He wasn't so lucky. We ended up spending three days trawling though boxes of items dating back years. 'More newsletters and annual reports,' I said, opening another box. 'But the information is priceless.'

Then I stumbled on something. 'Glenn, I found your free sample,' I giggled, handing him a block of Club chocolate I'd found among the papers. Unfortunately it was about 50 years old!

I travelled all over the country doing research but the real-life stories were the highlight. 'Lollies were special,' all the elderly people told me. 'Birthdays were magical, with bowls of lollies. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny brought sweet things. It's not like today where lollies are part of everyday life.'

I learnt about Choo Choo bars, dusted jelly babies and the lollies which hadn't lasted.

'Remember Polly Waffles?' I asked Glenn. 'Mmm, chocolate marshmallow-filled wafers,' he smiled. 'Do you have one?'

'No, Nestle took them off the market last year,' I sighed. 'After 72 years, the sales dropped.'

I heard great anecdotes too.

'We used to play with lollies,' one sweet 70-year-old lady told me. 'We'd suck a hard musk stick into a sharp point and jab a friend with it!'

Boys used to spoil romantic scenes in movies by rolling noisy Jaffas down the sloping wooden aisles. And even I used to moisten red jelly beans and use them as lipstick.

It was amazing that, even when times were hard and people couldn't afford home loans or new cars, chocolates and lollies didn't seem to be affected. 'They're the little luxuries people still give themselves,' I told Glenn.

I've finished my research now and I'm writing up everything. The last few years have been so much fun and I've learnt a lot.

I think it's important to remember and document, how lollies have shaped our childhood. My only problem now is weaning myself off all the sweet treats. As wonderful as lollies are, I'm not sure I'll be saying that when they're sitting around my hips!

FAVOURITE AUSSIE LOLLIES

Fantales came onto the market in 1940 and were produced by the Sydney company Sweetacres. Movie theatres were the most popular form of entertainment at the time so someone had the bright idea of putting the story of movie stars on the wrappers. More recently, a Melbourne teacher used Fantales as the inspiration in her lessons, asking year-seven students to write their own Fantales biography.

Violet Crumble is one of Australia's best-selling confectioneries. It started off in 1913 as a piece of honeycomb in a purple chocolate box decorated with violets, because this was the creator's wife's favourite colour and flower. The honeycomb proved so popular it was made into a separate bar. The bars were coated in chocolate because if they weren't, the honeycomb bars would absorb moisture as they cooled and stick to one another.

Freddo Frogs were developed in 1930, during the Great Depression. They were priced at one penny so people could afford them. Originally proposed as a mouse by founder Macpherson Robertson, 18-year-old chocolate moulder Harry Melbourne suggested a frog, saying girls were scared of mice. There are many varieties of Freddo Frog sold by Cadbury today, ranging from white chocolate to rainbow crunch.

The Minties slogan 'It's moments like these you need Minties' is the longest running slogan in Australian advertising history. It still works today as do the cartoons on the waxed paper wrapping showing people in awkward situations. White and chewy, they've been a dentist's delight since their appearance in 1922, due to their skill at removing fillings.

What are your memories of Australian lollies growing up? Share them by leaving a comment below.