Look what just arrived for Meeeee... ordered by Meeee...
I have loved Choo Choo Bars since I was a child but it's only in the last few years that I've got back to enjoying them.
When I was about 11 we were living at the Army Barracks in Warrane Road, Willoughby and as a sometime Saturday treat my brother Tim and I were given 1/- (One Shilling) and we would walk up to Penshurst Street to the Cinema and pay 9 pence for a ticket to seen some movie which left us with 3 pence for a Choo Choo Bar! Luxury thats for sure.
I had to look up the history of Choo Choo Bars, very interesting.
The original Choo Choo Bar graphic featured a gollywog as the train driver
The Choo-Choo Bar was originally made by Plaistowe in Western Australia. Hearsay suggests it arrived in the early 1950s – it was certainly advertised by 1954. The wrapper of the chewy liquorice-flavoured toffee bar originally depicted a train being driven by a very non-PC gollywog.
The Choo Choo bar has had a chequered ownership history, thanks to the many upheavals, mergers and takeovers in the confectionery industry over the decades. In 1976, Life Savers Australia acquired Plaistowe. But back in 1964, Life Savers had bought Mastercraft, makers of the Scorched Peanut Bar, Redskins and Mint Patties. It seems that, after the Plaistowe acquisition, the company began to market the Choo Choo Bar under the Mastercraft brand. Life Savers Australia was in turn acquired by Nestlé in 1985.
Choo Choos were discontinued at some time in the 1990s after Nestlé acquired the business. They were revived after Lagoon Confectioners purchased the brand in 2007. It seems up to smaller confectionery companies to revive old favourites. The dearly loved Mastercraft Scorched Peanut Bar, introduced in the 1940s, also disappeared for a time but was reintroduced by Cooks Confectionery in 2019.
The steam train (the Choo-Choo Funtime Express) on the Choo-Choo Bar wrapper is being ridden by a cast of cartoon characters. The train remains, but the original gollywog driver has since been replaced by a monkey. There is also a raspberry-flavoured Choo-Choo.
Lagoon Confectioners itself has a long history. The company began manufacturing in 1929 in South Melbourne opposite Albert Park Lake. They later moved to Port Melbourne and then to Williamstown North. Before they reinstated the Choo-Choo Bar they were best known for making Sherbert Bombs.
Now here's a story about a young lad who knew what he wanted to do from a very young child... David and I had gone away to celebrate something one weekend and the children were staying over at Pippy's for the night.
The next week I got a phone call from a chap who wanted to know when I would be paying Tom's fees for the Ku-ring-gai Choir he'd joined, this took me by surprise so I asked Tomos about it, he replied that yes he did want to join this choir... "I've always wanted to be on a Fantale wrapper' was his reply, this was news to us but I did join him up and he just loved it, he moved on from there to many other teachers who kept telling us he needed more tuition.
(The Choir teachers had set themselves up at our local oval which was just behind Pippy's home.)
The boy who wanted to be on a Fantale Wrapper to the boy below who was a Medalist at St Andrews Cathedral.
To the boy who sang at many many events to the boy who became an understudy of the Phantom for a couple of years.
To the boy who is not only singing all over the place but volunteering to teach women who have had breast cancer... this boy certainly can sing.
Unfortunately with Fantales leaving the market he won't be able to be on one of their wrappers! Oh well he's certainly enjoyed as we have ... his wonderful voice for many many a year.
I have just discovered that the town of Robertson, south of Sydney, is named after my 2 x Great Uncle Sir John Struan Robertson who was born in London 1866 and came with his family to Australia when he was 11 years old. John's mother was Anna Maria Ripley... 'Ripley' was my fathers first name and has been used as a christian name with many of our family over the years. Sir John was Premier of NSW 5 times!
This statue of my Great Great Uncle is in the Domain, Sydney.
Married to David, who I met at my Great Aunt and Uncle's property 'Wollogorang' in 1964. Four Wonderful Children - two girls and two boys, Four Fantastic Partners - three girls and one boy and Eight very very beautiful Grandchildren - five boys and three girls.
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