I have for many years been a member of SANS (The South African National Society). This is a body of people in Durban who are interested in historical matters and who meet on the second Tuesday of every month.
At the meetings there is usually a speaker who deals with some item of historical interest. Towards the end of 2005 and at the beginning of 2006 it was arranged that I would give a series of three talks about the history of the biscuit industry and the origin of some of the names and wrappers. During my talk I had a tape recorder running and I used this as a basis to produce this booklet.
All the people who were involved in the biscuit industry in the early days and who would know its history have died and I am the only one remaining alive who knows the past. So I have decided to commit to writing details of the different companies that existed, what happened to them, and some of the industry’s doings. It is probable that the following pages will not be of interest to very many people, but the main thing is that I have been able to set out for all time the history of the past. It is now on record and will not be lost in the mists of time.
The last pages set out the origins of various biscuit names and of trademarks, and these may be of greater interest.
Len Baumann