Talk: Are you an Arnott's baby? at Launceston Library
About this Event
National Family History Month is a nationwide celebration of the stories, mysteries and secrets that shape who we are. Join historian Greg Cooke at Launceston Library as he shares his research about Arnott’s Living Pictures campaign.
For six decades between the late 1890s and the 1950s, Arnott’s promoted their Milk Arrowroot biscuits featuring portraits of thousands of Australian children in print, along with their names and addresses. Australian newspapers were filled with apparently unsolicited testimonials from Australian mothers testifying that Mr. Arnott’s biscuits had saved their baby’s life.
The lives of children were precarious in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Australian cities and the high rates of infant mortality were a major public health concern. The major cause of death amongst infants was gastrointestinal disease making what they ate a matter of paramount importance. Arnott’s Milk Arrowroot biscuits were presented as a potentially lifesaving source of nutrition, but their health claims were not uncontested.
What inspired so many mothers to take part in the campaign? Greg also explores the lives of Tasmanians touched by the campaign along the way.
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