SAO
Two SAO crackers
Product typeSnack food
OwnerArnott's Biscuits Holdings
CountryAustralia
Introduced1904[1]

SAO biscuits are a savoury cracker biscuit that was launched in Australia in 1904 by Arnott's, the term SAO being trade marked in 1904.[2]

Arthor Arnott, for whom the biscuits may have been named.

The origin of the name "SAO" is unknown. A widely held belief is that the name is an acronym for "Salvation Army Officer", and was named for Arthur, one of the Arnott brothers, who was indeed an officer in the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army Australia somewhat cautiously mentions this on its website, calling it "Arguably Fact" and saying "...it is understood they named it in honour of their brother Arthur Arnott, a Salvation Army Officer.[3] In the 1993 book The Story of Arnott's Famous Biscuits, Ross Arnott states that Sao was the name of a sailing boat[lower-alpha 1] which his grandfather (Arnott's founder William Arnott) saw on Lake Macquarie, of which he said "That would make a good name for a biscuit."[7]

1905 advertisement for SAO biscuits in the Sydney Morning Herald

SAOs are often eaten as a light snack, topped with butter/margarine and Vegemite, or other ingredients.[8] They were also a common base for home-made vanilla slice in Australian homes.[9][10]

Notes

  1. ↑ Perhaps Dr Milford's[4] 6-ton yacht Sao built by W. M. Ford and launched 15 December 1883. She took part in a famous race with Iolanthe and Assegai in 1887.[5] A few owners later, she was still competitive in 1897.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Advertising". Evening News. No. 11, 570. New South Wales, Australia. 11 July 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 14 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ National Archives of Australia: Patent Office; A11708, Applications for Registration of Trade Marks, 1904, 3987, Application for Trade Mark titled SAO in respect of biscuits - by William Arnott Limited.
  3. ↑ "Fact and fiction: Does the "SAO" biscuit really stand for Salvation Army Officer?". Salvation Army Australia. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "Death of Dr Milford". The Australian Star. No. 4514. New South Wales, Australia. 4 August 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 16 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "By "Eagle"". The Sportsman (Melbourne). No. 371. Victoria, Australia. 28 March 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 16 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5502. New South Wales, Australia. 6 February 1897. p. 7. Retrieved 16 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ Santich, Barbara (2013). Bold Palates: Australia's Gastronomic Heritage. Wakefield Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-1743050941.
  8. ↑ Woodgate, Thomas (19 December 2017). "Australian food: 40 dishes locals like to call their own". CNN. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  9. ↑ "It's 1962 and the classic vanilla slice made with Sao biscuits is born". Starts at 60. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  10. ↑ "Vanilla slice: great Oz tucker with a slice of life". The Courier Mail. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
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