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Minties™ is a brand of confectionery originating in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. They are a hard, white and chewy, square mint-flavoured lolly
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

. They were originally packaged in 5lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

 (around 2.2 kg) bulk tins or 3oz
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...

 (around 85g) cardboard boxes, but now come in packs ranging from 150g - 1 kg. Minties are wrapped in waxed paper with a cartoon underneath the logo with the common caption "It's moments like these you need Minties".
About 500 million are consumed each year.
People often compete with each other in tearing the wrapper, which is square when laid flat, into the longest single strip. They were notorious for causing fillings to come out while being chewed.

History

Minties were invented in 1922 by James Noble Stedman (1860–1944), son of company founder (and Australia's first confectioner) James Stedman (1840–1913). Minties were patented in 1926, and were manufactured by James Stedman - Henderson Sweets Limited at the "SweetAcres" factory at Rosebery
Rosebery, New South Wales
Rosebery is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rosebery is located 6 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney....

, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. Other well-known lines made at Sweetacres were "Fantales", "Throaties" "Jaffas" and "Sunbuds", and were distributed by Nestlé from around 1930.

In 1968, Stedman-Henderson was taken over by Hoadleys, which was acquired in 1971 by Rowntree's
Rowntree's
Rowntree's was a confectionery business based in York, England. It is now a historic brand owned by Nestlé, used to market a range of fruit gums and pastilles formerly owned by Rowntree's. Following a merger with John Mackintosh & Co., the Company became known as Rowntree Mackintosh, was listed on...

 which was taken over globally by Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

 in 1981. They are now sold as "Allens Minties" (Nestlé acquired the Allens brand in 1985).

In 1930 or 1931, a factory was set up in Auckland, New Zealand. Cadbury
Cadbury
-Businesses:*Cadbury Adams, the company's North American subsidiary*Cadbury Ireland, the company's Irish subsidiary*Cadbury UK, the company's UK subsidiary*Cadbury India, the company's Indian subsidiary*Cadbury New Zealand, the company's New Zealand subsidiary...

 now manufacture the lollies as "Pascall Minties". In November 2009, Cadbury New Zealand announced they were moving production from Auckland to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 and changing to a softer formulation (less stressful on teeth and may be consumed more quickly). Curiously, the 200g packets sold in Australia as (Nestlé) Allens Minties in 2010 are clearly labelled "Made in New Zealand".

Depression, then wartime shortages

Newspaper advertising appears to have dropped off considerably, both in quantity and quality, between 1931 and 1940.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and until 1946, supply of confectionery was restricted; what output there was went to serving troops. Advertising resumed after cessation of hostilities, anticipating eventual availability. Rationing may have been on a state-by-state basis.

Place in Australian culture

Minties' first cartoons appeared in 1927; from then on providing an episodic documentation of an era.

At one stage in the 1940s Minties were using three different cartoons a week, appearing on every form of printed advertising: the 3oz
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...

 (around 85g) boxes in which they were originally sold, newspapers and railway station hoarding
Hoarding
Hoarding or caching is a general term for a behavior that leads people or animals to accumulate food or other items in anticipation of future need or scarcity.-Animal behavior:...

s.

The cartoons depict mishaps and unfortunate experiences, sometimes featuring recognisable sporting or political figures, but more often general comic situations, captioned "It's moments like these" or "Another Minties moment". The catchphrase "It's moments like these" has become part of the Australia language. The entry for "Mintie" in a major Australian dictionary defines the phrase as "... widely current ... used allusively as an emblem of solace".

At that time, the lolly wrappers (white waxed paper) were decorated only with the text "Minties" "The Universal Sweet" in red and green. Now the only artwork is on the wrappers; simple anonymous cartoons of people engaged in recognisable activities with no attempt at humour accompanied by the caption "It's moments like these ...".

The number of cartoonists to have drawn "Minties moments" is large. Many were unsigned, but some of the better known names are:
  • Dick Alderton
  • George Aria
  • James Bancks (creator of "Ginger Meggs")
  • Ian Gall
  • Alex Gurney
    Alex Gurney
    Alex Gurney is an American professional auto racing driver, currently driving for GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Gurney drives the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley, pairing with Jon Fogarty...

     (created "Bluey and Curley")
  • Peter Harrigan "Middy"
  • Norman Hetherington
    Norman Hetherington
    Norman Frederick Hetherington OAM was an Australian artist, etcher, cartoonist , puppeteer, and puppet designer....

     "Heth" (created Mr Squiggle)
  • Eric Jolliffe
    Eric Jolliffe
    Eric Jolliffe was an Australian cartoonist who contributed to The Bulletin and Smith's Weekly. He was particularly fond of "bush" subjects.-Biography:...

  • Hardtmuth Lahm "Hotpoint" "Hotti" or "Hottie"
  • Percy Lindsay
    Percy Lindsay
    Percival Charles Lindsay was an Australian landscape painter, illustrator and cartoonist, born in Creswick, Victoria. Percy was the first child born to Jane Lindsay and Dr Robert Charles Lindsay...

  • F G Longstaff
  • Jack Lusby
  • Stewart McCrae
    Stewart McCrae
    Stewart McCrae is an Australian cartoonist who contributed to the Brisbane Courier Mail newspaper and Bulletin.-References:* - interviewered by Ann Turner...

     "Pep"
  • Arthur Mailey
  • Emile Mercier
    Emile Mercier (cartoonist)
    Emile Mercier was an Australian cartoonist.He was born in New Caledonia and settled in Australia after World War I. His popularity reached its height during the 1950s. Emile Mercier died in Sydney from Parkinsons Disease....

  • Syd Miller
  • Minainnick
  • Norm Mitchell
  • Rufus Morris
  • Morrissey
  • Syd Nicholls
    Syd Nicholls
    Sydney 'Syd' Wentworth Nicholls was an Australian cartoonist and commercial artist, best known for the long-running comic strip Fatty Finn.-Biography:...

     (creator of "Fatty Finn")
  • Adrienne Parkes
  • Petrov
  • William Edwin Pidgeon "Wep"
  • Hal Quinlan
  • Virgil Reilly "Virgil"
  • Jim Russell
    Jim Russell
    James Newton Russell AM MBE was an Australian cartoonist who drew The Potts for 62 years. Jim's brother Dan Russell was also a cartoonist.-Biography:...

     (drew "The Potts")
  • Ted Scorfield (largest number of contributions)
  • David Souter
    David Souter
    David Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J...

  • Les Such
  • Dorothy Wall
  • Harry J Weston
  • Unk White
    Unk White
    Cecil John White , known under the penname Unk White, was an Australian cartoonist born in Auckland, New Zealand.He came to Sydney in 1922 with the artists Joe and Guy Lynch and was soon immersed in the bohemian scene there....


Photograph rather than cartoon


No humour intended


Minties Magic Drawing Book for your Girl or Boy


"Moments in History" series


Willie and Lily" versified series (Ted Scorfield)


Cricketears" series (Adrienne Parkes)


Cartoonists celebrated


Credited situation humour


Uncredited situation humour

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