Oatmeal sack

item details

NameOatmeal sack

ProductionFleming & Co. Ltd.; manufacturer(s); unknown; Gore

Classificationbags, sacks

Materialscalico, thread, ink, string

Materials SummaryPrinted calico sack

Techniquesmachine sewing, printing

DimensionsOverall: 305mm (width), 467mm (height)

Registration NumberGH005287

Credit lineGift of the Guard family, 1993

Overview

This rectangular calico bag is printed with 'Medium Cut, 25lbs net, Thistle Oatmeal, Thistle Brand High Grade Cereal Products, Trade Mark Registered, Fleming & Company Limited, Gore, N.Z.' The bag has been mended with brown string and the top right corner is tied with brown string.

The business of breakfast

The thistle brand was well known in New Zealand households throughout the twentieth century, as Fleming and Co. Limited produced a range of popular breakfast foods including the iconic 'Creamoata' porridge.

Oatmeal was first produced at the Gore flour mill in 1888, and its popularity grew quickly. The mill's owner, Scotland-born flour miller Thomas Fleming, was an enthusiastic adopter of new technologies and travelled the world in search of new ideas and equipment. In 1893 he installed one of the most up-to-date roller mills in the country, which was capable of producing 10 tonnes of flour and 12 tonnes of oatmeal every 24 hours.

The company advertised its 'Thistle' oatmeal as being 'Made from the Finest Oats and the Best Machinery,' proudly declaring that they produced 'the perfect Breakfast Food.' Customers must have agreed, as by 1917 more than three-fifths of the oat foods consumed in New Zealand were produced by Flemings at the Gore mill.