Depressing
The Depression years of the early 1930s were grim for many Australians. About one-third of Australians lost their jobs and so were unable to pay for food, heating, clothing and rent. People repaired things and 'made do' as much as possible. (The wooden 5lb cheese boxes that contained Kraft cheese were even used as furniture.) Soup kitchens were set up to serve soup, tea, bread and jam to unemployed people, and schools served cups of free milk. By the late 1930s the economy had recovered but the effects of poor nutrition, especially in children, were felt for many years afterwards. The first dietary surveys were undertaken by the Australian Government in the late 1930s.

A Toast To Toast
Electricity was increasingly available for household appliances in the 1930s and the electrical industry was supporting cookery classes to help explain the use of electric ovens. Toasters were becoming popular. Early toasters didn't pop up so the toast had to be watched. Toasters were often kept on the breakfast table with the jar of Vegemite. Another addition to the breakfast table was the packet of breakfast cereal.

School Lunches
Some children went home for lunch in the early 1900s. Those that stayed brought sandwiches to school wrapped in greaseproof paper in a brown paper bag. Sandwich fillings were not that different from the fillings today: cheese, pickles, tomato sauce, peanut butter, banana, dripping (the fat from cooked meat).

Milk Bar
The first milk bars were opened in Australia in 1933. They sold malted milk and other drinks.

• CLARENCE BIRDSEYE patented the frozen food process in 1930.
  
• The peach melba was concocted by chef Escoffier in 1893 to honour world famous Australian opera singer Nellie Melba, who died in 1931. Melba toast was also created for her.
  
• The first SMITH'S crisps were produced in Australia in 1931.
• Australians and New Zealanders both claim the pavlova as their invention. One story is that chef Bert Sachse invented the pavlova in 1935 to honour Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, one of the guests at the Esplanade Hotel, Perth.
  
• HJ HEINZ set up a cannery in 1935.
  
• In 1938 meat pies and tomato sauce were mentioned as a national dish.
  
• The first sliced bread is said to have been introduced in Australia in 1939 when Harry Gough hand-sliced bread for his customers in Sydney.

Kraft News

We Regret No Vacancies
During the Depression years Fred Walker hung a sign on the factory gates which read 'We regret, no vacancies'. The first two words of this sign drew favourable comments from the press and were a genuine reflection of a man who wished he could do more.

Healthy Vegemite
Vegemite was identified as an important source of Vitamin B. In 1924 Vegemite was sent to Thursday Island, where beriberi, a disease caused by a deficiency of Vitamin B, was prevalent. In 1933 baby health centres in Australia started to endorse Vegemite for nursing mothers and children.

The 1930s product range
Kraft Walker already had an impressive product range by the 1930s. Processed cheese (Old English, Valveeta and Gruy?re, for example) was available in a variety of sizes, including miniatures. The Company also manufactured cheese spreads - spreads with pimento and celery, Welsh rarebit and sandwich spread.

Kraft was one of the first companies to produce ready-made canned meals - spaghetti in tomato sauce and macaroni and cheese. (Pasta was not widely eaten outside the Italian migrant groups.) In 1931 peanut butter was launched and in 1933 Kraft Miracle Whip, a mayonnaise dressing for salads, and relishes were launched.

Making Cheese
In the early days Kraft bought cheese from cheese factories and processed it. But these factories couldn't supply enough good quality cheese. In 1934 the Company leased a factory at Allansford, near Warrnambool, Victoria. The factory was developed into the best-equipped and technologically advanced in Australia. For example, welded stainless steel vats were introduced (later standard in the industry).

Fred Walker Dies
At the age of only 50 years Fred Walker died of heart failure in 1935.