Arnold Albury:

Johann Gottfried Arnold was one of the five brothers who arrived in South Australia from Silesia in Eastern Germany, about 1870. As his family grew and farming fell on hard times, they moved by horse drawn vehicles in about 1886 to Walla Walla in Southern NSW – 18 miles north of Albury and then moved into Albury about 1890, where the last five of the twelve children were born.

J G Arnold with his eldest son John Ernest (J.E.) first started selling fruit and vegetables from a hand pushed barrow in 1892. J.E. became the first Dux of the Public School which still stands on the corner of David and Smolleft Streets at the end of 1891, when he left school at the age of twelve. Soon after J.G. bought for twenty pounds a house and cart to serve Albury householders – a short time later a shop was rented in Wilson Street Albury. After three years these premises were sold which proved a blessing in disguise as they purchased premises in Olive Street where the business grew with the help of several of J.G.’s daughters.

As Albury and district grew in population so did the business. It became JG Arnold & Sons when William Fredrich (W.F.) who was the forth youngest of the family, came into partnership with J.G. and J.E. In 1920 when most of JG Arnold’s daughters had married and the business had developed into a wholesale distribution throughout Riverina, Southern NSW and North Eastern Victoria, Harry Arnold a nephew of J.G. whose family then lived near Yackanandah, was passing through Albury to follow his trade as a wheelwright in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, then starting, he was offered and accepted the job of controlling the Albury retail part of the business. Known as Harry Arnold No. In 1938 Harry left the business to move to Sydney and had the eldest son of J.E. Arnold took over from Harry and that part of the firm was renamed N Arnold & CO. where he remained until retirement in 1966. Meanwhile John Williams and Earle Senge, J.E. Arnold’s other two sons and later Paul Williams, W.F. Arnold’s only son, joined the firm.

By this time the business had grown to employ a permanent staff of thirty-five. There were also fifteen to twenty casuals employed on paid piece work rates per ton to transport produce from the Victorian Rail gauge of 5 foot 3 inches to the NSW standard gauge of 4 foot 8 inches and vice versa. These men earned weekly amounts over ten pounds which was double the then weekly wage.

The name of Arnold was synonymous with service for sales of fruit and vegetables, potatoes and onions and other produce to practically all towns in the Riverina and Southern NSW and NE Victoria as well as truck load sales of potatoes, onions, etc to all larger towns in NSW as well as many in Queensland including Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.

The truck loads and transshipping side of the business was controlled by W.F. Arnold and later his son Paul, whereas the closer distribution was handled by J.E. Arnold, his three sons, Noel, John and Earle and in 1962 Earle’s son Barrie joined the firm.

When Noel Arnold retired in 1966 N Arnold & Co was absorbed into the original JG Arnold & Sons which traded as such until 1980 when developers bought the Arnold property to make way for what is now the Myer complex and Arnolds re-established in Wodonga where is now trades doing similar distribution as Arnolds CFD Pty Ltd, owned and controlled by Paul Arnold and his son Roger.

It is nearing one hundred years of successful handling (and) supplying storekeepers, hotels, restaurants and clubs with the best available quality fresh fruit and vegetables from all parts of the Eastern States. ‘

Over the years the business had its ups and downs mainly by giving faithful service, suffering many losses, giving credit to traders in difficult times and particularly during the Great Depression of 1930 – 1934 but got through that period without even rationing one employee, a record that very few businesses could boast.’

• 2020 – This has been typed from the original hand written document. The writer is unknown.