Sanitarium Health Food Company

Sydney, Australia
New Zealand

Edward Halsey - Founder

Timeline
1898 - Company founded
1926 - The Grain Company launches Weet-Bix
1928 - Sanitarium acquires Grain Company
1932 - Weetabix Limited formed in the UK

See also: Commonwealth

History
My introduction to Sanitarium came via my interest in the various copies and clones of the Commonwealth manufactured Dolls of Our World from the 1950's. Once I discovered Sanitarium the information started to come thick and fast, but one should bear in mind that this history is heavy in doll references.

Sanitarium were an established cereal and dry foods producer with their own antipodean market, who are best known in the figure-collecting world for sourcing the 'World Doll' figures from/ex-Commonwealth as a traditional (by the 1970's) free gift/premium to add to their breakfast cereals in order to increase sales. The question is how they did that, and what their relationship was with either Commonwealth or the mould tools!

They also produced/sourced other premiums for their cereal packs, including a set of 'tea' cards with world costumes. Each card has a male and female in local/folk, traditional or festive dress of some kind, and most of the cards seem to mirror the nations included in the three plastic series'.
Weet-Bix their most famous cereal, issued - on the main - paper products; 'tea' (or cigarette!) cards, postcards, stickers, rub-down transfers and lenticulars. I will list them separately on a Weet-Bix post on the 'W' page, but linked-back to here for the history.

Sanitarium is linked to two of the bigger names in the breakfast cereal industry over a hundred years, including America's Kellogg's, and the UK's Weetabix. Founded by Edward Halsey, Sanitarium was fortunate to be given cereal recipes by/from Kellogg's Battle Creek sanatorium and quickly established itself as a 'player' in the antipodean cereals market with their flaked-wheat biscuit: Granose. A rival - The Grain Company - invented a similar, but malted, sweetened cereal biscuit - the Weet-Bix - and was promptly bought-out by Sanitarium!

Sanitarium are still extant, still independent and still secretive (like a lot of companies in the cereal industry), they are also controversial, as their religious links give them a tax status many rivals see as an unfair advantage in an open market.

The recipe was carried to the UK by several South African Seventh Day Adventists, who established Weetabix here, and more on that will be found on the relevant posts as they are published.

Listing
Early New Zealand (1962)
- Colonial Soldier
- Colonist (Top Hat)
- Maori Chief with Mere
- Maori Girl with Poi
- Maori Warrior with Taiaha
- Maori Warrior with Tewhatewha
- Miner of the Otago Gold Rush
- Miner’s Wife

Circus (1970's? Copies of Crescent/Kellogg's set; similar to but better than Hong Kong/Maysun vertions and mono-coloured in mustard yellow, sky blue, subdued red, candy pink, lemon yellow and turquoise)

- Lion Standing on Box

- Elephant on Tub

- Running Horse

- Prancing, Plumed Horse

- Ringmaster with Whip

- Kneeling Weightlifter

- Clown with Umbrella and Cup

- Clown Juggling with Fitness Batons

- Dancer (from running horse, but on own base)

- Boxing Kangaroo (with gloves, unique sculpt)

Farm Animals (1970's? Copies in primary colours, plus black, white and cream)

- Cock, Hen and 2 chicks (ex-Cresent)

- Two Lambs (ex-Cresent)

- Calf (ex-Cresent)

- Foal (ex-Cresent)

- Sheep (ex-Cresent)

- Donkey (ex-Britains)

- Sheep Dog (ex-Britains?)

- Goat (ex-Britains?)

Brave Breeds (Dogs, 1971 - Honey Weets, Puffed Wheat, Ricies and Weeta Puffs)
- Australian Terrier
- Basset Hound
- Beagle
- Boxer
- Bulldog
- Collie
- Dachshund ('Sausage dog')
- German Shepherd (Alsatian)
- Greyhound
- Kelpie
- Scottish / Highland Terrier ('Scottie dog')
- Spaniel
Horses (1976; Australia, 1978; New Zealand, hollow - Hong Kong style, with flat side to inner face of legs, Honey Weets, Mini Weet-bix, Popped Rice, Puffed Wheat, Skippy Corn Flakes and Weeta Puffs)
- American Pony (standing, short tail)
- Clydesdale (heavy horse with harness)
- English Thoroughbred (racehorse with rider)
- Hackney (some horse furniture, left leg raised/bent)
- Hunter (standing)
- Pinto (rearing, on circular base)
- Quarter Horse (trotting)
- Shire Horse (heavy horse)
- Suffolk Punch (heavy horse with bobbed tail)
- Welsh Pony Mare (slight moulding)
- Welsh Pony Foal (crude, lumpy moulding, not issued in New Zealand)

Ex-Commonwealth Dolls
1971 - Mini (or a full 'Miniature'?) National Dress (hard polystyrene, all old Commonwealth sculpts and all depicting European nations)
- Czechoslovakia
- Denmark
- England
- Finland
- France
- Holland
- Italy
- Norway
- Scotland
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
1973 - Mini Exotic Dress (hard polystyrene, five new poses, all Asia-Pacific/Pacific-edge nations)
- Burma (non-Commonwealth pose)
- Ceylon (non-Commonwealth pose)
- China
- China Mandarin (non-Commonwealth pose)
- Hawaii
- India
- Japan
- Japan Kimono (non-Commonwealth pose)
- Japan Samurai (non-Commonwealth pose)
- Java
- Korea
- Siam
1979 - Miniature National Costumes (soft polyethylene with cavity-bases, five new poses, eight simplified older ex-Commonwealth poses, all European nations, some repeated from '71 issue)
- Czech [Czechoslovakia]
- Germany
- Greece (non-Commonwealth pose)
- Holland
- Hungary (non-Commonwealth pose)
- Italy
- Portugal
- Scotland
- Spain (non-Commonwealth pose)
- Switzerland
- Turkey (non-Commonwealth pose)
- Yugoslavia (non-Commonwealth pose)

Other Premiums
- Planes
- Cars (?)
- Costume Cards (like tea/cigarette cards)

Links
Horses
Dogs
Mini Frizbees
Cards and Stickers
Wikipedia
Doll page on 'Home Blog'
Sanitarium on 'Home Blog'

What This Entry Needs
All the modern stuff - contacts, addresses etc...
Personalities
A bit more history?
There are many more premiums to come!
Sources for the premiums, especially the Commonwealth sculpts