William Arnott was born 6 December 1827, in Pathhead, Fife, Scotland,[2] the eldest of eight children.

[6] After arriving in Australia, he first started a baking company in Morpeth, New South Wales, 22 miles north-west of Newcastle.

[10] William Arnott was a prominent member of the Wesleyan Church and taught Sunday school for close to 25 years.

[12] It is not in the Australian Dictionary of Biography[1] but his father David Millie Arnott[13] had been transported here for breach of trust, fraud and embezzlement following sentence in 1837.

[15] Shortly after his death, Arnott's sons spread out the business to other parts of the world, including East Asia and South Africa.