[Vella Gonzaga]

Remember Free Milk at School?​

'Do you remember getting free milk at school? It was introduced by the Australian government in the 1950s to ensure that all Australian children got fresh milk and a good dose of calcium each day. However, in practice, there were a few problems. The truck delivering the milk crates would normally drop it off at around 9:30 am, but recess wasn’t until 10:45 am, so on hot days, the milk would go off. No refrigeration was available, and yet the teachers made you drink the milk, off or not. The program lasted until the early 70s and was eventually scrapped. What are your memories of free school milk?’

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Credits: Australia Remember When FB Page

 

[Jenni Campton]

yes,I remember the milk at school and having to drink it warm and sour. Have not drunk milk since,
one of the memories of our school. Jennifer Campton

 

[Jethrotull]

I was a milk monitor in grade 6 in the sixties.. I was the first one in school to discover flavoured straws.. nothing better than to add chocolate to the milk.. until the teacher banned them from class…

 

[Julie Streeter]

I remember the flavoured straws mum would get us to take to school to have with our milk.

 

[Dorothy Kay]

Yes I'm a kiwi we had the same over there curdling in the summer but we got it frozen in the winter put me off milk for life

 

[margmck]

Definitely remember free milk at school. My Mum used to give us a flavoured straw which made it taste better.

 

[GotOnBoard@71]

Remember Free Milk at School?​

'Do you remember getting free milk at school? It was introduced by the Australian government in the 1950s to ensure that all Australian children got fresh milk and a good dose of calcium each day. However, in practice, there were a few problems. The truck delivering the milk crates would normally drop it off at around 9:30 am, but recess wasn’t until 10:45 am, so on hot days, the milk would go off. No refrigeration was available, and yet the teachers made you drink the milk, off or not. The program lasted until the early 70s and was eventually scrapped. What are your memories of free school milk?’

​

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Credits: Australia Remember When FB Page

I remember free milk at school because I was born in 1950 and loved getting different coloured tinsel tops on the bottles.

 

[Rhondi]

I was born in a small country town in the middle of nowhere. We use to get little triangle packets of milk every day at school. We were lucky they had big fridges to keep it in. One problem was I am lactose intolerate but didn't know. So guess who got sick after having it. Learn to get them frozen so it didn't hurt as much.

 

[Pink lion]

Yes, I remember free milk and strawberry flavored straws. It was a treat for sure. I remember Household milk deliveries too. I'm west Australian born. I remember how they trialed a different type of home milk delivery method where milk in thick sealed plastic bags used to be thrown by a guy in a Mini-Moke early each day, onto everyone's lawns.
It was a really good quick fast way to distribute milk without the worry of bottle breakage or having to collect milk bottles. It lasted only a little while though, because once dogs realized that humans were driving around throwing milk onto laws, they were onto it.
It was not uncommon at all back then for a while, to see dogs munching into the packets on front lawns, or to see one proudly walking up the street with a milk bag swinging wildly in its mouth. (sigh) yes those where the days my friend. We thought they'd never end. We'd sing and dance forever and a day.... we'd live the life we choose, we thought we'd never lose... oh yes those were the days...

 

[Isis]

Yes I'm a kiwi we had the same over there curdling in the summer but we got it frozen in the winter put me off milk for life

Hated it, but back in the e-,s a lot of kids were grateful to get mine as long as we were sneaky about it. Also, remember the mobile school dentist? I shudder to think about it.

 

[piggyp]

Lived in Wingham NSW my father was a milk carrier delivering milk from farms to the local butter factory sadly closed down many years ago.We drank fresh milk from the farms before being buggered up by processing.Shock horror it did us no harm.The school milk was processed and tasted terrible compared to fresh milk.Dad had to go to our school and tell teachers NUNS that we should be exempt from the school milk and gave them some of the fresh milk to try .Problem solved exemption given. As for the flavoured straws Frank Sedgeman tennis player name on them and were called Sedges I think,Thanks DAD for what you did.

 

[Joyem]

I didn't like the school milk warm in summer, but alright in winter. I lived on a dairy farm so had lots of milk to drink. I only like it cold now and only hot in hot chocolate in winter.

 

[PLK]

Cairns Nth QLD was a very bad place to have free milk in the 1960s. The crates were left out in the sun for hours and the crates were very heavy for a 3rd grader. It took two of us to carry the crate. I was a straw monitor for grade 3&4 and a crater Monitor for 5 and 6. Thank goodness I was not a bottle washer. The milk would be sour and very warm. I all I can say is YUCK.

 

[GrannySue]

I remember the school milk well in country Victoria. Mum would join a few other mums to make hot chocolate with the milk. Loved those hot chocolate days when the smell permeated throughout the school.

 

[PLK]

I remember the school milk well in country Victoria. Mum would join a few other mums to make hot chocolate with the milk. Loved those hot chocolate days when the smell permeated throughout the school.

You were very lucky.

 

[LeeRikki]

Remember Free Milk at School?​

'Do you remember getting free milk at school? It was introduced by the Australian government in the 1950s to ensure that all Australian children got fresh milk and a good dose of calcium each day. However, in practice, there were a few problems. The truck delivering the milk crates would normally drop it off at around 9:30 am, but recess wasn’t until 10:45 am, so on hot days, the milk would go off. No refrigeration was available, and yet the teachers made you drink the milk, off or not. The program lasted until the early 70s and was eventually scrapped. What are your memories of free school milk?’

​

View attachment 12100

Credits: Australia Remember When FB Page

 

[Macarj]

Yes we used to have it and it never went bad in summer the school would have big blocks of ice delivered and sit them on top of the crates of milk

 

[LeeRikki]

I grew up in Mildura and was made to drink milk that had sat in the sun, still don’t drink milk to this day.

 

[MHM]

Congratulations on your development of a very popular "Nostalgia" item. Keep them coming.
I do remember school milk in primary school in the 1950's. At my school it was delivered prior to school time and distributed by well chosen 6 class girls, to the classrooms before teaching started. I don't know why the distribution was done by girls, but I was glad of it because that left us boys to play in the school yard until the bell rang. That was until one set of distribution girls left. My 6 class teacher approached me and my mate to take over for the girls, saying he thought that lugging heavy crates of milk was something better suited to boys than girls.
My mate and I had become accustomed to the girls' distribution, and thought that the job was really too effeminate for us. Our teacher was reasonably adamant though.
At about the same time, our music teacher, who was a really good bloke, was putting together a school choir. Neither my mate nor me would have volunteered for it, but the choir trial coincided with the milk distribution duties, and we saw it as a way of avoiding the girlish job of milk distribution, so we volunteered.
One morning, the music teacher was putting us wannabe choristers through our vocal ranges. He was pacing up and down across the line of hopeful singers, before stopping in front of me, listening to my (then) youthful voice for a moment or two, with a somewhat grizzled face, before announcing "M**, you are the new milk monitor!".
My mate resigned in sympathy, and we took up the job of milk monitoring as required. I have never, before or since, drank so much milk, and no one could ever explain the bottle shortages.
It was many years before I learned the reason for my choral misadventure, when my (then) teenaged kids gave me a directive " No singing, no whistling, no clapping hands...and no dancing on tables". The message was not subtle, so I became aware that my musical talent was something less than minimal.
But thank goodness for the free milk.

 

[Coolnan@52]

Remember Free Milk at School?​

'Do you remember getting free milk at school? It was introduced by the Australian government in the 1950s to ensure that all Australian children got fresh milk and a good dose of calcium each day. However, in practice, there were a few problems. The truck delivering the milk crates would normally drop it off at around 9:30 am, but recess wasn’t until 10:45 am, so on hot days, the milk would go off. No refrigeration was available, and yet the teachers made you drink the milk, off or not. The program lasted until the early 70s and was eventually scrapped. What are your memories of free school milk?’

​

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Credits: Australia Remember When FB Page