Nostalgic Australians are taking a trip down memory lane by reflecting back on the defining moments of the 90s – including Dollarmites, ‘no hat, no play’ rules and writing school lunch orders on paper brown bags.
The childhood flashbacks have been turned into a collection of TikTok videos, as thousands reminisce about the years gone by.
So how many do you remember?
Dollarmites is a program, which is created by Commonwealth Bank, to teach children under the age of 12 about the importance of saving money
DOLLARMITES
Dollarmites is a program, which is created by Commonwealth Bank, to teach children under the age of 12 about the importance of saving money.
Anyone growing up in the 90s will remember their parents setting up a Dollarmites account where they would make a small deposit in their bank book, which was kept inside a yellow wallet.
‘Who remembers getting like a 2 cent interest but the stamp on the letter of the statements was 45 cents?’ one recalled.
Another joked: ‘Still haven’t completely broken free from this bank after my soul was sold for a Dollarmites account,’ while said: ‘I cashed mine in on Mario Kart 64. Best investment of my life.’
Dollarmites still exist today – and kids are required to bring their deposit to school during the weekly ‘School Banking Day’ to collect a silver Dollarmites token.
The strict ‘no hat, no play’ policy encourages primary school kids to wear a hat every time they play outside during recess and lunchtimes. But any child who forgot their hat at home were only allowed to sit in the shade in an effort to protect them from the glaring sun (file image)
NO HAT, NO PLAY
The strict ‘no hat, no play’ policy encourages primary school kids to wear a hat every time they play outside during recess and lunchtimes.
But any child who forgot their hat at home were only allowed to sit in the shade in an effort to protect them from the glaring sun.
Dozens of people revealed how much they ‘hated’ the policy because they missed out on playtime with their peers.
‘I hated no hat, no play. It was so annoying,’ one wrote, while another added: ‘It was terrible’.
Zooper Dooper were a crowd favourite, with flavours such as bubblegum, fairy floss, Cola, raspberry, orange, lime, pineapple and blackcurrant to choose from
Schoolkids used to write their lunch order on a brown paper bag, with the calculation of the total price, along with their name and class
SCHOOL LUNCH ORDERS
Schoolkids used to write their lunch order on a brown paper bag, with the calculation of the total price, along with their name and class.
‘A treat to get lunch this way, I always got the good old sausage roll. How times have changed,’ one woman wrote.
Another said: ‘Such memories. We used to write down on the paper bag what we wanted (and it was always a special day when we got canteen lunch).’
ZOOPER DOOPER
Zooper Dooper were a crowd favourite, with flavours such as bubblegum, fairy floss, Cola, raspberry, orange, lime, pineapple and blackcurrant to choose from.
School kids used to buy the ice block sticks from their school canteen, with prices starting from as little as 20 cents.
Anyone who grew up in the 1990s will fondly remember the excitement of spending their pocket money at the school canteen
Years before you lived off Mi Goreng at university, Mamee dried noodles were one of the most popular snacks at recess or lunchtime
ICE CREAM
Was it really summer without cutting the corner of a Sunnyboy and letting Razz Raspberry, Glug Cola, Orange Explosion, and Zap Lime slip down your fingers?
The flavoured ice blocks were an essential treat for keeping cool during those sweaty days, and could be easily found in canteens and corner stores across Australia.
Rummaging through our school bags trying to find any spare change for the flavoured Paddle Pop, including rainbow, banana and chocolate.
For most of our childhood, we assumed rainbow tasted like… rainbow until Streets revealed on its website in 2013 the delicious flavour was actually caramel. And who can forget Billabong – the chocolate ice cream on a paddle pop stick.
Flavoured Paddle Pop, including rainbow and the chocolate Billabong ice cream were a treat
Was it really summer without cutting the corner of a Sunnyboy and letting Razz Raspberry, Glug Cola, Orange Explosion, and Zap Lime slip down your fingers
SWEET LOLLIES
Ovalteenies were round little powdered chocolate snacks that was sold at most school canteens across the country.
Ghost Drops came in different flavours to choose from – and the best part was ending up with a coloured tongue – ranging from blue, red or green.
And 90s kid would remember the ridiculous faces you and your friends pulled when you tried to eat the sour ones.
And who can forget Curly Wurly – milk chocolate and caramel chews; and Chomp – the beloved green crocodile with a red baseball cap
Perfect for when you had the ‘sniffles’, children used to get a packet of the eucalyptus drops for 40 cents at the canteen.
Tasted ‘fruity and chewy’, Fizzers came in five different flavours – cream soda, Bluebuzz, strawberry, raspberry and apple.
For the love of Nerds, children used to share around the box in the playground. The candy usually contains two flavours per box, and each flavour has a separate compartment and opening.
And who can forget Curly Wurly – milk chocolate and caramel chews and Chomp – the beloved green crocodile with a red baseball cap?
Boxes of Nerds (left) used to be passed around your group of friends – or trying to munch on the Fizzer (right) flavoured lollies
SNACKS
Years before you lived off Mi Goreng at university, Mamee dried noodles were one of the most popular snacks at recess or lunchtime.
Children used to rip open the chicken powdered sachet to add flavour to the uncooked noodles.
School lunches used to include a dippable snack such as Dunkaroos – and you would eat the remainder choc-hazelnut with your finger at the end.
And what about Le Snak? The perfect cheese dip and cracker snack to kick off your recess – but there was never enough biscuits!
Remember Le Snak? The perfect cheese dip and cracker snack to kick off your recess – but there was never enough biscuits!
School lunches used to include a dippable snack such as Dunkaroos – and you would eat the remainder choc-hazelnut with your finger at the end
Tasty Toobs were cheesy ring-shaped goodness that kids used to pop one on each finger before munching them one by one.
Toobs first fell off supermarket shelves in 2001, before being re-released in 2007 with the new moniker Tasty Toobs.
But sadly, they were given the boot for good in October 2015, with Smith’s revealing there was a lack of consumer demand.
Aussie kids used to order the beloved pizza pockets – an oven baked roll filled with a cheesy melted flavoured centre
A photograph of Leumeah High School’s canteen menu dating back to 1994 emerged on Reddit, with many Australians enjoying the nostalgic throwback
CANTEEN MENU
Canteen menus are a stark contrast to today’s school.
In early 2018, a photograph of a school canteen menu dating back to 1994 emerged on Reddit, with many Australians enjoying the nostalgic throwback.
The list comes from Larrisa who attended Leumeah High School, in Sydney’s south-west three decades ago.
‘I was there from year 3 to year 6 in the mid 90s,’ Larrisa previously told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The canteen was a small parent run operation tacked onto the back of a building. We used to have to line up two by two outside – baking concrete and hot sun.’
The available options for recess and lunch included a Vegemite sandwich for 60 cents, sausage rolls for 70 and salmon sandwich was just $1.20.