Like a kid in a candy store

In Arrowtown on assignment for Heritage New Zealand magazine, I find sweet treats continue to evoke memories at The Remarkable Sweet Shop

Remarkable sweets of Arrowtown (image by Jacqui Gibson).

What do you look for in a lolly?

Is it something gooey and gummy you could chew on for hours? Or something hard-boiled and zesty and zingy to taste?

Whatever it is, you’ll likely find it at The Remarkable Sweet Shop - a lolly shop of the best and most bountiful, old-fashioned kind.

But be warned: with more than 1,000 varieties of sweets on offer, it’s no place for anyone with an indecisive sweet tooth.

The Remarkable Sweet Shop’s managing director Jono Palmer opened the Arrowtown store - sandwiched between the New Orleans Hotel and The Gold Shop - in 2004.

He grew up on treats such as aniseed balls, pink ‘smokers’ and liquorice straps - all of which you’ll find in the store. But his absolute favourite lolly is the long-lasting gobstopper - the pink and yellow ones, especially.

It’s a hard, round candy that shot to popularity with British schoolboys in the early to mid-1900s and was later made famous by British author Roald Dahl.

Remember Dahl’s children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, featuring everlasting gobstoppers that could never get smaller or be finished?

Whatever sweet treat you pick, says Jono, just remember it’s bound to live on in your memory long after its eaten.

“Lollies define each generation. Just ask your mum or dad what they munched on as kids - it was probably Minties, K-bars or Milk Bottles.

“Back in the gold rush days, when Arrowtown sprang to life, it would’ve been Victoria favourites like sherbet, humbugs and fruit drops.

“Lollies, sweets, candy - no matter who you are or what era you grew up in, it’s the stuff childhood memories are made of.”

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I caught up with Jono in Arrowtown for Heritage New Zealand magazine.