From the early 20th century, dried fruits were an important export commodity for Australia, with Britain being the primary market. Various promotional activities were undertaken by the Australian Dried Fruits Association including, in the1920s, the Empire Christmas Pudding. In 1949, another industry-sponsored initiative was the donation of a Christmas cake to the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, home to military veterans known as the Chelsea Pensioners.

The original Christmas cake had been on display at a food exhibition. It was baked in the shape of Australia and made with fruit from the Mildura area in Victoria. The cake was given to the pensioners when the exhibition closed. In 1950, the Australian Government repeated the gesture, with a cake that weighed 300 lb (136 kg) and measured 44 inches (112 cm) square.

The following year, it was the Victorian branch of the Returned Soldiers League (RSL) that sent the cake. “Laced with good Australian brandy”, it weighed a mere 140 lb (63.5 kg). Since then the various state branches of the RSL have taken it in turns to donate a Christmas cake to the pensioners.

There is quite a ceremony involved. The cake is always blessed by the hospital’s chaplain before being cut with a sword. The Age reported that in 2024 (the 75th anniversary of the first cake) the blessing consisted of a rhyme:

“So let us now bless these Australian nuts – in the cake I mean – to feed our Chelsea guts. We now implore your blessing upon this Australia fayre, and keep our friendship with a joyful air.”

The 2024 cutting of the cake was accompanied by the band of the Welsh Guards playing Walzing Matilda.