MINA SALEYARDS

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14290, 28 February 1912, Page 6

MINA SALEYARDS

OPENING CEREMONY

The yards to provide accommodation for 10,000 sheep, completed by %.h<> Cheviot Saleyards Company, Limited, were opened yesterday with an entry of about 14,000 sheep, of which there were 3000 fat lambs and 500 ewes. These yards have been designed for easy drafting, on a site of five acres, in contiguity to the railway station, so that the work of trucking is quickly attained. The" company, which leads tho enterprise .includes Messrs T. 'Jeo (chairman), T. C. Robinson, T. Meikle, W. Hodgson, \V. Payne, R. H. Chisholin, R,. Sloss, and O. J. Cradock (secretary). " They also comprise' tho directorate. There can be no doubt about tho quality of tho stock, although some of tho lambs offered as fat were not quito finished. There was a good supply of store sheep, and tho business transacted was most satisfactory. Mr W. T. Robinson said ho appreciated tho compliment paid by tho Mina Saleyards Company in asking him to open tho yards. It was perhaps appropriate that ho should bethero on that day, sinco no was tho first to erect auction yards at Cheviot. He congratulated tho Company on taking a step in tho right direction in co.iKtructing yards in the centre of a most important district. That there was a large entry ho hoped would prove .\ good augury for the futuro, and trusted that the farmers supporting tho undertaking would realise all the benefits of a central and regular market. He predicted that if'they gave it a strong support, it would prove one of tho most important stock sale centres of Canterbury; for so far as could bo seen, somo hundreds of thousands of sheep could be driven in frovn tho surrounding country. So long as the yards attracted tho' attention of buyers, they might depend on it that where tho stock was of tho best, the dearlers would collect and enter with keen competition. (Applause). Mr T. Gee thanked Mr Robinson for his remarks and on behalf of his codirectors he thanked the farmers for their support. They had laboured for a long time with the difficulty of getting stock away by railway, but now he would remind them trucking would be well attended to, and accommodation by the stock trains would bo provided to meet each sale. He learned that in the last year 65,600 sheep, all fats, were sent away by rail and there was still a large quantity of stock to be dealt with. That the yards already were not largo enough ■was a good sign and he hoped they would soon havo to enlarge them. He appealed to the farmers to accept fair prices and stated that plenty of drovers were ready and sheep could be got on board at 2s 6d per truck. Mr Payne (Dalgety and Co.) then sold the first pen of 30 fat lambs bred by Mr R. Scarr, which were purchased at 17s 9d per head by the Christchurch Meat Company. The prices obtained were:—Fat lambs 13s 6d to 17s 9d; fat ewes to 13s 6d; wethers, 15s; half and three-quarter bred ewe lambs 12s to 13b ; half bred wether lambs 11s 6d to 12s; other lambs 9s to 10s 6d; six and eight-tooth owes 14s 6d: be*ing some of the sales up to time of departure of the train; ,