CITY MILK SUPPLY

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 198, 23 May 1928, Page 21

CITY MILK SUPPLY

TWENTY YEARS SEES REVOLUTIONARY CHANGES

NOW ON SOUND BUSINESS BASIS

RECENT EXCEPTIONALPROGRESS

Probably no phase of city life has undergone such drastic, one might justifiably say revolutionary, changes as the milk supply, and to Wellington belongs pride of place as being the first city in the world to establish a municipally controlled milk supply. No great strain upon the memory is necessary to recall the conditions under which the people were supplied with milk two decades ago, and when one compares them with the present system no other conclusion can be come ■■to .tban. -that the result has been beneficial to' the city and the health of its people. ‘ In 1908 Karori, Khandallah,. Ngaio, Miramar, and Melrose had not been incorporated into Wellington City, and the milk supply was then unregulated, and to all Intents and purposes unlicensed. Supplies were brought in from Makara, Karori, Johnsonville, and the Hutt Valley, and were delivered by the vendors as they pleased; In cans and churns with the lids off as often as they were on, and collecting any dust, germs, and dirt, that were blowing about. Milk being an article of food most easily contaminated and particularly liable to collect disease germs, the risk to the health of the people can well be imagined. A Costly Affair.

As a business, the milk vending has undergone some vicissitudes in the last 20 years, and they have not been without interest to the public, who, as a rule, are called upon to pay the piper. About fifteen years ago, when the average price to the consumers was about 3Jd. a quart, farmers from the Hutt organised themselves and opened up a depot in Taranaki Street, waging war upon the existing vendors by retailing to all parts of the city at 2Jd. a quart, using a coupon system. The other vendors put up a bitter fight, and the Hutt suppliers, after losing a few thousands in hard cash, gave it up as a bad job, l disposing of their horses and milk floats. City Council Steps In. So for a few more years the old order of things existed, but in the meantime the i whole question was seriously taken up by the City Council, as it was recognised that control in some form or other was necessary. How to secure that control was a problem that exercised the minds of the City Council for a considerable period. Then came the election of 1917, when Mr. C. J. B. Norwood was elected. He came with a reputation for business aptitude and organisation, and being new to the usual work of the City Council the opportunity was regarded as a favourable one upon which to ask him to take charge of the question of the milk supply and try to find a solution. He regarded the task somewhat dubiously at first, but when the councillors agreed to guarantee him any committee he wished to assist him in the project, he accepted the responsibility. He named his committee and they sat for twelve months or so, taking evidence from every source possible, getting Information on the subject from every point of view, from the producers, vendors, medical men, health departments, inspectors, and consumers. At the end of those investigations the committee was so impressed that it had no hesitation in strongly recommending the City Council to take steps to assume absolute control of the city’s milk supply. A Short-lived Scheme. In the year preceding Mr. Norwood’s election to the City Council efforts had been made to deal with the situation, both at the request of consumers and producers, who were dissatisfied with the work and conduct of the vendors. Expert reports were called for, but before these were received, owing to complaints about the time taken in the transit of the milk to Wellington, loss of cans, quality of the milkattributed to various causes—the City Council adopted a temporary scheme to provide a clearing house adjacent to Thorndon Station. An expenditure of about £l5OO was incurred ou leasing land and erecting buildings, and it was opened on January 1, 1918. It utterly failed to function and did not last 24 hours. In fact it was closed down before the end of the first day. The Crucial Moment. Then came the report of Mr. Norwood’s Committee of Inquiry, an important and lengthy document. One paragraph read: — “The committee were of opinion that in no case could a clearinghouse be successfully operated except in conjunction with municipal milk distribution.”

N- t followed the report and recommendations which led to the council’s decision to establish a municipal milk department as a trading concern, the first of its kind in the world, and on April 16, 1918, the real work of the milk committee started. In July the premises in Dixon Street were acquired at a sum of about £12,000 and converted into a milk station, and a factory was acquired at Rahui. The necessary legislation was drafted and the Wellington City Milk Supply Act, 1919, came into being. There was a long period of negotiations with the vendors and many obstacles had to be overcome. The cost of distribution was finally assessed at sd. a gallon, and the vendors were allowed an extra 2d., that is they were allowed to sell at a profit of 7d. per gallon ou the price they purchased the milk from the City Council, which had now established its clearing station. This was to continue for two years, it being considered that the extra 2d. over that period would compensate the vendors for the loss of business. Subsequently the vendors appealed to the Government, and the period was extended for another year, at the end of which the milk distribution throughout the city passed entirely under the control of the council. Any retailing of milk and cream can now, only be done under license and control of the local authority.

The Position To-day.

To-day the whole of the city of Wellington is now included in the municipal milk delivery, and the daily consumption Is now about 5000 gallons. The city has approximately 250 miles of streets, and these are traversed daily by the 51 vans and horses, 00 roundsmen, and the motor-lorries that supply the rounds. The city is divided into 47 rounds, and the total staff of the department is about 140, including the Hahui factory and office staffs.