REFRIGERATION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 80, 16 March 1936, Page 11

REFRIGERATION

Great Value to New Zealand

Were any calamity to deprive New Zealand of the great boon of refrigeration, her exports would shrink to about of their present value, declared Mr C. E. Taylor, during an address io the Palmerston North Rotary Club on “Refrigeration.” The value of refrigeration could be readily comprehended by reference to the Year Book he declared. Last year the Dominion’s exports totalled £50,000,000 Of that total goods valued at £23,000,000 were exported as frozen products. The whole of the latter portion of our export trade was absolutely dependent upon cold storage. Frozen products during the fiveyear period of 1929-34, represented 61.9 pet cent of our total exports. Were we deprived of refrigeration our exports would promptly fall to about onethird of their present value, and conception failed of the dire consequences that would arise from such a shrinkage. This trade had all developed in the last 50 years, New Zealand making an early beginning soon after the first commercial application of refrigeration, when shipments were sent from the River Plate to Paris. When the frozen traffic began there were no adequate freezing works, so temporary slaughter houses were erected—the first at Totara, near Oamaru —from which the sheep were conveyed to the ship and there frozen. A mishap to the freezer nearly caused disaster to the first cargo, which had to be returned to the town, giving New Zealanders their first experience of frozen meat. The promoters, however, persevered, and a cargo was successfully sent to London. The first consequence was to greatly increase the value of animmal carcases, for the first consignment of mutton sold overseas at 1/- a pound. The great advances made in the export of dairy produce would also have been impossible without refrigeration. 'The lecturer proceeded to describe the technicalities of refrigeration, and his expert knowledge conveyed to Ins audience an excellent insight into one of the wonders of the modern commercial world. He explained that plain ice was inadequate as a freezing agent for modern commercial purposes, as it was too slow, not being sufficiently loner in temperature than the level to which the product had to be reduced Therefore various gaseous agents were now commonly employed.