MOMONA DAIRY FACTORY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21919, 3 April 1933, Page 3

MOMONA DAIRY FACTORY

TWENTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY Twenty-one years ago Momona —a fairly new settlement on the Taieri Plain—decided to go in for a dairy factory of its own. The venture has been a success throughout the years and it was decided some weeks ago to celebrate the twentyfirst anniversary. The date was set down for last Friday, and the weather was perfect for the picnic which was held in Mr lan Lindsay's paddock. From 10.30 a.m. until late in the afternoon the fun was at its height. All present—and there was a large gathering—entered into the spirit of rejoicing and made the most of the opportunity. The Momona Band provided music and a strong committee left nothing to be desired in the arrangements. Mr A. E. Ansell, member for the district, was present. The chairman of directors (Mr Andrew Ralston) and the secretary (Mr A. W. Amos) were prominent all day in their efforts to make all enjoy themselves. A programme of sports was run off during the day. Eight races for boys and girls opened the list, the youngsters competing very keenly for the prizes. The events for the adults also attracted large entries, the results being as follows: — Young Married Men's Race.—J. M'Neill 1, L. Gamble 2, G. M'Donald 3. Elderlv Married Men's Race. —Andrew Ralston 1, T. Ryder 2, R. J. Moore 3. Sack Race (run in four heats). —Final: W. Rvder and J. Urquhart (equal) 1, H. Ryder 3. Matrimonial Race. Miss Middlemass and Mr R. Middlemass 1, Miss Nichol and Mr W. Bathgate 2. Single Ladies' Race.—Miss M. Nichol 1, Miss J. Taylor 2, Miss I. Black 3. Single Men's Race. —W. Ryder and H. Ryder (equal) 1, J. Urquhart 3. Youncc Married Ladies' Race.—Mrs Egan 1, Mrs A. F. Thornton 2, Mrs G.. M'Donald 3. Elderlv Married Ladies' Race.-—Mrs J. Taylor 1. Mrs J. Thomson 2, Mrs R. J. Moore 3. Bandsmen's Race. —L. Gamble 1, B. Moore 2, J. Brcmner 3. Bicycle Handicap.—F. Johnson 1, J. Urquhart 2, L. Ralston 3. Thread-the-ncedle. —Miss S. Latta and R. Ralston 1, Miss J. Walker and D. Taylor 2. Cigarette Race.—Miss D. Gillespie and Mr W. Ryder 1, Mrs L. Egan and Mr H. Rvder 2. Pillow Fighting—H. M'Donald 1, R. Middlemass 2. Tug-of-war (seven-a-side). Winning team—Messrs J. M'Whinney, W. Barrou, B. Moore, L. Gamble, D. Gordon, W. Bissett, and R. Aitchcson. Hurdle Race—J. Urquhart 1, H. Ryder 2, J. Thomson 3. Quoits.—R. Morris 1, A. Moynihan 2, E. Newman 3. in addition to the foregoing a dairymen's trotting event was a feature. There were 1] entries, the winners being:— H. W. Christie's Abess (scr) 1, Mr A. Moynihan's Taieri Tar (350yds bhd) 2, and Mr A. Wheeler's Prince (310yds) 3. THE" BIRTHDAY" CONCERT.

The Monioua Hull was crowded in the evening when n "-birthday" concert and dance was held. Mr Ralston was in the chair. He was supported on the stage by the secretary (Mr Amos), the directors of the company, and some ex-chairmen, all of whom wished the company every success in the future. Mr William Allan (tiie first solicitor for the company) also gave a brief address, complimenting the directors, both past and present, on the success achieved. Those contributing to the concert programme were Mrs Montague, Mrs Jones, the Misses Walker (2), Southgate, Hamilton, and Messrs Montague, Tuckwell, Bathgate, and Snow. Mrs Montague and Miss Williams played the accompaniments. The Momona Pipe Band played music in front of the hall. At an interval in the proceedings Mr Amos gave an outline of the history of the company since its formation. He said the first chairman of directors was Mr C. Campbell (1912-14), and his successors were as follows: —Messrs T. Hewitt (1915), J. Dow (1910-1917), James Walker (1918-1919). A. Moore (1920), J. Campbell (1921-1922). J. J. Walker

(1923-1024), A. Moore (1925-1926),. T. G. Lindsay (1927), P. Bathgate (19281929), James Walker (1930), F. Johnson (1931-1932), and A. Ralston (1933). Mr F. J. Houston was appointed the first manager, being succeeded two years later by Mr W. H. Stewart. He continued till July, 1918, when Mr A. J. Heenan was appointed. He was succeeded in 1920 by Mr F. H. Taylor. About a year afterwards the present manager (Mr J. A. M'Donald) was appointed. A meeting of milk suppliers was held on September 25, 1911, when it was decided " that steps .be taken to form a cooperative dairy company at Momona, and that an offer be made to the Taieri and Peninsula Company for its buildings at Momona; failing that, a site to be selected and an estimate of the cost of buildings to be obtained." The following were elected a committee—Messrs C. Campbell, T. Hewitt, W. Lee, D. Ford, A. W. Amos, J. Sprott, and W. M'Hattie. In the following December a meeting was held, and the estimated cost of buildings and memorandum of association were dealt with. In February of the following year the committee that had been appointed in September was elected as provisional directors. The statutory meeting of shareholders was held on March 28, 1912, and the provisional directors were elected as a board of directors, Mr C. Campbell being chairman, with Mr A. W. Amos secretary and treasurer, and Messrs Webb and Allan, solicitors, Mr W. E. M'Lean auditor, and the Bank of New Zealand bankers. Mr R. Muirhead, of Mosgiel, built the factory, which was of wood, and Messrs Wilkins, Ltd., of Invercargill, supplied the machinery. The new company received valuable help from Mr A. C. Ross (of the Dairy Division of the Government Agricultural Department), Mr J. Peterson (of Messrs Wilkins, Ltd.), and others. The factory was completely destroyed by fire in May, 1915. Though this was a severe blow, the directors decided to carry on, and in a month after the fire a contract for a new brick building had been let to Messrs Love Bros., of Port Chalmers. This building was opened in October, 1915 and the action of the directors in rebuilding had never given cause for regret. In September, 1919, an addition had to be made to the factory, Messrs Loan and Watson being the contractors. In November, 1917, the company changed its bankers to the National Bank of New Zealand, where the business had since remained. Mr Amos submitted interesting figures taken from the company's operations. ,These showed the Momona factory to be one of the largest—if not the largest—cheese factories in Otago. The highest pay-out had been 2s 8d per lb butter-fat. and the lowest up till last October 11|<1. In 1912 there were 30 suppliers. Last year the number was 65. The number of gallons of milk on opening day, 1912, had been 975, while in the height of the season this year it had totalled 6100 gallons. During the present season a night shift had to be worked for a few weeks to tope with the supply of milk. To give some idea of the money distributed for milk throughout the years, Mr Amos stated that £418,351 had been paid for milk and £61.025 for other services. Prior to the dance, community singing occupied, a quarter of an hour, the leaders being Messrs Montague and Tuckwell. Supper was served, and a' very enjoyable dance closed the celebrations.