REFRIGERATION INDUSTRY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19371, 8 July 1937, Page 14

REFRIGERATION INDUSTRY

IMPORTANCE TO DOMINION FACTOR IN PROSPERITY The economic prosperity of New Zealand dated from the inauguration of Its export trade in frozen meat, said Mr. F. W. Grainger, president of the New Zealand Association of Refrigeration, in replying to the toast of the association at its smoke concert in Wellington. In 1881 there were nearly 13,000,000 sheep in the country and the population was some 450,000. Many lew years for the farmers had brought wages down and the economic position of New Zealand was very unsatisfactory. On February 11, 1882, the turning point might be said to have been reached with the first consignment, by the ship Dunedin from Port Chalmers, of carcases of frozen mutton to England. In 1883 the total value of the exports of meat, butter, and cheese was £167,240. Fifty year; later, in 1933, £26,260,677 worth oi produce was carried to England unde: refrigerated conditions. Tribute to Early Workers There was scarcely an industry oi any importance which did not make use of refrigeration in some form or other. It was even used in the manufacture of golf balls, the liquid core being frozen in spherical form before being wound with rubber, to ensure a perfectly symmetrical product. Even in Egyptian times-refrigeration was practised and Eastern races had cooled liquids by evaporation for many thousands of years.

Mr. Grainger paid a tribute to the early workers, Joule and Thompson, from whose work developed the first ammonia compression machine. From this foundation had arisen the industry which was progressing so rapidly to-day, especially in the domestic field Considering that New Zealand wa: so vitally dependent for its prosperity on the sound knowledge and application of refrigeration, such a body a. 1 the New Zealand Association of Re frigeration, linked up with sim lar as sociations in England and Australia and’ also the International Association of Refrigeration, was of the great, est importance in co-ordinating the technical and executive aspects of the industry. By the preparation and circulation of papers and encouragement of the younger men the association could do valuable work and justify the efforts of modern research in the science.