REFRIGERATION OF MEAT
Important Industry In New Zealand
RECORD OPERATIONS IN SOUTHLAND
“Refrigeration has for many years been recognized as of the utmost importance to New Zealand and the progress of the industry has been most marked,” declared Mr Alex Derbie, general manager of the Southland Frozen Meat Company in an interesting address in the “Own Job” series at the weekly luncheon of the Invercargill Rotary Club yesterday. “There are about 38 freezing works operating in New Zealand, 15 of them being situated in the South Island, said Mr Derbie. “The total number of sheep and lambs slaughtered foi the year ended June 15 was 13,411,279. In Southland alone there are three wellequipped works capable of handling 18,000 sheep and lambs and 250 cattle per day, and the kill for the season just ended constitutes a record with 1,601.475 sheep and lambs. Incidentally, the total number handled by the Southland Frozen Meat Company was 1,011,500, this being 129,900 more than last season’s record kill.
“The first consignment of frozen meat to London was made from Australia in the year 1880,” said Mr Derbie, “when about 40 tons (representing approximately 1500 carcases of mutton) were shipped by the ship Strathleven. In 1882 London received her first consignment from New Zealand, the quantity being about 106 tons, equivalent to 4000 carcasses of mutton, a quantity which could now be killed in the Southland works in under two hours. It was early in 1883 that the first shipment of frozen meat from Bluff was made by the sailing vessel Opawa. At that time the Southland Frozen Meat Company had slaughteryards at West Plains, and one penny per sheep was charged for the use of the yards, the shippers having to arrange for the killing of their own stock.” FIRST REFRIGERATOR The procedure in those days was to rail the meat direct to the “freezing ship,” and the first refrigerator was installed in the Bluff works in 1886. It was a Haslem cold-air machine, said Mr Derbie. From the time of opening of the Bluff works and until 1912 stock was killed at Wallacetown Junction and railed to Bluff to be frozen. In 1912 the Makarewa works were opened and worked in conjunction with the Bluff ones until further extension at the former made them self-contained, bringing about the dismantling of, the works at Bluff. The Mataura works were erected in 1891 with plant of the Haslem type. Other Haslem machines of the coldair type followed, but had since been replaced by the ammonia compression plant, now in general use throughout Southland and with perhaps one or two exceptions, throughout New Zealand. The process of refrigeration under the ammonia compression system, as applied to the freezing rooms of the Southland works, was by means of the Haslem cold air batteries or other air and brine coolers of similar construction, he said. MANY PRODUCTS The large and up-to-date freezing works in the province were year by year extending their opeiations and now all the various branches of the industry were being successfully carried out. The killing season was usually confined to six or seven months in the year, but shipping and marketing proceeded throughout the year. Other branches of the trade, such as the manufacture of fertilizers, the making of casks, shearing sheep, and numerous other items, helped to complete the side-lines which engaged the attention of those employed in the trade. The magnitude of the industry might be gauged when one considered the amount of money and labour involved, beginning with the initial production, transport to the freezing works, treatment of the carcasses and by-products, railing and shipping to the Home markets and finally the marketing through various channels to achieve the best results, said Mr Derbie. NOTHING WASTED “Nothing is wasted at the works nowadays, and everything pertaining to the industry is treated in some shape or form,” added Mr Derbie. He described the fellmongery to which the skins were conveyed from the slaughterhouse, the processes of washing, drying, treating, removal of the wool, cleaning, classing and packing for shipment. The processes applied to the entrails which finally went to the market in such forms as casings, blood and bone manure, bonedust, meat meal meal and tallow, were also outlined by the speaker, who said the casks for the carriage of pelts and tallow were manufactured on the premises, as also were the stockingette wrappers which cover the carcasses of lamb and mutton.
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Bibliographic details
Southland Times, Issue 24168, 3 July 1940, Page 7
Word Count
740REFRIGERATION OF MEAT Southland Times, Issue 24168, 3 July 1940, Page 7
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