HARD WORK FOR WOMEN

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 28 (Supplement)

HARD WORK FOR WOMEN

BUTTER-MAKING ON FARMS FIRST SUPPLY TO FIRST FACTORY. MR. A. J. LUXTON’S REMINISCENCES. The honour of supplying the first milk that was ever put through a separator in Taranaki fell to Mr. A.- J. Luxton, now a well-known farmer and Jersey breeder’ at Omata; but then a boy on his father’s farm at Waitara Road. He came to New Zealand as a boy of 14 with his parents Mr. and Mrs. Henry Luxton and several other members of the family arriving in Wellington in 1881 by the British Queen. They came on to New Plymouth by the Wanaka, landing in surf boats opposite the railway station. They first resided in a house situated on a high hill opposite the New Plymouth post office. Later his father leased from the late Mr. J. Pennington the property now owned by Mr. P. J. Petersen on the road named after Mr. Pennington. Here they milked by hand about 40 cows, the milk of course being set in pans in a large dairy and the cream skimmed off and made into butter by his mother, who had a very hard time of it. The butter used to be made up into pound pats and sent to Thames which owing to the gold rush was the most prosperous town in New Zealand at the time. There the butter realised from 6d to 7d per lb in contrast with the 4d per lb or so that they were able to secure locally and even that 4d had to be taken out in stores. The butter was sent north by the old Gairlock from Waitara which, Mr. Luxton remarked, was a busy port in those days, he having seen as many as 15 boats at the wharves at one time.

His parents later took up a native lease of about 500 acres further up the Waitara Road at Matairikiro for which they paid the natives £25 rental per annum, and Mr. Luxton says that the natives usually drew most of the rent well in advance by obtaining orders for flour, sugar, etc. Mr. Luxton milked 100 cows on this property, and it was while they were there that Mr. Thomas Bayly, who had a farm, at Waitara Road as well as farms near Waitara and Tikorangi, decided to start a dairy factory and asked his father to supply his milk, offering 2}d per gallon, based on 111 b to the gallon. He had installed a huge separator, a Burmester and Wains, driven by steam. G. G. (Gib) Andrews was the first manpany and then a youth, was the assistant. C. Chard was in charge of the Tikorangi farm towards the beach. FIRST SUPPLY OF MILK. Mr, Luxton said that his father was the only outsider to supply milk at the start, and it fell to his lot to take the milk to the factory the first morning. As he was driving down Waitara Road he noticed other two carts coming from different directions, so he hurried and got to the factory first, milk from his cans being the first to go through the separator.

There was great excitement- as the farmers of the district had been very sceptical of the process. They could not see how it was possible to remove the cream in the way proposed and consequently on the opening morning there was a gathering of 15 or 20 farmers, practically all that were in the district, to see operations commence.

When the separator did start and the cream flowed one way and the skim milk another, they looked at it and at each other in astonishment. Mr. Luxton, who was the only lad among the men at the time, thinks that he is the only one now alive that was present that day. There was no Babcock tester; in fact, there was no talk of testing for butter-fat, the proprietor having to rely on the honesty of the farmers, which he could with safety generally.

Tire farmers of the district used frequently to stop his father and ask if it was true that he received as much as £1 per day for. his milk from Mr. Bayly. They could hardly believe it as it was an unheard of thing for a farmer to have so much cash. As a result other farmers later supplied milk to Mr. Bayly’s factory. Not only did that practice give the farmers ready cash instead of having to take 4d per lb for butter out in stores but it also greatly reduced the work, especially of the womenfolk at home. The bulk of the butter made at Waitara Road factory Was salted, kegged and sent to Australia. Mr. Bayly was unable to show a profit on the transaction, however, and after three or four years the Crown Dairy Company took over the factory. Mr. Luxton says that the second factory in the district was started by Mr. J. Rattenbury at Tikorangi and that Mr. Chew Chong did not commence operations at his first factory until about three years after Mr. Bayly had started at Waitara Road. Mr. Luxton remarked reminiscently that those early days were the best. Though they milked from 100 to 120 cows in the open by hand—Mr. Luxton has never used milking machines even to the present—they were very happy days. There was never any strife and they had some enjoyable district picnics, sometimes at Mr. John Andrews’ cherry orchard, where there was over an acre of cherries growing in great profusion, there being no imported birds to destroy them.