Crown Dairy Factory Company.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 11828, 27 November 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

Crown Dairy Factory Company.

A UTILITARIAN INSTITUTION. It would 'be impossible to write any true narrative of the history of dairying, in Taranaki without being confronted at almost every line witu the name of the Crown Dairy Factory Company. It might be said that what, the school is to the education of the scholar this Company has been td the fostering and growth of local dairying. It has been I the leader and exemplar, and it is j doubtful whether any similar institution in the whole of New Zealand has performed so meritorious and wide reaching a work in stimulating to and investment in the colonial butter < ■■ industry., , For many years it has stood at the head of New Zealand dairying concerns, and a sketch of its development and ramifications may be accepted as presenting some conception •of the. industry which has- so considerably vitalised New Zealand affairs during the last decade. To the outside readeV such a sketch should be exceptionally interesting. Primarily the Crown .Dairy Facr. Tory Company, . in. its utilitarian character, is due to the enterprise and persistence of three well-known New Plymouth commercial men — Messrs J> C. Seorge, Newton- King, and Richard Cock. The three -gentlemen, from the inception of dairying in the colony, were possessed of a high opinion of the adaptability of Taranaki lands for such an industry and, in face of most dispiriting odds at first, with admirable courage proceeded to practically do-. monstrate their belief. On any - and. every suitable occasion they "advised producers to devote attention to their lands, and studied the question closely in its Canadian and European aspects. In 1888 dairying in Taranaki seemed to be a hopeless affair. Three- Co-operative factories had been started and had got into difficulties, and there was a danger that enterprise would become an unknown quantity for a period.- .Then Messrs J. C. George and Newton King purchased the three factories, and were shortly afterwards joined by. Mr Cock. For three or four Its Mr Cock. Igor 3 or 4 years- they obtained little return for their invest tment. But instead of being discouraged they gradually extended their operations, disseminated information about dairying affairs, personally encouraged farmers, and thus substantially laid the foundation of and brought out" of its most difficult stage by' far the most important source of wealth Taranaki or. the colony has possessed. To-day," in place' of a few struggling small fanners eking out' a precarious existence, Taranaki. over certain areas is probably more close-, ly settled than any • part of New Zealand. These areas ore being < ex-, tended year by year, and thousands' of people directly or indirectly are gaining a comfortable livelihood From dairying. The Provincial T>istrict of instead of being pne of the least productive, now has a greater productivity per area occupied ' and a greater export per head of population than any other province. No class of people consciously refuse giving credit for good work done, and all who arc acquainted with the splendid part played by Messrs, George, King,>and Cock will agree that to them more than to any one else praise is due. 'v'herever the conditions admitted it they pioneered ' dairying, and, as a substantial encouragement for immediate formation of dairy herds in bush districts they opened creameries before a remunerative supply of milk could possibly be obtained, having oven ereited and equipped factories to let .them lie idle whilst the herds wore being formed. The large dimensions attained by the Company enabled .them to do this— an impossibility to smaller institutions. In all 'Kuch places there are now flourishing, factories.. As the industry be mine .firmly established farmers reckoned that the co-operative principle should be adopted, and some fifteen* factories off-shooting from the Crown Dairy Company have been formed. When the continued output of the district was sufficiently assured the . proprietary were largely instrumental in establishing th* Moturoa Freezing Works, through which all the butter must pass before it is shipped to the old world markets. To-day the farmers op}-. the largest shareholders in this, . ali hough at, ,first they doubted- its. jlnancial valuol. As wo proceed further examples of the- assistance rendered by., the proprietary to Tarar "jiaki dairying in general' and to ceiS tain districts . and producers in parr tioulajv will, be adduced/ but no further, direct reference to , the past in necessary. „. Notwithstanding the number of • flourishing co-operative companies which have " been formed in certain districts, and' have takun over, ..the plant of the'CrownDaiiy, Factory Company,' tho ' latter con1 Inue/s to V the /largest private pp T 6j rletary of the kindjn New Zeal atid,. ftvon as Taranaki is the, chief centre «»f butter production. To-day the Company have factor Je» and cream-.-vies in both Taranaki and Hawkes' Pay.' Those in $be fontier" province Mm Irom Mmii, nine mjles from Urentii in the nortK, coyer^all the foostal country down tovHuwera., and Irom there ruii along the railvrny line to N^airo and nland 28 miJ>f from Stratford, and as -far op Toko and Mangaero. An inspection ffthe map will show the big extent thus draiftedi and throughout the

Compahyhave : ; factories and creameries! More recently several factories and*. > creameries have been obtained at the Forty-mile bush, near Woodville in Hawke's Bay, which since their acquisition by the company •have been under the management of Mr J. Burt Veale, who was pre viously well-known in Taranaki as experienced and enthusiastic in everything pertaining to the good of the industry. In all there* are about twenty-five , factories and creameries each draining considerable, country. . From, these come 600 tons of but]ter every year, an enormous output 1 which better than anytning else conveys, aq iiiea of the dimensions of the institution. Several factories are ala.o ; supplied with a cheese plant | s and of, 'this article from 100 to 200 1 tons produced per annum, according, to. the state of the market. All the factories aro equipped with an- uprtb-tffcte cream separating and butter making plant, and most of thorn with refrigerating machinery. So that, the best methods only shall be employed and uniformity be observed by jthe different managers of ..the factories and creameries, an officer of the Company, Mr Alfred Faull, who has Jthoroughly_mastered all branches qf the industry by practical experience in different factories and by many years careful attention ..to the subject, visits all the Taranaki factories and creameries at unexpected -intervals for the purpose >i inspection ; and supervision of the work being done. Thus every effort is made to produce only the highest class of butter.

The picture of some of these factories is interesting. Situated pechaps in a remote part of half cleared • timber stretches they are the sole centres of iindustry, visited daily by j&U the inhabitants of the neighbourhood with- their loads of milk. Nothing but- this industry could have effected the settlement of these sequestcea" localities for many years to come, and> the trouble in the way of tracks . tp ( the towns may be understood when it is stated that the Company . Jo£.ve a t times had to pay a , penny , a i pound for cartage. Some - v of .the.iactories are absolutely unap- . prochable ,in winter owing to the soft naUire of the swampy tracks. . , The, proprietary have also adopted aflf excellent system for putting people on, the] land by financing farmers ,in-pro v cui'iiig cows or, as the case may ,be»- .increasing their number. These cowV-.-iHei farmer tends, gradually . paying", off, the assistance by means of. the milk produced, and eventually Obtaining; free possession of the 'whole property. In this way several well-to-do farmers in Taranaki obtained their start. The head offices of the Qoinpany are situated in .Queen-street, New Plymouth, with stores adjoining where butter box<»3 and all classes of machinery and requisites for factories and creameries are stocked. The Secretary is Mr Hugh Baily, who has been connected with [the institution since 1891, and has helped not a little in its development. The Company employ permanently some 50 adults, independent of contractors and carters. No additional particulars are necessary to demonsrate the importance of , the Crown Dairy Factory Company, or the big part it has played in. Taranaki dairying. It has been a bulwark to the Province and its magnificent influence coula never be justly . appraised. In its time it has produced and placed on ths home and colonial markets under the " CROWN " brand a larger quantity of highest class butter and cheese than any other factory or company ,in New Zealand. To Messrs George, King, and Cock, the proprietors, is indeed due the credit for a considerable share of local prosperity.