THE FREEZING INDUSTRY.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13238, 19 March 1907, Page 7

THE FREEZING INDUSTRY.

—— ■** A QUARTER CENTURY OLD,

Ml-. F. A. Waymoiith gave a "Herald" reporter on Suturdrjy some interesting ie-u-m-cences of the origin of of the Freezing Industry in Canterbury. .It is 25 years yes'.erclay since I, as Becretary, registered the Canterbury Frozen Meat and Dairy Produce Company, under the Joint .Stock Companies Act, the iirsfc Freezing- Company in Canterbury The subscribed c-.ipitai then consisted of 1010 £lO shares. At a meeting- of Directors on tlie following day, I was authorised to send to England'for a Haslam ltefrigera.or, and to adver'.ise for offers of sites for Works. AVe had a. great many otters, from Dunsiandel in the South to Kaipoi in the north, «nd from Heathcote Valley to a long way inland.. We selected the Belfast s-ite find havu never regretted it. ' The original' works were planned for a. killing capacity 0f.300 p'er clay With storage for 7000. Today Belfast has room for killing 5,500 iter, day, and stof.ige for 90,000. The first ir'iee'.ing about forming a Company Mas held in November, 1881. in Show week,.in response to a circular signed by "The Three Johns' - —-John Grigg, John' Tiulino and John Macfarkine. The last survivor of the three. John Tinline, died at Kelson a. few weeks ago. The meeting was adjourned to liable the Chairman, Mr Jolili Grigg, and myself to collect information. At the adjourned meeting in December information was. submitted. It was determined to go on with the formation'of a Company, and a provisional directorate of 26.was formed. The Belfast site was bought, buildings were erected •-lid. equipped,' and a first shipment of meat from the works was made in 1883, in the first steamer that'was employed in the trade, the British 'King', chartered by the New Zealand Shipping Company. We loaded also the two succeeding steamers, the Bri ish Queen and the Caledonia, (I think that was their order). The first shipment by the British King was nude entirely in : owner's account. The sheep came f'roih as far south as Oamaru, and as far nor! li as'Waiau. The late Mr-Edward Elwortby was one of the shipper;; iind he subsequen'ly had a.pood deal to do with forming the Houth Canterbury Company, which founded Smithrield a year or two later. The Otago people, .were a little ahead of us in exporting. The late Thomas Brydone a'ud 'the. Albion Company fitted up" the .StratMevan.jointly and froze a cargo onljo.ii-d.' , But Canterbury. loaded the 'first-steamer: I saw the StralhTeven/ experiment—rode down in 'the train with the meai—lit'-Ie "thinking ' that/l should ever be so' closely-"-•'connected''■:'with- 'the frozen meat 'trade. ' I . can ■ claim, without any hesitation!-- said Mr.WaymouMi, to liji've been longer coniicctecl>with the frozen meat industry than any one eke in New 'Zealand, 'and' Mr. Nelson, of Hawkes Bay, is■ pro'bobly next, My introduction to meat freezing Ava« in 1879. I happened to : go to Sydney, in 1879 'to, see the Exliibition there.'and a. schoolmaster of mine told nie ■that Mart, and Co. were going to. try the experiment of shipping frozen beef to En-, gland, and 1 1 went.down to see the experiment. .After: my 'retiirn-.to.' New Zealand I; went down to Loniibeaeh, aud there told ijolm Grigg about Mdrt's experiment. I may:be mistaken, but T think it was that conversa.'ldn that first : gave 'Mr.':■'Grigg the idea- ; ,of establishing the industry ill this count T'honiasßrydone ; in Otiigo, John Grigs:'in'Canterbury: were''the fathers of the frozen meat- industry' in this- Island.