THE BOROUGH ABATTOIR

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18008, 13 July 1928, Page 12 (Supplement)

THE BOROUGH ABATTOIR

As the requirements of the human body, and the factors which make for health and the prevention of disease became more clearly realised, civilised people everywhere saw the necessity for changing old practices, and adopting new ones. As the health of the body depends greatly on the nature and of the food we eat, it soon became obvious to the more progressive minds, that the food supply should be as free from the danger of conveying disease as it was possible to make it. It had long been known that animals used as human food frequently suffered from diseases similar to those which were known to be fatal to man; and steps were taken to remove or at least reduce the risk of infection from this source, by making an endeavour to prevent all animals which were diseased, or even suspected of being so, from reaching the dining-room. The first step to this end in Timaru was to abolish all the old, insanitary, rat-infested slaughter-houses, where any animal, however emaciated or diseased, that could crawl to them, was slaughtered for human consumption; and the second stage was to

have the slaughtering carried out at a central place under such improved hygienic conditions, that animal carcases would not be likely to become contaminated in the process of hanging, handling, and delivery; and the third step was to make certain that no carcase of a diseased animal would find its way into a butcher’s shop and thence to the table of the consumer. Public opinion on the subject, having been awakened and aroused, Members of Parliament all over the country were approached and urged to request the Government to introduce the necessary legislation to enable, at once, the more progressive municipalities to commence forthwith to put into practical operation the modern knowledge which had accumulated in regard to a hygienic meat supply for the people. This legislation was passed, and it, was then within the power of local bodies to safeguard the health of the people in their respective localities, by rooting out the old slaughter houses, substituting them by a modern abattoir, and subject all meat dealt with to rigid, scientific inspection. Thanks to the knowledge,' publicspiritedness, and foresight of the members of the Timaru Borough Council, and the Parliamentary representatives of South Canterbury, Timaru was among the first towns in New Zealand to launch this great reform, which was soon to be embodied in a modern abattoir. Although architects at the time had little to guide them in the construction of abattoirs, Mr J. S. Turnbull, architect, of Timaru, who was entrusted with the designing of the Timaru abattoir, succeeded in providing a building which has served its purpose admirably for over twenty years. And not only so, but it has served as a model for abattoirs in various other towns throughout the Dominion; and many of its good points have been incorporated in at least two of the most recently constructed abattoirs in Great Britain. The site of the Timaru abattoir is an ideal one; no town or city in the' Dominion can boast of a better one. It is near the sea; drainage is easy; it is open to the prevailing wind from the sea, day and night, and the result is that the operation of treating the town’s meat supply is carried out in the most salubrious conditions. As a business enterprise it has been an entire success. The slaughtering has been in the hands of the present contractor (Mr S. R. Burns) since the abattoir was opened, and it speaks volumes for the quality of his work that he has never had a complaint lodged against him, or against any of his subordinates. The management is in the hands of the Borough Council, while the inspection of the meat is under Gov-

PURE MEAT SUPPLY

eminent supervision. It has been customary all along for the Council to arrange for the Government’s inspector for the time being to also act as manager of the abattoir, on behalf of the Council. This arrangement has worked exceedingly well, as may be judged from the fact that Mr A. RI. Paterson, who at present holds this dual position, has held it for twenty years, with complete satisfaction to all concerned.