Genealogical &
Historical Society Inc.
No. A17295X
Inaugural Member Society of Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc

Quarterly Newsletter
 Number 60
November  1999
Page 1

ISSN 1036-1006

The Butter Factory

The booklet "The Progress of Swan Hill and District"
by J. Edward Robinson written in 1912 describes how, the now well established and prosperous dairy industry around Swan Hill was founded upon a the single act of borrowing a small hand butter churn from a neighbour.

Without a creamery and later the butter factory there would have been no motivation for Swan Hill dairymen to invest time and money into this way of farming. The man who stamped his foresight and creativity on this industry was Mr. Pat Kelly who was appointed in 1892 as the first manager of the new creamery established by the fresh Food and Frozen Food Co. at Tyntynder South.

Despite a lack of green feed which restricted milk production to the summer months, the first delivery to the new creamery was 150 gallons of milk. For several years after the creamery commenced production, few settlers went in for milk production on a large scale.. Milk was offering very low prices and there was no suitable fodder for the herds. But the supply increased and soon the area was dotted with small plots of green, which was the newly sown lucerne, previously unknown and untried in the Swan Hill District. By 1904, with the advent of hand separators the supply of milk to the creamery decreased when it was decided to suspend operations.

Kelly was not to be dissuaded about the future of the district and arranged to buy the now unused creamery. He soon discovered that selling cream in Bendigo and Melbourne was impractical because of the small amounts produced so he decided to make butter.

How to do this was the big question. On making inquiries he unearthed a small churn owned by a neighbour and churned his first butter, procured a board on which to salt it, boxed it and so successfully sold it that he launched into production.

He soon installed a small machine powered churn and refrigerator, took on
Mr. O.P. Higgins as partner and butter maker so that he could turn his attention to buying cream from his suppliers.

Swan Hill butter sold readily, not only locally but throughout the State which stimulated the expansion of the industry not only through the Swan Hill District but far out into the Mallee.

Land increased in price as dairying was found to be increasingly profitable and farmers could relieve their debts and by 1906, fourteen years after cream production commenced international recognition came with prizes at the Islington Dairy Show in London. Success can bring competition and in 1906 the Melbourne Chilled Butter Co. erected a factory on a site in Curlewis Street. However the company lost enthusiasm and abandoned the project allowing Kelly to purchase the building which he promptly shifted across the street to the permanent site of the Swan Hill Butter Factory.

Mrs I.D. Mathers who worked in the office of the Butter Factory for 46 years writes:- He (Kelly) ---- "spared no expense in thoroughly equipping the factory with the most modern machinery, which enabled him to cope with the increasing supply of cream each year, and export butter on a large scale throughout the Commonwealth and the world's markets."
A large iceworks was incorporated into its operations and with high prices being paid for cream and twelve tons of butter able to be produced daily at the factory, which was one of the best and most modern in the State, the dairying industry flourished on the Tyntynder Flats.

Out of Kelly's enterprise came the Swan Hill Co-operative Dairying Co. Ltd. which held its first meeting on the 27th April, 1912 under the directorship of Messrs Chappell, Ryan, Hastings, Hurley, Ryland and Bethune. With the directors acting voluntarily for the first six months, the Co-operative took over from Pat Kelly on 20th April, 1912. At first shares were sold to all comers but soon it was decided to restrict them to milk producers. Gippsland and Northern were appointed as selling agents for the company, a cream carting contract was let at £3-10-0 per week, carter to supply and feed horses, suppliers were charged cartage; one hundred pounds of cream costing from 6d. to 10d. on a mileage basis.

Mr. Bethune chaired the first shareholders General Meeting on 13th January, 1913 in the Swan Hill Shire Hall. This was 6 months after the Co-operative had been formed and revealed a profit of £572.11.00 which was used to pay start up costs and to write down goodwill. Seventy -seven tons of butter had been produced in that time.

Over the ensuing years the factory continued to prosper,  modernize and expand as indicated by the following:

•  Land adjoining the factory was purchased and a house moved to the site for one of the employees.
•  The first ice cart was bought for town deliveries as well as a No. 6 Simplex Churn and Butter Worker.
• A 6 ton Fram Refrigerator was bought for £57.10.0 and a one ton ice tank made of kauri timber for £38.0.0. At the same time a chimney stack was erected and the first typewriter for the office purchased. Employees were granted a bonus of one weeks wage.
•  The brand names used were; 'Swan Hill Choicest' and 'Piangil Firsts'. Later Cygnet replaced Piangil.
• In 1921, a 600 and a 400 gallon pasteuriser were purchased together with a new brine tank for £125. The cost of fire wood had increased to 11 shillings per ton. In the same year a tender was accepted for the construction of a new factory on a site next to the existing factory. New plant was installed at a cost of £3000.
• In 1924 the old factory was demolished and the materials sold. A cooling tower was erected and the first truck was purchased to cart cream thus doing away with contracting.
• In 1925 the Co-operative sponsored the first Herd Test Unit and provided the equipment to start its operation.
• The following year the Swan Hill Dairyman's Association was formed under the encouragement of the Co-operative.
• Between 1927 and 1930 land was purchased on the corner of Campbell and Pye Streets where the Butter and Casein Factory operated until closure. By now staff were housed in three houses which were painted during the quiet time of the year.
• The depression and war years saw further development. In 1932 two Bedford trucks were purchased to carry cream.
• During 1935 -  486 tons of butter was produced despite problems with the supply of water. This was solved by excavating a well on the other side of the railway line and piping water to the plant.
• By 1937 the use of ice had expanded to the point where the factory was further expanded by extending the plant and cool rooms.
• In 1939 a fire in the garage destroyed two trucks and numerous cream cans.
• Because the factory was not entirely dependent on electricity by 1941 the factory was able to continue production when the Swan Hill Power station was burnt down.
• In 1950 the decision was again made to build a new factory on the Campbell and Pye Streets site. The on site hand made bricks were used to defray costs. It opened in 1953. Further housing was provided for employees. At the same time the store came into existence where farmers could buy stock medicines, rubber ware, cleaners and penicillin. A number of sites were purchased or leased on which to store firewood.
• During the fifties a house was provided for the veterinary surgeon.
• The 1960's saw the beginning of whole milk for the company. Two dairies were purchased; those of Heals Dairy and Swan Hill Milk Pty. Ltd. allowing the entire milk operation under one roof and pre-empted the move into bulk milk cartage. By now the turn over was £34,555, double that in 1959. Messrs A. and N. Clarke took over the delivery of milk to Swan Hill house holds whilst bottled milk was delivered throughout the Mallee and into New South Wales.
• In 1964 a 2,100 gallon bulk milk tanker was purchased.
• And in October 1966 when an amalgamation offer was made by Murray Goulburn Co-operative it was accepted by shareholders and the Swan Hill Co-operative Dairying Co. ceased to exist.

The Chairmen, during the Co-operative's existence, were :

 

1912    R. Hastings	1913    R.J. Campbell	1914    C. Ryan	1915    R. Hastings
1916    C.E. Beurle	1917    S. Ramsey	1919    D.J.Connell	1920    T Phyland
1921    H.S. Gibson	1922    W.K. Atkinson	1923    P. Hurley	1924    D.J. Connell
1925    T.T. Jenkins	1926    R.T. Scott	1927    C.E. Beurle	1928    W.K. Atkinson
1929    P. Hurley	1930    D.J. Connell	1931    H. Plant	1932    C.E. Beurle
1933    S. Masters	1934    C.M. Runciman	1935    H. Shaw	1936    W.K. Atkinson
1937    P. Hurley	1938    W.B. Rees	1939    C.E. Beurle	1940    S. Masters
1941    C.M. Runciman	1942    H. Shaw	1943    W.K. Atkinson	1944    C.E. Beurle
1945    S. Masters	1946    T. Bright	1947    C.M. Runciman	1948    W.G. Rees
1949    H. Shaw	1950    W.G. Rees	1951    W.G. Rees	1952    W.G. Rees
1953    T. Bright	1954    H.E. Scoones	1955    J.H. Phillips	1956    G.H. Willox
1957    W.J. Drummond	1958    H. Shaw	1959    H.E. Scoones	1960    H.E. Scoones
1961    S.L. Sharam	1962    J.H. Phillips	1963    G.H. Willox	1964    W.J. Drummond
1965    H.Shaw

 
Football
An 1899 round of football was described in the Guardian. The Bohemians ; 2 goals 5 behinds defeated Boga 2 behinds. Goal kickers for the Bohemians were William and Walter Jones. The central umpire was Mr. W. Theyers.
And teams from Lalbert and Swan Hill played a match at Goschen. The playing ground was anything but fit for football being covered with stumps, sticks and crab holes (Who said home ground advantage was not important?). Lalbert, 6 goals 6 behinds defeated Swan Hill 2 goals 6 behinds. Goal kickers were for Lalbert: Parry (2), Brown, Dawe, Booth and T. Smith. whilst Hartland kicked two for Swan Hill. Mr. Aitken was the central umpire. Meanwhile the Swan Hill and Boga juniors tried conclusions with Swan Hill easy winners. Now we know! We didn't realize that the Kangaroos and the Blues were trying conclusions last September.
 

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