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This article was published in 1955
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INSTITUTE OF INSPECTORS OF STOCK OF N.S.W. YEAR BOOK.
GOULBURN ABATTOIR—An Example of Decentralisation
A. E. Towns, Manager.
INTRODUCTION.
Some years ago the New South Wales Government resolved to decentralise the slaughtering of stock and subsequently a Committee investigated suitable sites and as a result of their deliberations four sites were chosen: Goulburn, Wagga, Dubbo and Gunnedah. Subsequently Goulburn was the first works to be completed, commencing operations on 7th May, 1951. Some six months later Wagga plant began operations, and in August, 1954, the Dubbo plant commenced operations, and it is understood that the Gunnedah plant will be completed within the next two years. These plants are sponsored by the State Government, which has provided the greater part of the capital by way of loan, and are operated and controlled by the particular Council of the city concerned.
These works are established on the principle that it is more economic to slaughter stock in the areas where they are fattened and transport the processed meat to where it is required than to transport live stock long distances to the seaboard and large cities. The stock from five livestock waggons load, when processed, into one refrigerated rail waggon, and of course there is a saving in cripples and dead stock which are the usual result of a long train journey.
It is of interest to know that this trend is evident in the United States where similar plants are being built in the stock-producing areas by the larger meat Companies.
ABATTOIR FUNCTIONS.
A modern Abattoir has three main functions. These are:
1. The provision of adequate facilities for the dressing and processing of meats under hygienic conditions; with thorough inspection by competent Meat Inspectors.
2. The provision of chilling and freezing rooms and associated equipment for the preparation of meats and offals for the local, metropolitan and export trades.
3. The provision of buildings and equipment to allow of the complete treatment of all by-products, and the preparation of such by-products for marketing.
SITE.
The Goulburn Abattoir is situated at Joppa Junction; three miles south of Goulburn, between the Hume Highway and the Main Southern Railway. A Railway Siding (Joppa) is built into the works to give convenient handling of stock, coal, salt, meat, tallow and associated by products. The works are situated on 400 acres of well drained undulating country, much of which is pasture improved; the whole property being contour ploughed to prevent run off and scouring and to assist in the retention and stimulation of pastures.
To beautify the area and provide shade for stock many hundreds of trees have been planted. With the river which runs past the frontage of the property and the well planned use of gullies for dams, ample supplies of water are available.
The works are of the most modern design and lay out; being two stories high, of brick and concrete construction with tiling of the slaughter floor and surrounds and an abundance of natural light. Being situated on the site of a slope, the stock are walked on to the top floor and from there the various raw materials of by-products are transferred by gravity to the particular section where the next process is to be carried out.
A feature of the works is the waste water disposal, which after being concentrated in to a save-all is finally pumped out to the stock resting paddocks and utilised for pasture irrigation.
CAPACITY.
The works were designed to process from four to five hundred cattle and 7,500 sheep per week at capacity and were equipped with a full range of refrigeration; including beef chillers with a total holding capacity of 280 cattle, mutton chillers with a capacity of 2,400 sheep, mutton freezers for the processing of export mutton and lamb with a capacity of 1,200 sheep, together with shelved offal quick freezers for treatment of offals, and freezer stores with a capacity of 150 tons of meat.
The total slaughterings for 1954 were 25,000 cattle, 231,000 sheep and 2,700 pigs. There are now 140 men employed at this plant and apart from five or six key men, they are local men who have been trained to their respective tasks by our own staff. This, of course, is quite a formidable job with men who have had no experience of modern meatworks, and where they are called on to use complicated machinery valued at many thousands of pounds. The plant is a highly mechanised one, the sheep slaughtering for example is being carried out on a mechanical conveyor, or chain as it is called. Each man working on the chain completes a single operation in the dressing of the sheep and each dressed sheep is the result of the work of the whole team, which may contain up to 23 or 24 men. In the beef section the carcases are handled by mechanical equipment right throughout the dressing operations, including splitting by a high speed electric saw.
BY-PRODUCTS.
From the casings section to the meat meal and tallow departments the layout is designed to minimise handling of materials and to give an even flow of the by-products from the point of entry to the storage of completed by products.
The machinery and equipment is the most modern available; allowing for the production of a wide range of high quality by-products, including meat and blood meals, various tallows and edible dripping.
The by-products of a modern meatworks are of great economic value to the country and are in heavy demand. Principal by-products are the casings used for smallgoods, tennis strings, surgical sutures,etc., edible fats and tallows for soap making and margarine, and the meat and protein meals for stock and poultry foods.
During 1954 the Goulburn plant produced 500 tons of fats and 1,000 tons of protein meals.
EXPORT.
Considerable quantities of meat are processed for export. This work, of course, requires special facilities to allow of the grading, wrapping, freezing, storing and responsibility to the ship's side of this meat. Export meats have been shipped from Goulburn to the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malta, Persia, Russia and a number of other places.
REFRIGERATED TRANSPORT.
With the development of the plant it was found that mutton and lamb for the metropolitan market required special treatment. The retail trade had certain prejudices about the use of country-killed mutton and lamb and it was found that the rail transport of these meats was not entirely satisfactory.
Subsequently we designed and had constructed a refrigerated motor waggon with insulated body and mechanical refrigerating equipment. This vehicle had a capacity of 400 sheep or lambs and experience proved this form of transport to be most successful. Subsequently a further vehicle was constructed and put into service, this second vehicle having a capacity of 600 carcases of mutton and lamb.
Both of these vehicles are now fully occupied on this work, which has been a most interesting development. The capital investment in these two vehicles is £16,000.
HOUSING.
It was realised that a new industry of such magnitude would need a number of operators with special skills and would be assisted by any factor which tended to stabilise the work force. With these objects in view Council under took a £60,000 housing scheme which already has proved of great value to the works. These houses are all occupied by Abattoir employees.
CONCLUSION.
Since the commencement of operations at Goulburn there has been steady development and it has been found necessary to provide additional machinery and equipment to meet the demands of the trade. In fact, there has been almost continuous expansion. A considerable capital expenditure has been made and the total investment now represents something over £500,000. The financial position of the undertaking is sound, reserves are being built up steadily and the undertaking has made good profits each year, including the first year of operations.
The Goulburn Abattoir represents a practical and successful example of decentralisation.
(We are much indebted to the Manager of the Goulburn Abattoir for an outline of the successful inauguration and operation of a venture which must be of more than passing interest to all associated with the raising of livestock in New South Wales. Mr. Towns supplied this most enlightening information readily; following a suggestion by Mr. Frank Hildred, Inspector of Stock, Goulburn-EDITOR.)