LAST week, we began looking back at the history of the Ross River Meatworks.
Just a few notes to recap where the story was heading:
In 1861, cattle first started arriving in North Queensland although marketing a product highly susceptible to perishing was a difficulty beef producers faced.
Robert Towns and John Melton Black provided a solution when in 1866 they established a boiling site on the Ross River in Townsville.
Over the next few decades, refrigeration was implemented and beef was successfully shipped from Australia to London in 1879.
In August 1891, construction began on the Townsville meatworks on six acres of freehold land on the banks of Ross River, purchased from the Idalia Land Company. The first day of operation was June 28, 1892.
Industrial disputes followed the Ross River meatworks right through its 102 years of operation – the plant had its first industrial dispute before a beast was even killed.
We ended last week in the early 1900s when it was feared the Americans would get a foothold in QMEA operations. This didn’t occur although English interests in the firm increased considerably.
Be sure to get the August 1 edition of the North Queensland Register to look back at the Ross River Meatworks.
