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MEAT INDUSTRY
MILESTONE
THE REAL BIG CHILL

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The Butcher’s shop was no place for the squeamish when carcasses
were proudly displayed and meat was cut on an immense block.

125 YEARS!
OF OUR MEAT
TO THE WORLD
 MEN

THE
HISTORY
IN THE MAKING THOMAS BRYDONE (April 14, 1837–
June 17, 1904) grew up in Scotland,
establishing a reputation in England
IN THE 1880S, SHEEP FARMERS IN NEW and Scotland as a capable industrious
ZEALAND FACED A DILEMMA. THERE WERE 13 land steward and travelling inspector.
MILLION SHEEP AND A POPULATION OF JUST In 1867 he was appointed a super-
HALF A MILLION. TOO FEW RESIDENTS; AND intendent of the New Zealand and

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NO WAY OF EXPORTING THE MEAT.

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Australia Land Company. Brydone rose
steadily through the company’s ranks,
and he was a successful farmer himself.
NEW ZEALAND’S ONLY major exports in the early 1880s were
wool and wheat. That is, until two far-sighted entrepreneurs
committed their energies to a “big chill” idea that changed WILLIAM DAVIDSON (June 15, 1846 -
the face of New Zealand meat exports forever. July 17, 1924), like Brydone, had Scottish
Dray loads of freshly killed sheep carcasses were carried from roots. He came to New Zealand to
Oamaru’s Totara Estate–which today is a major tourist attraction. help run the Canterbury and Otago
Association , later becoming New Zealand
On February 15, 1882, the sailing ship Dunedin left Port Chalmers Superintendent of the New Zealand and
with 4909 frozen sheep carcasses aboard. It was just the start of an Australia Land Company. After 12 years
industry that is the backbone of New Zealand’s economy. in New Zealand, Davidson realised the

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country’s future lay in being able to
sell meat overseas. He and Brydone
began exploring methods of preserving,
refrigerating and transporting meat.

In 1878, Davidson gained a further promotion with the Land

Company and returned to Scotland as General Manager which
proved important in the progress of the refrigeration work. Brydone
remained in New Zealand, building a slaughter factory at Totara,
selecting stock and organising rail and road distribution networks
while Davidson dealt with insurance, distribution and sales in Britain.
 VOYAGE
WHEN
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THE THEY
The first shipment wasn’t incident-free!
GOT
THE FIRST FROZEN sheep were stowed personally
THERE
by Davidson and Brydone on the ship Dunedin on THE VOYAGE FROM Port Chalmers
December 7, 1881. All went well until a fracture of (above) to London took 98 days, the
the refrigerating engine’s crank-shaft stopped Dunedin docking on May 24, 1882.
the loading and forced the sale of the 641 sheep
The discharging of the cargo began
then in the chambers and of the 360 sheep in three days after arrival with the
transit. So New Zealanders themselves became meat being taken out at night and
the first consumers of our own frozen meat. moved to the Smithfield Market, so
But repairs were undertaken and the Dunedin the sheep were hard frozen when
set sail on February 15, 1882 under the command of Captain butchers came to buy.
John Whitson. Captain Whitson always worried that sparks from the In the first instance, the salesmen
refrigerating machinery stovepipe-like funnel would burn his masts, as on were rather doubtful of the venture
several occasions, sparks from the funnel set fire to the sails. being a success, but when they
However, the Dunedin and its precious cargo survived the voyage, saw the fine, big sheep, they
berthing eventually in the London docks.
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THE INDUSTRY TODAY
TODAY NEW ZEALAND exports
lamb to some 200 countries
including the European Union,
North America, North and South
Asia, the Pacific and the
Middle East Africa. cattle. The dynamic industry
The industry has rationalised
to 50 meat export processing
plants which service the whole
quickly changed their minds,
and pronounced the meat to
be “as perfect as frozen meat
could be”.
Within two weeks of the arrival of
the Dunedin in London, New Zealand
lamb sat at twice its value on the
domestic market.
By 1891, there were 17 processing
facilities in New Zealand capable
of handling 3.5 million carcasses a
year. This almost doubled to 31 meat
works by 1911.
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red meat industry.
From the first frozen shipment
of lamb, the meat industry
has grown to more than 40
million sheep and 9.2 million
contributes more than $5 billion
a year to the New Zealand
economy.
 LAMB
AN ONGOING
NEW ZEALAND
TRADITION

NEW ZEALAND LAMB CONTINUES TO PLAY A VITAL

ROLE IN THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMY, BUT ALSO IN THE
CONTRIBUTION IT MAKES TO THE HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING OF ALL NEW ZEALANDERS.

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p LAMB is a nutrient dense
food, providing good quality
protein, the vital minerals
iron and zinc, and the B group
vitamins: B12, B1, B2, B3
and B6. It also contributes to
the intake of selenium and
vitamin D in our diets.

p LAMB is one of the best

sources of iron in the New
Zealand diet. Iron is an essential
mineral to good health,
transporting oxygen in the
blood, maintaining the immune
system and producing energy.
p LAMB and lean beef, trimmed
of visible fat, contain about
10g or less of fat per 100g.
They can be included in low fat
and cholesterol-lowering diets.
Many of New Zealand’s top
female athletes such as Olympic
Gold Medalists, cyclist Sarah
Ulmer and rowers, Georgina and
Caroline Evers-Swindell, enjoy and
include lean beef and lamb in
their training regime. These high
-achieving sports-women are ideal
role models for promoting a
healthy diet, which includes lean
red meat.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
MEAT & WOOL NEW ZEALAND, PO BOX 121, WELLINGTON.
EMAIL~info@meatandwoolnz.com WEBSITE~www.meatandwoolnz.com PHONE~0800 696 328

Images courtesy of the Hocken Collection, Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago.
Thanks to the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau.