ABOUT THE TOWN

Chronicle (Levin), 30 November 1946, Page 3

ABOUT THE TOWN

T. S.

D.)

SHANNON SIDE-LlGHTS

(By

With the dawn of the 20th century, Shannon was becoming more thickly populated, and- the farming community was making progress towards steady prosperity. Dairying was the main farming industry, and the three factors which gave this pre-eminence were the coming into popularity of the Jersey cow, increased use of artificial fertiliser, and the general use of milking machines. A pioneer in the use of milking machines was Mr. James Kilsby, of East Road, whose machines, at first driven by a water wneel, were a source of great interest. Mr. John Mitchell, of "Drimintoran," led the way in the use of top-dressing on a large scale. All these factors made it essential that a large dairy factory should be established in Shannon. In 1908 the Shannon Co-opera-tive Dairy Company was launched. This company took over the premises that had been erected ten years i before by Messrs. MacMillan and Frederick for butter making. The new company carried on as butter makers and in forty years has earned a reputation second to none. The first chairman of directors was Mr. E. Law, and his fellow directors were Messrs. W. - E. Barbcr, R. W. Taylor, Nye, Wallace, G. O. Barber and Rushton. Mr. J. Aim was manager and Mr. G. Woodmass acted as secretary until the new company was launched. when Mr. E. Judd was appointed. Mr. W. E. Barber, the present chairman, is the only director of" the origindl number whb is still on the directorate. At first the suppliers to the new factory carted the milk to the prcmises, and there it was separated, and the skim milk was carted home again. Gradually home separation became general and the cream was collected from the farms by horse brakes. Now, of course, in the days of motor transportation, five and six ton lorries are used for the collecting. After the opening of the Mangahao hydro-electric scheme, the steam plant was discarded and electricity was installed in the factory. In 1929 a fine new building, considered to be one of New Zealand's best, was erected. The progress made during the years may be gauged by the following comparisons. The small churns used made 700 to 800 lbs of butter per churning, while the large ones now in use turn out two to three tons at a time. The first yearly output of the factory was approximately 158 tons, while the present yearly output is in the region of 1500 tons.- Last season about 250 farmers supplied cream to the factory and 90 per cent. of the cream was fiiiest grade. The average payment for butterfat last season was 20.897d per lb. The present manager is Mr. J. Alexander and Mr. C. M. Cronquest is the present secretary and store manager. The board of 'directors now in office is Messrs. W. E. Barber ( chairman i . W. L. Carter, R. J. Law, R. Hook, H. Aitchison, W. Moynihan and J. B. Gordon. In about 1910 a store for supplying shareholders was opened. This was done in a small way, the first merchandise being one ton of pollard, which was served out by the manager. Later working clothes and other farm necessities were added to stock, and eventually the present commo.dious store, which must be considered one of the most thriving businesses in Shannon, was erected. In 1911 the store turnover was £1447, but last year the turnover was almost £40,000. The combined factory and store j provide Shannon's largest source of employment, a total of 25 persons being employed by the company. A recent added service to the farming community was the formation of a ' Veterinary Club and a skilled veterinary surgeon, in the person of Dr. iL. N. Loomis, is on hand to attend to the farmers' stock problems.