Frozen Meat From Ealkland

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 174, 16 October 1886, Page 3 (Supplement)

Frozen Meat From Ealkland

,TiE : Importatidn "of frozen meat to thia r poultry continues to increase ,ancL the, re-^ cent* arrival in the 'East India, docks of a . Icargo of oye^ 30,0jb0 frozen carcasses of' mut, ton in excellent condition is, the latest andas yet' theinost extensive' contribution" thati J h*a^ been made in the, form of la single cargo < to^the meat supply, of, this country. Thia f has, been brought, by the steamer £elembria 'from the F,alklan4 Islands, and when one' considers that East Falkland was only colo--niaed by ;Bi;itiah subjects in ,1853 and \yest " Falkland intlB6l, and that there are now' nearly 6,00,000 sheep in the islands, it seems, indeed, Httie short of marvellous. Those • brought, over are described as being, of , prime -Canterbury tyde, well fleshed*' and with no superfluous wasteful fat fl and ithey average from sixty f pounds to seventy pounds each. Sales have been ; effected of portions'of the cargo at over sd\ iper pound. , The steamahip Se^embria, chartored by the Falkland islands Meat Company, who have entered into agreements, , with ,th,e ownera of 'sheep for, the supply of r 90,000 per annum^ia a steamer of 3,0^1 tons, register, and was fitted ou.t completely by Mesers. J. and B. Hall ,of Dartford and, London for this trade. She^ef t England in December last, and would in, the ordinary course have returned in April but for the preparations that it was ueceasary to make in the fir.-t instance before the meat could be shipped, as no labourers or material were to be found on the other side. Thus it was necessary to take out a Btaff, of butchers to deal with the meafj in the first instance, stevedores tq stow away the carcasses in the lower hold as soon as they were frozen,, this latter operation being carried out 'tween decks, and mechanics to erect necessary buildings, tramways and derricks at the three principal ports where the meat is obtained, all thia plant being taken out in the ship. The colonists have hitherto contented themselves with what they could realize with the wool, skins and tallow to be obtained from their sheep, but now, in consequence of 'this most reoent development in refrigerating machinery by means of cold dry air, they will be able to send their mutton to the English market, nofe only to their own advantage, but also to that of the consumers oves here ; and there l appears to be every reason to expect that j the enterprise which has been entered into in so practical a manner will result in a complete succeps. — "London Times," July 10.