PROPOSED CHEESE FACTORY

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 191, 12 February 1887, Page 3

PROPOSED CHEESE FACTORY

On Monday crening last n meeting of "settlers and others interested in the • above, was lield in the Criterion Hote l, Paeroa, for the purpose of discussing the above subject and testing the fueling and 'opinion of producers in the district with respect to the abvisability of establishing :n: n cheese factory. Mr F. Code, convener 'of the meeting, was voted to the chair, and having* opened the meeting by stut!ing the object for which it had been 1 colled, proceeded to speak generally on 'the Subject they had met together to discuss ; ami ;in the course of his remarks said : The object he had in view in calling them together was to endeavour by means of co-operation to find "some more satisfactory outlet for the produce of the farmers of the district 'than at present existed, and generally to initiate combined action of some sort, which would benefit the community. Having resided for the past twelve year? amottgst them he thought he might reason ably-claim to be able to form some idea of the probable capabilities of the locality in which they lived ; and taking the whole line of country from Thames toTe Aroha and even beyond, he thought they would agre= with him that dairy produce and beef were what the settlers wonld have chiefly to rely upon. With respect to dairy produce, some effort would have to be made to obtain more remuneration pricas than at present were received, with good butter selling even down as low as 4d per lb, and beef equally low in proportion, how cohld the farmers possibly prosper. It was therefore high time that some steps were "taken with the object of finding some better outlet for the produce of the district, in order that the settlers might obtain a more satisfactory return for their labour ; and in the first instance he could conceive of no better .plan for the accomplishment of this object than by the establishment of a cheese factory in their midst. The idea was not a! ■Hew one, the matter had been discussed more or less for the past year or two, but it was time some decisive action was taken. The Thames Valley was capable of producing as good cheese as any one could desire, but a market at fairly remunerative prices must be sought. Ho was well aware that already the local production, was in excess of the demand, but for a really first class article, he believed a market could be found by exporting. An interesting discussion followed in which Messrs Uobson, A. J. Thorp, Moore, Phillips, Wick, and others took part, and it was ultimately decided to convene a public meeting at an early date, with a view of eliciting a more general expression of opinion of the settlers of the district, with respect to the advisability of taking steps to establish a cheese factory for Ohinemuri. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chair etc.

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