THE NEW SYDNEY ABATTOIRS.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 219, 25 November 1859, Page 2

THE NEW SYDNEY ABATTOIRS.

The following graphic-description-«of-the new Sydney abattoirs may prove interesting:— These very useful buildings are now so far completed as to be ready at once for occupation and use. When the shell of the building was erected some four years back, we had an article in one of our monthly summaries descriptive »of the site and of the plan in so far as it heel been followed. It will not therefore be necessary to go so fully, into detail as we should otherwise have been compelled to do. ' It may therefore suffice to say that the buildings occupy an elevated position upon Glebe Island, a small island formed by the enclosure of the waters of Johnson's Bay : and White Bay, [and lying about north, ..of the of the' Glebe Road. _ The island, however-,; has recently been made into a peninsula by th.c construction of a causeway,"which joins it on to the more westerly portions of the Balmain parish. " By this causeway-, Glebe Island is brought within a distance of about three milesfrom Sydenham, a pretty.little*village lying between Camperdowri and Petersham, on the Parramatta road. This bit of road has latterly had spme considerable workdone -upon it; in the; making- of culverts and .the cutting of 'side drains and' watertables, so that whenl the traffic-of :! many hoofs shall come upon it, it shall riot be cut up into a slough. Another* advantage beyond/ the removal 'of the nuisance of the actual slaughtering from the city is, that by this road cattle wilkbe enabled to travel to the shambles at any time without risk to i<the lives or limbs of wayfarers, which was not the case so long''as tlife slaughter-houses were,in the city. On the eastern face of the island a substantial jetty has been formed,'whence it is proposed to carry over the dressed carcases, by means of steam:, punts, to the ..opposite shore, of PyrtTiont ; ; .thence to .the Pyrmont bridge, .the road is, now. somewhat round-about, owing to the. high; sandstone cl iffs 1 i that intervene between the bridge and the inner waters :of ■ Johnston's Bay. However, extensive excavations have been already made, and immense, quantitiesiqf stone are daily quarried from either end of what will soon be the line of road; When, this liheof road shall be completed,. Glebe Island will be brought within a mile arid;, a quarter of George-street markets. ' : .; ~,, ~'.,, Reverting now tol the abattoirs theiriselves,—, .they consist of -two long raug'es of massivestone buildings, one appropriated to the' Slaughtering of sheep; and the other to the. slaughtering of cattle. E,ach range of building contains .twelve;, separate and distinct slaughtering places," 'those for the: Lslieep! being eighteen; feet.by twelve ; and, those; for the .cattle forty feet by eighteen^ A deep verandah runs along the back of the sheep'slattgliterhouses, under which a large number, of dressedcarcasses could be hung,, the slaughtering being conducted within the building. The floors are all of dressed and dqsely-jointed stone.,- having a fall \tpwards the centre,ln"which' is■"a "'sink connected I with a six-inch' sewei'"^!^^'''^^'^^^^^^^''!!!^^' ' main 'oviform brick drain three feet- by fwo feet, whicli canies the refuse down to-a natural watercourse falling 1»to the. bay.: It. has ; tieen suggested to excavate a deep pipe at the. raou.th of the maiii drain,: wherein* the refuse might, be received and be deodorisedlprior to bein£ ejected iuto the. bay; This, however, is a- point th'at'has riot as yet", been decided upon. Attached to each slaughter-house" is a pen for sheep, and a strong heavy post arid rail yard for cattlerr^the cattle being divided into three, com partments- withs wing gates to each,' and capped; tyjth ejeven-irich deals^ thereby giving a footing -for-meVfo''goad ,on : the cattle, into the last pen' -within the building, 'where j,he:mfp do grace is giyen, Thp.peji. Js strongly ..divided/off' from •-&)$- ---rest of the slaughtering pteGfiSjan&has boards fixed over head for the use of- ifrr gipghternieu. On each side of it also are two capacious stone reams for use as offal boxes, opening to the outside of the building by doors communicating now with a railed-in space, which, however,- It is intended to turn into a cartway, in order that the offal may thus be more readily removed, swing gates being substiMHfor th.c gtand ing fence.. To each compartment there, are two taps, tl)e o.ne supplying fresh, and the other salt water; the fresh water for cleansing the carcases, the salt for cleansing'the ; floors of the building." The water is supplied from two ranges of iron tanks, fifteenin number, at each end of the building. Into these tanks it is pumped upjby a'si^-hp,iSe power engine, the fresh water b'ei-Og drawn from a w,ell, bpr \yl)ifjli t])e -enginehouse has been "erectecly and the salt from the neighbouring bay, injto whicli 'supply, pjlpesljave : been run.Q.ut. ': Jn anything like wet weather!, the roof of' $c. jarggr. .b.aH:djng, whichwith its offsets, presets a superficial fap.e Qf-§Q,f>ejfc by §40 feet, soon fills jip .thewater tanks without th.c necessity of resortlrig to' 4 the; engine > /but" in dry.we&hev, the well .under the engine^iouse is expected to_ furnish as much .fresh ; water aaWviU "be required. It has "only been sunk'to a- depth-of 23 feet/aiif? tyet, with a'diarneterof -10fe^j^haS!"Bow"l7 feet of water, thereby giving promise of • a cdpious supply,.: Qome of the butchers, have suggested the -f^lnaffonof a. drain .flp' the edge of the paying of 'the verandah pf • the shepp shamble's,-b,ut •' it; <has JSesn considered more advisafeie, 'for the sake-of eieanlinese, to slaughter inside the building, and to , -■'"' '; -wdndahsfei'lmngingtlTeoarcases. Mr. keep .the v.. - ~,- .^^9 tim pagt femi R. Driver, sen., who has .. . : - - C. :..„. ;> in charge of the works that have latterly Deeivcarrying qn'iKpon tlie-;Buildings, is now engagfed-with a" small body of mm in forming the road from the suilding do.wn to the jetty, or;wharf. : It is evident' that 1^ po§sij)le attention has been paid, in order to secure cleariiiriess and tjie smaljpst possible ahiount of nuisance, and now it will require stringent regulations firnily and unflinchingly cpiTied: ;oiif,!-in order, that the present caveM arrangements shPuld not be nullified.— Sydney Paper. . :