Enigma
28-05-2012, 10:48 PM
A major industrial complex which demonstrates the importance of the dairy industry to Bathurst. The brick tower with the inscription 'Dairy Farmers' has become a familiar landmark. The complex is significant also for its acssociation with the convict era, and once was the site of a convict hospital. Also successful brewing on the site, gave the place importance as an industrial site.
The first of these buildings is a small office single storey in red brick with a hipped and terracotta tiled roof which was the milk division office. It is set quite close to the boundary and its fence is a roll top mesh fence with steel piped post. Beyond this on the same street (Bentinck Street) is a large two storey section of the dairy adjoining a single storey depot/warehouse. This building is also in face brickwork with a number of decorative elements built into the brickwork including a shoulder course along the shaped parapet around rose timber louver in the top of the gable and various attached piers. Brickwork has been used in subtle horizontal lines across the building at every fourth or fifth course along the darker bricks. Openings in the walls consist predominantly of roller shutters but with some windows with doors with highlight windows above. The main roofs are gable ended with extended parapets.
At the rear of the site and dominating the site for some distance around visually is the dairy farmers tower building which is approximately four stories in height, with a two storey section adjoining it with a gable roof. The tower itself has a parapeted roof elaborately decorated with plaster cornices and a shaped parapet.
Built on the site of the former convict hospital, which was constructed in 1824 and burnt out in 1878. This first hospital was only a 4 large rooms, with verandahs, and was a simple structure. It was initally for male prisoners and soldiers but later treated assigned servants and settlers.
It is likely from early survey plans of Bathurst, that part of this site would have been used for the convict hospital, out buildings i.e. washhouse, stables and store, it is likely that other areas may have been used for kitchen vegetable gardens.
Dr George Busby was appointed as the Government Medical Officer to the Bathurst Hospital in 1828, replacing the former Medical Officer Dr William Richardson. By the late 1830s Dr Busby had a practice that included many of the squatters and settlers of the district.
From 1842 to 1870 Dr George Busby, the former Government Medical 'Officer, managed the hospital in association with a community committee.
The hospital was funded largely by public subscription and to a lesser extent by Government support. By 1856 the situation had improved with the Government donating 500 pounds towards hospital expenses. From 1846 the funds were augmented from fines imposed by the local court on individuals found guilty of drunkenness.,
With the increase of traffic through Bathurst on the way to the goldfields during the 1850s, the hospital was under considerable financial and resource strain to cope with the increase in demand for medical services.
In 1862 James Rutherford, the general manager of the coaching firm of Cobb & Co relocated the business to Bathurst. The Cobb & Co factory was established in Bentinck Street just north of the hospital site. When one of the Cobb & Co employees was injured in an accident near Forbes the man was brought to Bathurst however was refused admission at the hospital as he was from out of town. James Rutherford attended the next meeting of the hospital committee. He was advised that the hospital was in financial difficulties and likely to close. Rutherford, along with Messrs McPherson and Wilton set to work. They arranged a fund-raiser event at O'Connell and at Bathurst, cleared the hospital debt and had sufficient contributed funds left to build a dispensary at the hospital. James Rutherford was elected Chairman of the Bathurst hospital board in 1867 and retained various executive positions on the board until his death in 1911.
In 1876 an appeal was launched for a new hospital and tenders were called for the construction of a hospital in Durham Street.
A tender for the new hospital designed by architect W. Boles was accepted in February 1878 and construction of the present hospital commenced September 1878. In December 1878 the old hospital burnt down.
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The Bathurst Dairy Co-op
The dairy industry developed as a small, individual, family based intensive industry.
By 1878 Sweden's Dr Gustav de Laval had produced a commercial separator that was to revolutionize dairy product processing industry.
The Bathurst Co-operative Dairying Co Ltd was formed in late 1901. The Bathurst Daily Times of 29 August 1901 reported an enthusiastic and well attending had been held at the Town Hall and it had been agreed to establish a co-operative, Temporary offices were to be obtained in the AH & P Association Rooms. Shareholders were already pledging support and the future looked promising. The editor of the local paper reminded his readers that the success of the co-operative required not only the financial support of local businessmen but also the practical interest of the farmers.
In 1902 the Bathurst Co-operative Dairying Co called tenders for the construction of the new butter factory. After due consideration the tender of Mr AE Ennis was accepted for 967 pounds. The new butter factory had opened on Saturday 10 October 1902.
The operation of the butter factory and the co-op continued to expand.
The Bathurst Butter Factory survived one of the worst droughts the country had seen in 1907, and within a decade had diversified its operations to include the freezing of thousands of rabbits each week for the London market. In 1926 the company started manufacturing ice. By this time it had changed its name to the Bathurst Dairying Co.
A new pasteurizing plant was installed in 1938. In 1956 when the Milk Board assumed control of the area Dairy Farmers' was the sole supplier of pasteurized milk in Bathurst and met the needs of almost all the local consumers, through 14 vendors and wholesale runs to 49 shops.
The 1980s were a time for further change within the industry as corporate structures and takeovers gained momentum. By 1984 the idea of rationalising Bathurst/OrangelDubbo milk market was taking shape and Dairy Farmers bought Central Western Dairy Ltd of Dubbo in a bid to position the company in the central and western area distribution scheme.
The Bathurst factory continued to operate as a milk receival factory and for the production and distribution of cream, plain and flavoured milk. The Moove brand of milk was packaged at Bathurst, as was Dairy Farmers plain milk brands.
It was during this era that the local management decided to promote the Bathurst Dairy Farmer's site by painting the Dairy Farmers logo on the top of the site's prominent tower building. The concept was to replicate a milk carton, however the sign writing was a little restrained compared to the concept.33 The tower, however, remains as an impressive feature within the Bathurst streetscape - the sign writing complimentary to the traditional sign writing used on brewery towers.
On 1 January 1990 Dairy Farmers became part of the newly formed Australian Co-operative Foods Ltd - a merger company controlling 75% of the States milk production.
Walkers Brewery.
George Ranken erected Bathurst's first brewery at Kelloshiel about 1857. It was later destroyed by fire. A brewery was established in Bathurst in Morrissett Street. The business was later purchased by Walker & Co who then moved the brewery operation to HC Matthews former grain mill site located in Howick Street. In April 1908 Walker & Go purchased the swimming baths land off Princess Street, and on part of this land erected a new brewery. During the 1920s a brewery operated from land in Howick and Bentinck streets.
James Walker & Co purchased the site (described as 178 Howick Street) from Machattie & Co in 1908. By 1932 the site had been transferred from Walker & Co Ltd to Douglas Vincent Walker and the Executor of Frederick Charles Green.
Walkers Pale Ale was popular in the district. James Walker was prominent in public affairs during his period of residency in Bathurst and was mayor on several occasions.
It seems likely that the tower building located upon the Dairy Farmers site at Bathurst was built by Walker as a brewery.
Successful brewing required good supplies of high quality water. In the case of the butter factory, and now the brewery, was a need for a regular and high quality water.
The soap factory
Part of the current Dairy Farmers site was once used as a soap factory. Following the liquidation of Walker's brewery business the site was purchased by Horace Harry, Grace and Max Leighton Edgell, a local Bathurst family, who established a soap factory upon the former brewery site. Trading as Macquarie Soap the business operated from the site until 1950 when the land was sold to local grazier John Fullerton-Smith.
Staff of the Dairy Farmers factory in the 1980s referred to the tower as the `soap tower', giving credence to the theory that the former brewery site was adapted for use as a soap factory, before being integrated into the current Dairy Farmers factory operation.
The first of these buildings is a small office single storey in red brick with a hipped and terracotta tiled roof which was the milk division office. It is set quite close to the boundary and its fence is a roll top mesh fence with steel piped post. Beyond this on the same street (Bentinck Street) is a large two storey section of the dairy adjoining a single storey depot/warehouse. This building is also in face brickwork with a number of decorative elements built into the brickwork including a shoulder course along the shaped parapet around rose timber louver in the top of the gable and various attached piers. Brickwork has been used in subtle horizontal lines across the building at every fourth or fifth course along the darker bricks. Openings in the walls consist predominantly of roller shutters but with some windows with doors with highlight windows above. The main roofs are gable ended with extended parapets.
At the rear of the site and dominating the site for some distance around visually is the dairy farmers tower building which is approximately four stories in height, with a two storey section adjoining it with a gable roof. The tower itself has a parapeted roof elaborately decorated with plaster cornices and a shaped parapet.
Built on the site of the former convict hospital, which was constructed in 1824 and burnt out in 1878. This first hospital was only a 4 large rooms, with verandahs, and was a simple structure. It was initally for male prisoners and soldiers but later treated assigned servants and settlers.
It is likely from early survey plans of Bathurst, that part of this site would have been used for the convict hospital, out buildings i.e. washhouse, stables and store, it is likely that other areas may have been used for kitchen vegetable gardens.
Dr George Busby was appointed as the Government Medical Officer to the Bathurst Hospital in 1828, replacing the former Medical Officer Dr William Richardson. By the late 1830s Dr Busby had a practice that included many of the squatters and settlers of the district.
From 1842 to 1870 Dr George Busby, the former Government Medical 'Officer, managed the hospital in association with a community committee.
The hospital was funded largely by public subscription and to a lesser extent by Government support. By 1856 the situation had improved with the Government donating 500 pounds towards hospital expenses. From 1846 the funds were augmented from fines imposed by the local court on individuals found guilty of drunkenness.,
With the increase of traffic through Bathurst on the way to the goldfields during the 1850s, the hospital was under considerable financial and resource strain to cope with the increase in demand for medical services.
In 1862 James Rutherford, the general manager of the coaching firm of Cobb & Co relocated the business to Bathurst. The Cobb & Co factory was established in Bentinck Street just north of the hospital site. When one of the Cobb & Co employees was injured in an accident near Forbes the man was brought to Bathurst however was refused admission at the hospital as he was from out of town. James Rutherford attended the next meeting of the hospital committee. He was advised that the hospital was in financial difficulties and likely to close. Rutherford, along with Messrs McPherson and Wilton set to work. They arranged a fund-raiser event at O'Connell and at Bathurst, cleared the hospital debt and had sufficient contributed funds left to build a dispensary at the hospital. James Rutherford was elected Chairman of the Bathurst hospital board in 1867 and retained various executive positions on the board until his death in 1911.
In 1876 an appeal was launched for a new hospital and tenders were called for the construction of a hospital in Durham Street.
A tender for the new hospital designed by architect W. Boles was accepted in February 1878 and construction of the present hospital commenced September 1878. In December 1878 the old hospital burnt down.
http://i49.tinypic.com/24l0imu.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/15i9hmb.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/2vmbuhy.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/33ksn79.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/2eg8v9f.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/2arvc2.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/k4738i.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/jayqvr.jpg
The Bathurst Dairy Co-op
The dairy industry developed as a small, individual, family based intensive industry.
By 1878 Sweden's Dr Gustav de Laval had produced a commercial separator that was to revolutionize dairy product processing industry.
The Bathurst Co-operative Dairying Co Ltd was formed in late 1901. The Bathurst Daily Times of 29 August 1901 reported an enthusiastic and well attending had been held at the Town Hall and it had been agreed to establish a co-operative, Temporary offices were to be obtained in the AH & P Association Rooms. Shareholders were already pledging support and the future looked promising. The editor of the local paper reminded his readers that the success of the co-operative required not only the financial support of local businessmen but also the practical interest of the farmers.
In 1902 the Bathurst Co-operative Dairying Co called tenders for the construction of the new butter factory. After due consideration the tender of Mr AE Ennis was accepted for 967 pounds. The new butter factory had opened on Saturday 10 October 1902.
The operation of the butter factory and the co-op continued to expand.
The Bathurst Butter Factory survived one of the worst droughts the country had seen in 1907, and within a decade had diversified its operations to include the freezing of thousands of rabbits each week for the London market. In 1926 the company started manufacturing ice. By this time it had changed its name to the Bathurst Dairying Co.
A new pasteurizing plant was installed in 1938. In 1956 when the Milk Board assumed control of the area Dairy Farmers' was the sole supplier of pasteurized milk in Bathurst and met the needs of almost all the local consumers, through 14 vendors and wholesale runs to 49 shops.
The 1980s were a time for further change within the industry as corporate structures and takeovers gained momentum. By 1984 the idea of rationalising Bathurst/OrangelDubbo milk market was taking shape and Dairy Farmers bought Central Western Dairy Ltd of Dubbo in a bid to position the company in the central and western area distribution scheme.
The Bathurst factory continued to operate as a milk receival factory and for the production and distribution of cream, plain and flavoured milk. The Moove brand of milk was packaged at Bathurst, as was Dairy Farmers plain milk brands.
It was during this era that the local management decided to promote the Bathurst Dairy Farmer's site by painting the Dairy Farmers logo on the top of the site's prominent tower building. The concept was to replicate a milk carton, however the sign writing was a little restrained compared to the concept.33 The tower, however, remains as an impressive feature within the Bathurst streetscape - the sign writing complimentary to the traditional sign writing used on brewery towers.
On 1 January 1990 Dairy Farmers became part of the newly formed Australian Co-operative Foods Ltd - a merger company controlling 75% of the States milk production.
Walkers Brewery.
George Ranken erected Bathurst's first brewery at Kelloshiel about 1857. It was later destroyed by fire. A brewery was established in Bathurst in Morrissett Street. The business was later purchased by Walker & Co who then moved the brewery operation to HC Matthews former grain mill site located in Howick Street. In April 1908 Walker & Go purchased the swimming baths land off Princess Street, and on part of this land erected a new brewery. During the 1920s a brewery operated from land in Howick and Bentinck streets.
James Walker & Co purchased the site (described as 178 Howick Street) from Machattie & Co in 1908. By 1932 the site had been transferred from Walker & Co Ltd to Douglas Vincent Walker and the Executor of Frederick Charles Green.
Walkers Pale Ale was popular in the district. James Walker was prominent in public affairs during his period of residency in Bathurst and was mayor on several occasions.
It seems likely that the tower building located upon the Dairy Farmers site at Bathurst was built by Walker as a brewery.
Successful brewing required good supplies of high quality water. In the case of the butter factory, and now the brewery, was a need for a regular and high quality water.
The soap factory
Part of the current Dairy Farmers site was once used as a soap factory. Following the liquidation of Walker's brewery business the site was purchased by Horace Harry, Grace and Max Leighton Edgell, a local Bathurst family, who established a soap factory upon the former brewery site. Trading as Macquarie Soap the business operated from the site until 1950 when the land was sold to local grazier John Fullerton-Smith.
Staff of the Dairy Farmers factory in the 1980s referred to the tower as the `soap tower', giving credence to the theory that the former brewery site was adapted for use as a soap factory, before being integrated into the current Dairy Farmers factory operation.