Oenpelli. NT

Aboriginal owned  and operated abattoir through ILC. Domestic abattoir that processes cattle from Indigenous land corporation properties with sale of product into local aboriginal communities. Employs 13 people directly and another 12 on properties, provides training and important income for members of the indigenous communities.

Other names

• Oenpelli abattoir is also known as Gunbalanya abattoir as it is located on Gunbalanya station

Current Operation

• Closed December 2017.

Location             

• East Arnham Land, 320km east of Darwin,  Gunbalanya station

Pic. Location of Oenpelli (Gunbalanya) abattoir east of Darwin.

Other Australian abattoir locations

Owner/s                 

• Indigenous Land Corporation²
• Manager – Dion Henderson²
• Gunbalanya Meat supply Pty Ltd¹.
• Gunbalanya community is owned by the Kunwinjku people²⁰

Operation          

• Small plant. Capacity to kill 50 head per week¹.
• Cattle and Buffalo – kills 50:50¹
• Supplies local indigenous communities¹
  • Supplies meat to six grocery stores⁴
• Gunbalanya station receives other cattle from ILC properties and finishes also for LE¹
• Employs 25 at the meatworks and Gunbalanya station²
• PIC TEDG0692³

History                

1960’s

• established by community to service local demand⁴
  • had limited financial success⁴

1974

• Oenpelli abattoir was first registered²⁰

2008

• July. At this time there are 2 other Aboriginal abattoirs operating in communities of the NT^13.
  • Kalkaringi NT in the Victoria River district area.
  • Palumpa NT
• Oenpelli Manager at this time – Jim Allison¹³
• Operation process of the facility¹³
  • Cattle are shot outside in a stockyard and bled¹³
  • Carcase is lifted with a chain hoist to the bleed-out over a second drain¹³
  • Whole carcase is laid on a bed (frame) and skinned there¹³
  • Carcase is re-lifted to allow hide removal completely¹³
  • Carcase is processed further in boning room after gutting¹³.
  • Meat is packed into bags¹³
• Local aboriginal men are employed under ‘Work for the dole’ program¹³
• 3-4 bodies are processed a week¹³
  • 3 bodies can be processed in one morning¹³
• Abattoir supplies local store, service station, women’s resource centre and nearby stores and bakeries¹³.
  • Meat is sold for $8/kg¹³
    • Retailed at $13/kg¹³
• September. Since 1995 the Indigenous Land corporation (ILC) have acquired 221 properties across Australia¹⁴
  • ILC now manage 70,000 cattle on various Aboriginal-held properties¹⁴
• ILC have leased one property – Wliburru, formerly known as Hodgson Downs Station in the Roper gulf for 11 and a half years¹⁴.
  • ILC will invest heavily to improve the property¹⁴
  • ILC will turnoff cattle from Waliburru to have cattle fed on grassplains at Oenpelle to supply the abattoir and live export trade¹⁴

2009

• ILC are in the process of acquiring the abattoir to cater to both local and interstate markets¹⁵
• Expansion of Oenpelli abattoir facility is planned¹⁵
• Meatworks’ aim is to supply inexpensive, quality beef and buffalo meat to community stores servicing 1,100 indigenous people in Arnham land and the island communities of Darwin²⁰
• Presently only 3,000 head are run on the floodplain¹⁴
  • With only a few head a week killed at the abattoir¹⁵
• Plans to process minimum of 20 head per week¹⁵
  • Run up to 8,000 on the floodplain¹⁵
  • Stock will be sourced from Hodgson Downs and Elsey¹⁵
  • Intention that what stock isn’t suitable to live export will be slaughtered at the works¹⁵
• Manager of the ILC Pastoral Development program at this time – Paul Blore¹⁵
• Indigenous Land council facilitator – Dave Armstrong¹⁵

2010

• Re-opened – $3.1M provided by ILC for upgrades²
  • Properties supply live export and supply animals for processing at works⁴

2011        

• New retail outlet added²

2012

• ILC sign an agreement with traditional owners and Northern Land council to take a 15 year lease over the land.⁵
• At this time employed 10 workers that were funded under the Federal Governments Community development Employment project⁵
• Property had room for 1,000 head due to lack of infrastructure⁵
• Meatworks slaughtering 5 head a week⁵
• Revamp of property $3.1M allowed 300km station fencing, solid yards and watering points⁵
  • Now property can carry 8,500 head in the dry and 2,500 in the wet.⁵
  • Property production is to target live cattle export turnoff⁵
• Meatworks received upgrades of $1.5M, new coolrooms and modern infrastructure⁵
• 31 new trainess start in 2012 /2013 with 22 continued on from 2011 /2012⁵

2013

• Single largest employer of Indigenous people in the community and is now selling meat prodcuts on a commercial scale for the first time in 37 years.⁴
  • Processing approximately 426 head from own properties.⁴
• Meatworks now processing 35 head a week⁵
  • increase to 45 head as markets expand⁵
• Cattle for slaughter are mustered every Tuesday⁵
  • Slaughtering on Wednesdays⁵
  • Everyone except newest trainees skin, bone and gut the carcase.⁵
• Meatworks produces 2-3 t fresh meat per week⁵
  • Shane Townsend – Retail butcher recently took over as manager.⁵
• Supplies 8 community stores, city and regional wholesale and retail outlets.⁵
• Supplies prime- beef cut orders for Ayers Rock Resort and Kimberley’s Home valley station tourism business.⁵
• Processes 15-20 buffalo a month⁵
  • supplies restaurants Kakadu & Sydney⁵
• June. Advert is placed in NT News for Meatworks Manager¹⁷
  • 3 year fixed employment¹⁷
  • Must be Australian resident¹⁷
  • Run all activities of the meatworks including the butcher shop¹⁷
  • Manage livestock within the meatworks¹⁷
  • market beef and buffalo products¹⁷
  • oversee management and training of indigenous people in the meatworks¹⁷
  • Applications close 05/07/2013¹⁷

2014

• February. Meat of buffalo and beef is being flown out to Jabiru each week to be transported to Darwin⁹
• Manager at this time – Shane Townsend⁹
• Is unsatisfied demand for local beef in northern Australia local communities, mining and tourism.⁶
• Involvement in meat processing by Indignous communties could develope local beef processing facilities.⁶
  • Kalkarindji abattoir (NT). Kills 5 head a week, currently operating.⁶
  • Palumpa (NT), kills 20 head a week is currently operating²
  • Mataranka (NT) – partially built but has been abandoned.
  • Peppimenarti (NT) proposed.⁶

Source – Managing Indigenous Pastoral Land. Module 9. 14/025

Gunbalanya Abattoir.

2015

• January. Flooded rivers and road closures have forced the meatworks to fly it meat to NT markets.⁷
• Currently processing buffalo and beef.⁷
• Loads a plane each Wednesday to unload the meat at Jabiru.⁷
  • From Jabiru the meat is trucked to Darwin or other top end customers⁷
  • 3 tonnes is flown out each week.⁷
  • Abattoir needs to keep supply up through the wet so as to keep customers.⁷
  • Costs facility 50c / kg more to fly out the product.⁷

Source ‘The steaks are high as floods force Indigenous abattoir to fly meat to markets’ ABC rural 19.01.2015
Gunbalanya boxed meat ready to be air freighted.

• March. Tropical cyclone Nathan causes the delay of orders due to planes being grounded.⁸
• July. Processing first buffalo of the year¹⁰
  • have some on buffalo on the station but they are difficult to capture during the wet season as they can swim across the floodplains¹⁰
  • First load of buffalo had come from Beatrice Hill¹⁰
• Transport of meat is reduced as roads have weight limits until they are opened properly¹⁰
• Want to promote buffalo meat more widely as it is in high demand¹⁰
  • Want to move beyond supplying buffalo as a niche market to more of a mainstream market¹¹
• August. Oenpelli abattoir donates 50kg of scotch fillet buffalo to the Darwin Pitchfork festival¹¹

Source

2016

• Administrative officer position is advertised.¹⁸
  • Casual employment¹⁸
  • Report to ILC’s finance officer located in Adelaide¹⁸
  • Supervise and provide training to indigenous trainees

2017

• December. Oenpelli abattoir is shut down^12.
  • Indigenous Land council (ILC) sub-lease the Gunbalanya meatworks and station¹²
    • Federally funded newly formed subsidiary¹²
      • Australian Indigenous Agribusiness Company¹²
    • Chief executive of ILC – John Maher¹²
      • Had acknowledged there were issues with employees¹²
  • Local Aboriginal people say they were not informed of the closure or reasons for it¹²
  • 10-person board of Gunbalanya Meat Supply have written to the ILC lamenting they have lost trust and respect in regards to the ILC¹²
    • Board Chairman – Henry Yates¹²
• Long term manager. Shane Townsend had lost his job earlier in the month¹²
• Closure of the abattoir had affected the local community with no meat for Christmas and no income¹²
  • Workers had been employed from other communities in recent weeks¹²
    • Workers from Wave Hill and Elsey¹²
  • Meat for the community was being purchased from Darwin¹²
    • Approximately 1,100 people at Gunbalanya¹²

 Sources