Current Operation
- Still able to be utilised
Location
- North of Alice Springs
- Bond Springs Station. Yuendumu road
Owner
- G Dann
Operation
- killed culls and heavy bulls, was a good way to maintain herd genetics as the culls could be taken in small consignments and taken off property as handled1
- Typically processes 20 camels per week for local market2
History
1975
- October. Project is put forward to build Alice Springs 3rd abattoir on Bond Springs Station3.
- Partners in the company will lease the facility for 12 months with an option to buy3
- Grant Heaslip (Bond Springs station)
- Jim Turner (The Gardens station)
- John Gorey (Yambah station) and
- Gary Dann (Gillen Meats) in partnership with Ron “Smacker” Anderson
- Main reason for setting up is that the Alice Springs #2 (NT) is very limited3
- Wamboden had enquiries from Darwin and Adelaide
- Would supply 25 head a week to Gillen Meats
- With a 2nd butcher buying more
- Other butcher sale business had been rejected so as not to jeopardise the viability of the Alice Springs works
- Wamboden believed Alice Springs doesn’t buy the right kind of meat3
- Meat quality was an issue with quality of stock on the general market too fat and not sought after by southern butchers3
- Most Centralian beef was exported for manufacturing purposes90
- A local restaurant was advertising it only served meat imported from the south3.
- Profitability of serving a wider market was doubtful under present market conditions3
- Stock purchased from Haasts Bluff area (200 east of Alice Springs) for $10 per head on property3
- Transport to Alice cost $13.70
- Killing fee was $29.29 (slightly less than Adelaide)
- Freight to Adelaide $16.27
- Re-inspection and insurance $6.50
- Made the average carcase cost $75.76 landed Adelaide
- Price paid was 10c pound, average carcase weighed at 651 pounds3
- Average carcase returned $65.10
- Loss of $10.66 realised
- Average carcase returned $65.10
- Stock purchased from Haasts Bluff area (200 east of Alice Springs) for $10 per head on property3
- Wamboden abattoir was relocated from a Buffalo Mobile facility sitting idle in Darwin worth $65,0003
- Entire installation can be transported on 4 semi trailers complete with its own power pant and refrigeration facilities3
- Parts of the plant were in position already, rest due to arrive within the week3
- Initially would kill 20 head a day for 4 days a week3
- November. Wamboden abattoir begins operations and supplies meat to Gillen Meat store, IL Sorrentino and Woolworths4
- Manager Smacker Anderson4.
- 36 beasts had been processed so far4
- Works was operating on a trial basis at the moment processing 3 head per hour4
- This would be increased to 5 head per hour
Source Centralian Advocate 13.11.1975
Advertisement placed to sell meat from the local butcher IL Sorrentin Butchers
- Cattle turnoff in November from the Alice Springs area totalled 898 head5.
- 451 to local butchers
- 376 fats and 75 store
- Alice Springs yard trucked 407
- MacDonnell yard trucked 185
- Finke yard trucked 306
- 451 to local butchers
2019.
- July. NTCA meet with Chinese owners of Darwin Port to discuss opportunities to export beef from NT to China.6.
- Landbridge group had already invested in cold-storage facilities at the port and were interested in boxed beef trade between NT and Shandong Province.6.
- Chinese were circling other mothballed abattoirs in the Territory.6.
- NTCA had a vision of “network of meatworks” through the central NT corridor to include.6. –
- Batchelor (NT)
- Currently undergoing refurbishment with likely operation to begin March 2020.
- Livingstone (NT)
- Currently mothballed and closed due to operational costs
- Wamboden (NT)
- Currently closed and not in operation since
- Batchelor (NT)
- Chinese investment company commit to construction of new facility – Hughenden (QLD) processing abattoir to begin operating in 20207.
Source
- RT & LP Bloomfield, 29.01.13
- ‘Caring for our Country’ Alice Springs Rural Review Dec 2012
- ‘Pastoralists seek licence to open a second abattoir’ Centralian Advocate 16.10.1975
- ‘Killing at new abattoir’ Centralian advocate 13.11.1975
- ‘Turnoff of cattle’ Centralian Advocate 31.12.1975
- ‘Landbridge Group and NT Cattlemen….’ ABC.net.au
- ‘Chinese investors back major new meatworks for Nth QLD’ 29.07.2019.
Tagged: camel abattoir, Wamboden abattoir
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