Wamboden

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
• 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

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
• Chinese investment company commit to construction of new facility – Hughenden (QLD) processing abattoir to begin operating in 2020^7.

Source

1. RT & LP Bloomfield, 29.01.13
2. ‘Caring for our Country’ Alice Springs Rural Review Dec 2012
3. ‘Pastoralists seek licence to open a second abattoir’ Centralian Advocate 16.10.1975
4. ‘Killing at new abattoir’ Centralian advocate 13.11.1975
5. ‘Turnoff of cattle’ Centralian Advocate 31.12.1975
6. ‘Landbridge Group and NT Cattlemen….’ ABC.net.au
7. ‘Chinese investors back major new meatworks for Nth QLD’ 29.07.2019.