Other Names

• Bovril meatworks

Current Operation

• Never completed to start operations.

Location

• 300km S of Darwin, Victoria Hwy Katherine 3km

Owner

• Bovril Australian Estate (English) owned VRD at the time(1947)

History

• An abattoir was begun to be built and due to lack of government backing was stopped and demolished before even finished

Source – Northern Territory Library

Katherine #1 Abattoir – Bovril works, Photo dated 1951. construction was never completed

Is now the site of BOC gas, Bovril Street. Cement posts are still evident but roof is now a flat roof.

1947

• Bovril moved equipment and some infrastructure from Manbulloo site¹
• Bovril leased 2,260 acres, land close to racecourse area and began erecting ‘Bovril meat extraction plant’²
• Meatworks never used. Rumour was Vestey’s were going to take over or Bovril Estates³

1949  

• Project abandoned – Cost £300,000⁴

1951     

• Extraction plant construction stopped and started several times finally abandoned 3^rd January 1951²
• “To this day, the enormous concrete shell still stands, only now it houses a multitude of trades, including a panel beating shop, a mechanic and a furniture factory. Also standing a short distance up the road, are the staff quarters and engineer’s house which were erected by Bovril and which are now part of a caravan park”²

1952            

• Victorian company Preston Meatworks & William Say & co. Considered purchase of Bovril equipment to build a plant between Elliott & Darwin, small scale to start them to eventually process 30,000 hd a year⁴. This never happened!

Source

1. ‘Pastoral Australia: Fortunes, Failures & Hard Yakka: A historical view.” M. Pearson, J Lennon. 2010
2. ‘Katherine abattoir finally put down’ ABC rural 15.09.11
3. ‘Meat Monopolies’ Northern Standard 07.03.47
4. ‘Meatworks project for N. Territory’ The Canberra times. 21.11.52

Tagged: abattoir closures, Abattoir history, Abattoirs in Australia, abattoirs in NT, Abattoirs prior to 1960, australian abattoir history, Australian meat processing, Australian meat processing facilities, Bovril meatworks, Closed Australian abattoirs, Historic Australian abattoir, katherine meatworks, North Australian meatworks, NT abattoirs