Australian Abattoirs

Other Names

• Bowen Freezing works
• Merinda abattoir

Current Operation

• Closed 1997²
  • Other articles cite closure as 1996.⁴

Location   

• Merinda – 6 miles from Bowen          

Hema Maps – Australia Truckies atlas.

Owner

• Bergl (Australia) Ltd³
• Thomas Borthwick & Son – owned 5-6 abattoirs in Australia (1933)³
• AMH (1986)²
• Nippon Meats (Japanese) purchased 1989.⁴
• Nippon Meat Packers⁶
  • Subsidiary of a Japanese Multinational
  • Nippon meat packers incorporated 1978⁶

• Source Nippon Meat Packers Australia interactive beef products

  This is a great diagram that is able to be clicked on in the Nippon website and illustrates where the various cuts of beef and offal are located in the animals bodies

•  Nippon currently own 3 operating abattoirs in Australia ( as at 2016)
  • Oakey Abattoir (QLD)
  • Mackay (QLD)
  • Wingham (QLD)

Operation          

• Purchased stock from Western QLD & NT

History of Bowen Meatworks

1890’s

• Recognition that the export trade of meat needs to be developed for the economic benefit of Australian producers (Pg 1041).⁹
  • Existing low values are due to fact that half to one third of surplus meat is exported.⁹
  • Should be exporting 250,000 to 300,000 carcases of beef.⁹
  • £1M pounds is required to construct meatworks.⁹
  • If not constructed £10M pounds could be added to existing capital of the banks and still their securities would be unprofitable(Pg 1042).⁹
• Parliament develope “The Meat and Dairy Produce Encouragement Act”(Pg 1042).⁹
  • Levy imposed on both cattle and sheep.⁹
  • 2 funds .⁹
    1. Dairying herds
    2. Beef herds
  • Fund allows for establishment of meatworks at.⁹
    • Pinkenba
    • Bowen
    • Redbank
    • Cardwell
    • Broadsound
    • Gladstone
    • Brisbane
    • Charleville
    • Mackay
    • Biboohra (Mareeba)
    • Burketown and
    • Sellheim

1894

• Operation was started by local cattlemen.¹¹
  • Cattle were selling for as low as 30/ per head.¹¹
  • Only in operation for one year.¹¹

• Bergl purchased
  • Had connections with Houlden Bros – Boats known as Grange Line.¹¹
• Works employed 200-400 men.¹¹
• Killed an average of 15,000 cattle per annum.¹¹
  • the best year being 30,000 head.¹¹

1905

• Bergl Australia acquire the small plant, at this time known as Merinda.⁹
  • Prior to this had been by Bowen Meat Export and Agency Co.¹⁰

1919

• In operation

1932

• November. Bowen works is purchased by Borthwick’s with the intention of commencement of export operations in 1933.¹¹
• Borthwicks had been operating Burdekin meatworks previous 2-3 years.¹¹
  • have not continued with the lease.¹¹
• Prior to Borthwicks purchase the Bowen meatworks had been idle for sometime.¹¹
  • Bergl had installed modern machinery in the previous year.¹¹
  • Bergl did not intend to carry on in QLD.¹¹
• Borthwicks had obtained prominent army contracts.¹¹
  • In 1923 securing bulk of the war office yearly contract of 6,000 tonnes for home command.¹¹

1933

• Borthwick & Son purchased. Rebuilt and made extensions.³

Source – QLD National State Library. #137304
Thomas Borthwick & Sons Freezing works. Undated

1941

• Oil stove used to heat bitumen to seal cork insulation in the storage section caught fire³
• Was 800t of meat in the store at the time.³
• 300 employees killing 376 cattle a day for export

Source QLD National Library. #137256
Thomas Borthwick & Sons Freezing works

1958

• Slaughter processing peak 58,500 head.¹⁰

1960’s  

• Closed overnight – Lord Borthwick unable to meet demands of unions and strikes¹

1963

• Is currently registered as a meat export works (Pg 314).⁵
  • Proprietor – Thos. Borthwick & Sons (A/Asia) Ltd

1980’s

• The Australian beef trading/processing environment is worsening(Pg 119).⁵
  • QLD Cattle herd in 1975 was 14M head.⁵
    • QLD Cattle herd in 1987 is 9M.⁵
  • There is low utilisation rates through meatworks and the need to reduce the number the meatworks is seen to improve efficency and reduce operational costs (Pg 120).⁵

1983

• Federal Industries Assistance Commission produce a report that reveals the Australian meat processing industry has 38% excess capacity (Pg 126).⁷

1986 

• April. Joint Venture Proposal is begun to amalgamate.⁷
  • FJ Walkers (Owned by Elders IXL)
    • Already own 10 abattoirs, including 4 key export works and meat packing plants in Australia (Pg 119).⁵
  • Metro Meat Industries
  • Smorgon Consolidated Industries
  • Tancred Bros
  • Thomas Borthwick & Sons
    • Borthwicks to add their plants of Mackay (QLD) and Bowen.⁷
• Wide spread concern of potential domination of the QLD beef market by the merger entity (Pg 127).⁷
• May. Trade Practices Commission (TPC) holds a investigation.⁷
• June. TPC announce will not place legal impediment to the merger.⁷
• July. Borthwicks  withdraw from talks(pg 120).⁵
  • Borthwicks had operation problems of it’s own and wanted to sell all Australian assets including hides and skin processing not just jewels of Bowen and Mackay.⁵
  • Portland (Vic) would be particularly difficult to sell due to union unrest.⁵

1987

• Is listed in Aus-Meat Accreditation List as Establisment #723.⁸
  • Borthwick. T & Sons Ltd.

1988 

• January. Teys Brothers are in discussion with Borthwick to purchase Borthwick Australian assets and a Japanese branch of the company (Pg 121).⁵
• Teys had been in a joint venture with Canada Packers (Pg 121).⁵
  • Canada Packers withdrew from the joint venture which influenced Teys to seek financial backing from Kerry Packer in bidding for the Borthwick assets
  • Purchase price $25M Australian
• AMH saw the ‘new entrant’, Teys as a threat to AMH’s ability to remain profitable and achieve further rationalisation in the northern region (Pg 122).⁵
• AMH commented that Borthwick operations were the main price competition in QLD (Pg 122).⁵
  • If Borthwicks not in the market AMH would earn $10 a head more per animal.⁵
• AMH offered Borthwicks $29M for Australian Assets (Pg 122)
• TPC advised AMH not to proceed without their consultation as they would likely contravene Sec 50 Trade Practices Act and likely dominate the QLD cattle market (Pg 123).⁵
• TPC placed an injunction for AMH to withdraw offer (Pg 123).⁵
  • AMH resisted arguing the the order would likely allow Teys to purchase without actual determination of contravention of section 50.⁵
  • AMH  offered undertaking that Borthwicks business’s would be maintained and conducted independently and in competition with the business of AMH.⁵
  • TPC accepted but possible divestiture order was of significant commercial risk to AMH.⁵
    • TPC announced an inquiry was to be held.⁵
  • Borthwicks sale to AMH was accepted 26/01/1988
• Borthwick Hides and skins business were immediately sold.⁵
• All remaining parts of Borthwicks were combined with AMH
• February. TPC begins inquiry.⁵
  • TPC accepts that northern QLD is a seperate market to central and southern QLD.⁵
  • AMH control 5 of the 10 abattoirs in the region.⁵
• Bowen abattoir could lift total regional slaughter capacity to over 76.76%.⁵
• TPC ruled AMH had contravened section 50.⁵
  • Ruling was AMH must divest itself of Bowen & Mackay
    • Could retain control of Portland (pg 128).⁷
  • 3 months to do so
  • appeals and cross appeals conducted.
• Trade Practices Commission forced sale due to AMH having dominant market share.²

• March. TPC final judgement ruling on AMH case (Pg 123).⁵
  • Case is held as precedent on what constitutes the geographical limits of a product market
• While the court case was in process AMH had been operating the plants(Pg 123).⁵
  • Profits from them had been above market expectations.⁵
  • Bowen was of marginal importance
  • Mackay was significant because of the access to lucrative Japanes market (Pg 128).⁷
• AMH offered QLD plants to Anglo Irish $32M (Pg 124).⁵
  • initially Anglo Irish accepted but revalued plants at considerably less and withdrew from the deal
• TPC increased pressure on AMH to sell plants (pg 124).⁵
  • If AMH didn’t sell them TPC would put plants up for public auction at market price
• Nippon Meat Packers, in consortium with Mackay Sugar to purchase the Bowen and Mackay plants (Pg 123,86).⁵
  • reported $32M

1996

• Closed as part of Industry rationalisation.⁴

1997  

• Closed.²

1998

• March. Petition – Abattoirs,  presented to Parliament – 1,248 signatures. requesting⁴
  1. Revoke export licence for the Nippon Meat abattoirs at Mackay and Merinda: and⁴
  2. initiate a review of foreign investment guidelines in Australia to ensure that multi-national companies investing in Australia are bound by a code of conduct which protects the interests of all stakeholders, and not just overseas stakeholders.⁴

Sources