NEW ZEALAND 81 



Kingdom. There were great hopes of a trade with Canada a 

 few years ago. but it only reached a volume equal to 80.000 

 sheep in its highest year — 1913." 



Sir Thomas Mackenzie. K.C.M.G. 3 at a recent meeting of the 

 British Cold Storage Association, said : — 



i; Refrigeration was the means of the development of the 

 Overseas Dominions. What were the conditions prevailing 

 before this industry was initiated ? Cattle and sheep were 

 almost unsaleable. A leg of mutton could be bought for a 

 shilling. Why, even a sheep was sold in his country (Xew 

 Zealand) at from 6d. to 1 -. Boiling-down works were estab- 

 lished for the mere purpose of extracting fat from the sheep, 

 the rest of the carcase being wasted, and that at a time when 

 meat was so urgently required in the great centres of popula- 

 tion in this country. In Australia cattle — splendid bullocks — 

 were sold at £2 per head. His friend, the late Mr. Christison, 

 who had established the first works at Poole Island. Queens- 

 land, had told him that such was the case hi that colony. In 

 the " History of the Frozen Meat Trade." of which their 

 Secretary (Mr. Raymond) was part author, there was a state- 

 ment to the effect that eight hundred thousand sheep and 

 seventy-three thousand cattle were boiled down for tallow, 

 producing 110.000 tons, which were sold for £300,000. That 

 worked out at 2 6 for each sheep, and less than £3 for each 

 bullock. They could never too greatly honour the enterprising 

 men who began the work in the Overseas, such as Brydone. 

 Roberts. Cooke, Reid, Grigg. Davidson, and others. The first 

 cargo of frozen meat from Xew Zealand was sent Home in the 

 ship Dunedin. and the prices realised in London and Glasgow 

 were 6kl. per lb. for mutton and 7kl. per lb. for lamb. Only 

 one sheep in the whole cargo was condemned. At that time 

 their flocks were, in round figures. 12.000.000. and it was 

 thought by those who had studied the question that they could 

 not bear a greater drain for exportation purposes than 300.000 

 per annum. Later on. Mr. Brydone foretold that it might be 

 possible to export 4.000.000 carcases. What was the history 

 of the development and its effects on our community V 



" Xew Zealand had exported nearly half the total number 

 of sheep and lambs that had been brought into the British 



