The Freezing Industry of Hastings: A History of the Hawke's Bay Farmers' Meat Company, 1912-39, and the Pioneering of the Boiling-Down and Freezing Industries in Hawke's Bay

Abstract

It was originally intended that this thesis should show firstly, the problems of the sheep farmer before the development of refrigeration, and secondly, the rise and growth of the freezing industry in Hawke's Bay generally. However, of the freezing companies that have operated in Hawke's Bay, records were available from only one. As a result, the second part of the thesis has been confined to the history of that company. At first sight, a thesis devoted largely to the development of a single company might appear rather purposeless: the work could well be arid and hold little interest other than for those directly associated with that firm. As this particular company is a farmers' concern, however, much of its history has a wider significance. The economic background of the Company's promotion, its quasi-cooperative character, its rapid expansion, and its role in the development of the Province's farming industry, are all important questions. Thus, while much detail of the Company's internal history has been included, an attempt has been made to emphasise these wider issues. Moreover, although surprisingly little written information on the freezing industry of the Dominion is available, I have endeavoured, wherever possible, to relate the Company's development to that of the frozen meat trade generally.