A letter published in the Illawarra Mercury in June 1877 provided interesting insight into the commercial butchery industry in Wollongong, but the picture was not entirely one of hygiene.
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The writer, "Argus", said that the practice was "one of the most offensive and dangerous" to the health of its citizens.
"This is due to the killing of sheep and other animals on the butchering establishments in our streets, as well as the nearness of all the slaughter-houses to the town," Argus wrote.
"The boiling down of fat and other animal matter at the butchering places in our streets is also a serious nuisance, as can well be testified by all who from time to time experience the smell of such in their houses when the wind happens to blow in their direction from the butchers' boiling cauldrons."
He called on the police to ensure that all slaughter-houses were located at least three miles outside the boundaries of any town.
A bullock brought in from Campbelltown by Wollongong butchers, Messrs W and J Cochrane, warranted mention in the Mercury in May 1872. When skinned and cleaned, the beef weighed 1208 pounds and was of "first-rate quality".
In May 1877, the enterprising people of Bulli formed the Bulli Co-operative Butchering Society, so that meat might be pooled for sale not just locally, but on the Sydney market, and at more affordable prices.
Further afield, greater advances were being made with the input of Primbee resident and refrigeration engineer Eugene Nicolle.
Nicolle had combined with Mr T. S. Mort in an enterprise to ship frozen meat to England.
Within the month the first shipment was expected to leave Circular Quay on the Northam, packed in a specially designed refrigerator.
The Mercury reported: "The receptacle for the meat consists of a large wooden box, capable of holding between 150 and 200 tons, with double walls one foot apart, the intervening space being filled with tallow, poured in while in a melted state, in order to exclude all external heat.
"The freezing liquid will be caused to circulate within the chamber through metal pipes, and the meat will thus be kept at a uniform temperature of several degrees below freezing point, throughout the voyage.
"If successful, it will provide means for disposing of all our surplus sheep and cattle, and lay the foundation of a large export trade in meat."
Picture: J Morgan Family Butcher at Bulli in 1910. Note the row of meat hanging on the verandah in the open air. Picture: From the collections of the Wollongong City Library and the Illawarra Historical Society.
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For a copy of NSW Land grants, 1788-1856, go to records.nsw.gov.au.
