Australian mutton canning…

Sizar Elliot, an Englishman set up the first Australian meat canning plant in Sydney. He was a merchant who was in importing and exporting business. Sizar was trading in wine, lambskins, and timber before he is pioneering the meat canning enterprise in Australia.

The vision

Sizar saw the vision in meat canning because there was a glut of mutton. In those times sheep were mainly used to make tallow to make soap and candles. Slaughtered sheep were boiled for tallow and ironically, meat being used as fertiliser.

Soon after others followed, and many canning factories were set up around Australia. Initially, most canneries were conserving beef and mutton. Meat canning became a booming industry. It became a serious export business to Britain. With the introduction of rabbits, the animals began to overrun the farming meadows. Thus, by the 1870s many meat processing plants were mainly canning rabbits.

Meat canning 

The meat canning process invention in France in the 1790s was a gigantic achievment. Nicholas Appert was heating food inside sealed glass jars. Consequently, the first canned meat was manufactured in England in 1820. The instructions to open the can was to use a chisel and hammer.

All cans were hand made using heavy tinplate. The lids were soldered on when the can was filled. They were all larger cans, mostly holding 6lbs. At that time Sizar was heating the cans in a pool of whale oil with a gas flame. Despite his successful selling a certain amount of meat to whaling captains and winning medals in Sydney shows, his canning venture was a commercial failure. The failure was mostly because he lacked capital.

Cannery challenges 

By the 1840s several plants were set up at Camperdown, Newcastle, and Victoria. The Newcastle establishment was trading as Fresh Provision Preserving Company. This project was a partnership between William and Henry Dangar.

The company manufactured beef, mutton soups, and mock turtle in cans. The cans ranged from 1lb to 12lbs. Most of the meat export was to England. In the 1850s, drought and the demand created by gold rush saw an increase in the meat price. Due to the high meat prices, Newcastle cannery closed in 1855.

There was an outbreak of cattle disease in Britain in 1865 creating a demand for imported canned meat. Hence, Charles Tindal established the Australian Meat Company in Northern New South Wales. The following year saw the establishment of Melbourne Meat Preserving Company. By 1870, it was the largest meat processing enterprise in Australia. Melbourne Meat Preserving Company was processing fresh meat. However, it was also manufacturing canned meats, meat extract, fertilizer, tallow, skins, and hides.

Labour shortages