["Freezing Works Proposal", The Sunday Times (Perth, WA), Sunday 11 October 1914, page 5]

Freezing Works Proposal

SUGGESTION TO THE GOVERNMENT

To Substitute Derby for Wyndham

Sir William Vestey, managing director of the Union Cold Storage Company Limited, and head of the Blue Star line of steamships, who has been on a visit to Australia in connection with the interests of the former company, left Sydney for New Zealand by the steamer s.s. Moeraki recently. During his stay in the Commonwealth the meat magnate bought up several large pastoral properties in Kimberley and the Northern Territory, in addition to securing concessions from the Federal government in connection with the establishment of freezing works at Port Darwin.

Interviewed before his departure on Friday by the Sydney representative of "The Sunday Times," Sir William Vestey was not very communicative, but he said they will have a capacity of 250 head of cattle daily.

This prompt action of a powerful private concern like the Union Cold Storage Company Limited is in striking contrast to the lackadaisical manner in which the question of the establishment of freezing works in the North has been treated by our own State Government. Before the advent of the Scaddan Administration to power, the Wilson Government was well convinced of the necessity of having freezing works at Wyndham, but their movement in the matter was checked by the change of Government.

The Scaddan Government, on coming into power, did not at once turn the project down, but Plane Bill Johnson paid a visit of inquiry to Wyndham, and on his return to Perth wrote such a strong condemnatory report on the proposal that the Government promptly abandoned it. The Government did not again seriously consider the matter until the representative of a private company had visited Australia and secured vast tracts of country with the object of carrying out the self-same work which Minister Johnson had so strongly condemned.

And now Mr. Scaddan admits his conversion. In view of the delay, however, in carrying out the work, which has enabled Sir William Vestey's company to get in first, we would suggest to the Premier an alteration of his plans. Wyndham is now no longer as suitable as it was for the establishment of freezing works owing to the close-at-hand competition of the Union Cold Storage Company, which is assured of a plentiful supply of cattle, while the same cannot be said of the proposed works to be run by the State.

What we would suggest, in view of these latest developments, is that the Wyndham project should be abandoned, and the State freezing works established at Derby instead. Wyndham is 2177 miles from Perth, and Derby only 1621 miles. Freezing works established et Derby would be further away from the influence of Sir William Vestey's company, a plentiful supply of cattle would be assured, there would be no difficulty (as at Wyndham) in obtaining a suitable site, and the works would be 556 miles nearer to the metropolitan market, thus lessening the cost of transport considerably.