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Boonah Butter Factory
The Boonah Butter Factory is a heritage-listed former butter factory in Boonah, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. Constructed in 1916, it is a prominent landmark at the intersection of Boonah-Rathdowney Road and Railway Street on the northern entry to Boonah. During the first part of the twentieth century, it was one of the most modern butter factories in the Commonwealth, the largest butter factory in the Southern Hemisphere, had the second highest output of butter in Queensland and was a major supplier of dairy products to Brisbane. The former Boonah Butter Factory office, which is currently the premises of Flavours Cafe, is on the Local Heritage Register of the Scenic Rim Regional Council in acknowledgement of the site's historic, aesthetic and cultural significance.
The Boonah Butter Factory is the sole surviving cream factory or butter factory in Boonah and is one of the most historic buildings in the region. It has served as a studio and gallery space for local and international artists for over twenty years and has been identified by the Scenic Rim Regional Council as a developed attraction in the region. The former loading platform for the factory is a fruit and vegetable store.
The factory was an essential industry in the region. It was a gauge for the progress of the district, responsible for the generation and supply of electrical power to Boonah and responsible for pumping water to tanks throughout the township to assist in fighting fires.
It is the first of two dairy factories known to have been designed, in part, by Thomas Ramsay Hall of the architectural firm T.R. Hall and Phillips and is the only one to remain in situ. The second factory designed by T.R. Hall was constructed in 1936 for the South Coast Co-Operative Dairy Association in Southport and was demolished in 1972 to make way for the Australia Fair Shopping Centre. The Boonah Butter Factory is one of the four original factories managed by the Queensland Farmers Co-Operative Association, including those located at Grantham, Laidley and Booval.
Creameries had an important role in the establishment of the early dairy industry in the region and made a significant contribution to the prosperity and economic stability of Boonah which was one of the earliest areas settled by Europeans after the establishment of Brisbane. In conjunction with local cheese factories like the Trelawney Cheese Factory, which is listed on the Scenic Rim Regional Council Local Heritage Register as a rare example of early dairy technology, they were extremely beneficial to the district.
The first creamery in Boonah was built by the Central Dairy Company in the vicinity of the current site of the Boonah Butter Factory around 1894. The factory was located across the railway tracks from the township on the hill behind the school ground, with the 7+1⁄2-acre site 200–300 feet above Boonah offering panoramic views of the countryside. The factory was designed and managed by Samuel Dover who had experience in the industry. Milk from local dairy farmers was delivered to the factory, processed into cream and then transported via rail to the large factories in Brisbane for churning into butter. The residue from the separation of the milk was used as a food source for pigs, which were also an important agricultural industry in the region.
By January 1895, the already successful creamery had been sold to the Lowood Creamery Company which was owned by Howes Bros. and Co. The Boonah Creamery was one of a number of factories in the district owned by the Lowood Creamery Company with other creameries located at Engelsberg, Milford, Rosevale and Anthony.
Despite the success of the creameries, the local farmers wished to have greater control of their own dairy products and pricing. Rather than transport the cream to Brisbane for final processing where the vibration of the train journey could impact the quality, the farmers wished to churn butter in Boonah. There was also a strong desire to remove their reliance on privately owned factories and participate in the cooperative movement in the dairy industry that was gaining momentum in Queensland. To achieve this, a local butter factory operated as a cooperative venture was required.
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Boonah Butter Factory
The Boonah Butter Factory is a heritage-listed former butter factory in Boonah, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. Constructed in 1916, it is a prominent landmark at the intersection of Boonah-Rathdowney Road and Railway Street on the northern entry to Boonah. During the first part of the twentieth century, it was one of the most modern butter factories in the Commonwealth, the largest butter factory in the Southern Hemisphere, had the second highest output of butter in Queensland and was a major supplier of dairy products to Brisbane. The former Boonah Butter Factory office, which is currently the premises of Flavours Cafe, is on the Local Heritage Register of the Scenic Rim Regional Council in acknowledgement of the site's historic, aesthetic and cultural significance.
The Boonah Butter Factory is the sole surviving cream factory or butter factory in Boonah and is one of the most historic buildings in the region. It has served as a studio and gallery space for local and international artists for over twenty years and has been identified by the Scenic Rim Regional Council as a developed attraction in the region. The former loading platform for the factory is a fruit and vegetable store.
The factory was an essential industry in the region. It was a gauge for the progress of the district, responsible for the generation and supply of electrical power to Boonah and responsible for pumping water to tanks throughout the township to assist in fighting fires.
It is the first of two dairy factories known to have been designed, in part, by Thomas Ramsay Hall of the architectural firm T.R. Hall and Phillips and is the only one to remain in situ. The second factory designed by T.R. Hall was constructed in 1936 for the South Coast Co-Operative Dairy Association in Southport and was demolished in 1972 to make way for the Australia Fair Shopping Centre. The Boonah Butter Factory is one of the four original factories managed by the Queensland Farmers Co-Operative Association, including those located at Grantham, Laidley and Booval.
Creameries had an important role in the establishment of the early dairy industry in the region and made a significant contribution to the prosperity and economic stability of Boonah which was one of the earliest areas settled by Europeans after the establishment of Brisbane. In conjunction with local cheese factories like the Trelawney Cheese Factory, which is listed on the Scenic Rim Regional Council Local Heritage Register as a rare example of early dairy technology, they were extremely beneficial to the district.
The first creamery in Boonah was built by the Central Dairy Company in the vicinity of the current site of the Boonah Butter Factory around 1894. The factory was located across the railway tracks from the township on the hill behind the school ground, with the 7+1⁄2-acre site 200–300 feet above Boonah offering panoramic views of the countryside. The factory was designed and managed by Samuel Dover who had experience in the industry. Milk from local dairy farmers was delivered to the factory, processed into cream and then transported via rail to the large factories in Brisbane for churning into butter. The residue from the separation of the milk was used as a food source for pigs, which were also an important agricultural industry in the region.
By January 1895, the already successful creamery had been sold to the Lowood Creamery Company which was owned by Howes Bros. and Co. The Boonah Creamery was one of a number of factories in the district owned by the Lowood Creamery Company with other creameries located at Engelsberg, Milford, Rosevale and Anthony.
Despite the success of the creameries, the local farmers wished to have greater control of their own dairy products and pricing. Rather than transport the cream to Brisbane for final processing where the vibration of the train journey could impact the quality, the farmers wished to churn butter in Boonah. There was also a strong desire to remove their reliance on privately owned factories and participate in the cooperative movement in the dairy industry that was gaining momentum in Queensland. To achieve this, a local butter factory operated as a cooperative venture was required.
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