Butter Factory

This plaque is located in the J. H. Vagg Memorial Park, Curdie St.

• March 15th 1888: A meeting was held to gauge interest in establishing a butter factory.
• Money was raised by selling 2000 x £1 shares to local farmers.
• May 1888: Lands Board granted the factory nine acres of land on Cobrico Rd near the railway line. The £463-1-0 quote of builder Clarke & Co was accepted.
• The imposing structure was 70ft x 30ft, with a 12ft ceiling rising to 15ft in the centre.
• June 1888: Mr A H Green was appointed manager of the factory. Salary: £3-16-0.
• August 1888: Machinery was purchased in Melbourne.
• October 15th 1888: Cobden and District Cheese and Butter Factory was officially opened with eight employees – the first co-operative butter factory in the southern hemisphere.
• Melbourne engineer Mr Park complimented Cobden tinsmith Mr Davies for his ‘perfect work’ – no leaks at all!
• During November, the factory accepted 7100 gallons of milk and made 11,636 lbs (5289 kg) of butter. Farmers received 31⁄2 pence for every gallon of milk.
• Mr John Findlow managed the factory successfully for four years before Mr Donald Cameron provided nearly 50 years’ service in the role.
• The first board members were Messrs D S Walker (chairman), W A Taylor, T Shenfield, G McConachy and A Hamilton. Mr O H Ogilvie was appointed secretary.
• By the turn of the century, creameries in association with the Cobden factory had been established at Dixie, Port Campbell, Scott’s Creek, South Purrumbete and Bostock’s Creek.
• Cobden Butter Factory and local farmers were praised in The Age (November 1921). A short history of the financial past and present of the factory was given, including that 500 suppliers had received a total of more than £179,000 during the previous year. The article reviewed the value of land as a result of the prosperity of the dairy farmers, and commented that people from other dairying districts could well visit Cobden for a lesson.
• A piggery was established behind the factory to take care of waste skim milk.
• Cobden’s first trademark for the butter wrap was PBF marked in blue on a white background. Many different trademarks were used over the years until the adoption of the well-known Western Star label which is current to this day.
• The factory repeatedly won butter awards and gold medals over several decades with manager Donald Cameron being known as ‘the most successful butter-maker in the land.’
• 1976: A ‘takeover-merger’ with Camperdown-Glenormiston which undertook an extensive modernisation program. Jim Gleeson’s huge contribution as Cobden’s manager was lauded.
• Heytesbury Shire Council approved plans for re-development of the Cobden factory, now part of the Bonlac group of companies, at its November 1986 meeting.
• 1994: July 1st – Federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy Senator Bob Collins flew into Cobden to officially open Bonlac’s new Stork milk powder dryer. At the time, the plant was the largest in Australia for drying milk powders and equal to anything in the world. More than $30 million was spent on the project.Fonterra bought the Cobden factory in 2001 as part of its acquisition of Bonlac Foods. Cobden is Fonterra Australia’s largest site, producing milk, powders, cream and butter including Western StarTM.
• Since 2011, more than $150 million has been invested in the factory, including investment in a beverage plant (2015), expansion to its cool-room (2017) and multiple investments in the latest butter-making technology.
• Fonterra donates about $20,000 per annum to community initiatives in the region. ⁄Western Star Butter continues to win prestigious awards, and its own national advertising
• campaign is more than helping to keep Cobden ‘on the map’. ⁄One pack of award-winning Western Star is sold every second.