The Golden North Story |
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A Proud History The history of Golden North has been linked from the beginning with the South Australian Mid-North town of Laura, still the site of the firm’s main operations. The formal beginnings of the current day Golden North came in 1923, there is however a link as far back as the 1880’s. For it was about 1880 that William Bowker was attracted to the new mining ventures being opened up in Broken Hill. He found dairy and garden produce in short supply and subsequently went into business supplying the people of Broken Hill with scalded cream from the family property at Laura in SA. The cream was delivered to the Gladstone rail head by horse and dray, and since there was no refrigeration, it was covered with wet bags for the overnight journey to Broken Hill. Control of the business was handed over in 1903 to William’s son Percival Bowker. In 1923 the first ice tank was installed at Laura, together with two cold rooms. The one ton capacity tank was kept busy supplying ice for packing the cream before railing, and for local sales. Soon after-in 1923- came the formation of the Laura Ice Company, primarily to serve the growing needs of both the local and Broken Hill trade. This signified the real beginning of today’s Golden North organization. Several significant steps were taken in 1925: the extensions to the factory at Laura, the establishment of the Laura Ice and Produce Company as a private limited company, and the importation from the United States of a glass-lined cream cooking vat. |
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| Sales of local cream increased steadily, and ice cream began gaining popularity. To meet the growing demand, the Laura Ice and Produce Company increased the size of its plant and installed its first churn freezer. Ice cream was made and freezing was done by packing the ice cream tub with ice and adding salt to give, in effect, a brine solution. By 1930 there was further progress. Electricity became available from local plants, and refrigeration began being more widely used. In the decade 1930 – 1940 the Laura Ice and Produce Company was involved primarily with the manufacture of cream, ice cream and butter, but later in the period the introduction of a butter zoning scheme ruled out further manufacturing at Laura. |
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Port Pirie began to emerge as part of the operation in 1938 for the supply of fresh milk . There was a big demand from locals and visiting ships. To improve the keeping quality of the milk, the Laura Ice and Produce Company decided to offer the first pasteurized milk in the area and it was a step the proved extremely popular. In 1938 the company began pasteurizing milk at Laura and milk sales developed during the wartime years with Woomera and other military establishments being set up in the region. The next major advancement was the introduction of bottled milk. Golden North Dairies Ltd was formed in 1948 to cater for the increasing trade and in the same year a formal agency was set up in Broken Hill. |
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The company has continued to grow with new markets and new products. Introducing a range of frozen yogurts and Sorbets for the interstate markets, and the securing of a major national Housebrand packing contract, have led to the introduction of a second daily shift and the hiring of more production staff. Golden North has been long recognized for its quality products and has dominated the major awards for ice cream in the state i.e. The Royal Show Awards and The Dairy Industry Awards. Golden North is now an official icon of South Australians having been included in the 2006 Bank SA Heritage Icons list. |
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