Willaston Dairies and Milk Rounds
| Place type: | Building |
|---|---|
| Town or Locality: | Willaston |
Milk Round. Mr. Alby Veale, Drury Street
Mr. Veale started a milk round in Willaston in the early 1920s. He didn’t have a milk float, but a light spring cart with two steps at the front from which he used to deliver milk. In later years his daughter, Lorna, and son, Roy, used to deliver milk on their way to school carried in billy cans; and on their way home from school, they picked up the empty billy cans. In the late 1930s, Mr Veale sold the milk round to Mr. Mellors.
Mr. Watty McLean “Waltham Dairy”, Jane Street
According to a Lands Department map of the time, where Mr. McLean lived was known as Waltham Abbey in the area of Willaston. He established the “Waltham Dairy” in 1929, and others took over the round between 1932-33. The milk round was then run by Mr. Jack Wilson of Murray Road Willaston, who lived by the North Para Ford. He called it “Para Bank Dairy” and had the milk run until 1936. This milk round was operated by a number of Willaston locals. It is interesting to note that the milk float that Mr McLean built in 1929 was still used into the 1960s, by changing the wooden spoke wheels to rubber tyre motor wheels.
Bridge View Dairy Farm, Panter Street
Mr. Dick Clements established the milk round in the early 1900s. Mr. Chandler was the last to deliver milk from the “Bridge View Dairy” in the 1930s. The Bridge View Dairy had an excellent reputation. The Bunyip 28th June 1918 – “All the cows are stalled in separate stalls under cover and each receives a ration of chaff and bran night and morning. The floor of the byre is bricked and sloped to a drain in the centre. 21 cows are bailed in the morning and 18 in the evening.... Mr. Clements is building up a herd of pure type Ayrshires that should be of benefit to himself and of advantage to the district in general. His success at the Adelaide Royal Show last year when he gained the Championship and second in Dairy cow with his Ayrshire “Bakewell Girl” shows that he is working on the right lines”. The Dairy farm at this time consisted of 52 acres.
Brooks Hygienic Dairy, Kelly Road
The local historian, Mr. Fred Brooks, tells his family story about the Brooks Hygienic Dairy.-
“Down by the river on Kelly Road is where my mother started the milk round in 1929. In those days Kelly Road was un-named. My parents moved to Willaston in 1921 and I was born at home in 1922. On the death of my father in 1927 my mother was left with 4 young children. In 1929 my mother decided to start a milk round supplying milk around Willaston and Gawler.
In those days milk was twopence halfpenny a pint, in later years it went up to three pence a pint. The cows were milked at 4 a.m. so the milk would be delivered in time for breakfast. There was another delivery in the afternoon, but that was mainly for people with a baby in the house. The only way I could get out of Sunday School was to deliver milk on Sunday afternoon..... My mother had 2 sayings: - “You can’t beat our milk, but you can whip our cream”, and “Rain or shine we’re always on time, Brooks Hygienic Dairy”.
The Brooks ran 14 milking cows. Mr. Mundy purchased the dairy in 1940, but didn’t continue with the milk round. In the paddocks to the east, adjoining the Brooks property, the first trotting meeting in Willaston was held on the 12th April 1938. The property has long since been cut into industrial allotments. Paxton Street was extended, running through the paddocks to link up with Kelly Road.
Memories of Willaston Dairies and Milk Rounds
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