Dairy cows first arrived in Australia in 1788, when the First Fleet landed in Sydney Cove. Two bulls and four cows made the long trip from England and escaped into the nearby bushland not long after they arrived! The nine animals survived, however, they were found seven years later, by then they’d become a herd of over 100.
Australia’s first farmers adapted quickly to their new environment, before long, European settlers with their traditional recipes, began making cheese in small farming settlements around the country.
By the early 1900s Australia had a thriving dairy industry which was exporting large quantities of Cheddar and Butter to the “Mother Country” England. Prominent dairy factories can still be seen beside railways in many Australian country towns. eg. Muswellbrook, Oak Factory & Kingaroy, Butter Factory. This industry had a shake up during WWII, when many of these factories got converted to produce rations for the soldiers.
By the early 1900s Australia had a thriving dairy industry…
The mid 1900s were dominated by Kraft Walker co. “Processed Cheddar”, after Fred Walker traveled to USA to obtain the Australian rights for Kraft Cheddar processed cheese. Kraft factories dotted the country.
Thankfully, the last couple of decades has seen a resurgence in locally produced Speciality European style cheeses. Large companies and small hand made cheese factories alike produce world class speciality cheese. These days most wine/tourist regions have a couple boutique cheese factories, which is a fantastic showcase of the local dairy industry and our European heritage.
