Blayney Abattoir began operation in 1957 but before that, the site existed as a freezing facility since at least 1900.
The facility of Blayney Abattoir consisted of a mutton floor with two chains, The larger chain having the capacity to process between 3000-4000 sheep a day and the smaller chain handling roughly 1500.
The beef floor could process between 250-400 cattle a day, and the pig floor handled around 400 pigs although these numbers would vary from day to day.
Blayney Abattoir is a significant part of Blayneys history, having employed many residents over the years and...Read More
Blayney Abattoir began operation in 1957 but before that, the site existed as a freezing facility since at least 1900.
The facility of Blayney Abattoir consisted of a mutton floor with two chains, The larger chain having the capacity to process between 3000-4000 sheep a day and the smaller chain handling roughly 1500.
The beef floor could process between 250-400 cattle a day, and the pig floor handled around 400 pigs although these numbers would vary from day to day.
Blayney Abattoir is a significant part of Blayneys history, having employed many residents over the years and having an impact on the lives of almost every local in one way or another.
For many, working in the Abattoir was the first job out of school. Even during school holidays, kids would come and do odd jobs to earn some money.
At its peak, the abattoir employed 1600 people; some worked their entire lives. Some careers came to an end with the abattoir closure in 1999. The remaining 580 workers at the time were given a weeks notice over a radio broadcast, and so came to the end of an era.
The closure had a widely felt impact on such a small country town like Blayney with only has a population of 3355. Families were forced to relocate, seeking work opportunities, some were unable to find employment again.
Subsequently, the transport company who carried livestock to the Abattoir also closed after servicing the facility for 43 years.
For some time, there was a proposal to build a new facility, but, the Blayney Council eventually decided against the move.
The site was removed the heritage register in 2015.
I’d like to give special thanks to the former workers who offered comments and corrections to the comments in the original Facebook post. These contributions make up this introduction and individual captions that appear today. Read less
