Dunedin (ship) - 1882 Voyage

1882 Voyage

The NZALC was carrying 10,000 Merino/Lincoln and Leicester crossbreed sheep on the Totara Estate near Oamaru. A slaughter works was built close to the rail head there. From 5 December 1881 this herd was slaughtered at Totara Estate and sent overnight by goods trains with a central block of ice to be loaded on the Dunedin, where they were sewn into calico bags and frozen. To prove the process, the first frozen carcases were taken off the ship, thawed and cut.

After 7 days of loading, the crankshaft of the compressor broke, damaging the machine's casing and causing the loss of the 643 sheep stowed. It took a month for a local machinist to rebuild the crankshaft and associated machinery, during which time all but 2 of the 60 booked passengers found alternative travel. The frozen carcasses were resold locally during this time, and encouragingly they were considered indistinguishable from fresh meat.

On 15th February 1882, the Dunedin sailed with 4331 mutton, 598 lamb and 22 pig carcasses, 250 kegs of butter, as well as hare, pheasant, turkey, chicken and 2226 sheep tongues. Some problems came from sparks from the compressor's boiler which provided a fire hazard on a sailing ship, and air flow in the refrigerated hold; Captain Whitson at one point developed hypothermia while working alone in the air duct.

The Dunedin arrived in London 98 days after setting sail. Carcasses were sold at the Smithfield market over two weeks by John Swan and Sons, who noted butchers concerns about the quality of meat from the experimental transport; "Directly the meat was placed on the market, its superiority over the Australian meat struck us, and in fact the entire trade". Although crossed with the primarily wool bearing Merino, the well fed New Zealand sheep weighed an average of over 40 kilograms (88 lb), and some exceeded 90 kilograms (200 lb). Just a token single carcass was condemned.