The first attempt to ship refrigerated meat from Australasia was made when the Northam sailed from Australia to England in 1876; however the refrigeration machinery broke down en route and so the cargo was lost.
Later that year chilled beef was sent from the United States to England (a shorter journey, at cooler, higher latitudes) and, although spoilage was high, this voyage provided some encouragement to Australian and New Zealand promoters of refrigeration.
During 1877 the steamers Le Frigorifique and Paraguay carried frozen mutton from Argentina to France, proving the concept, if not the economic case, for longer-distance refrigerated shipping.
In 1879 the Strathleven, equipped with compression refrigeration, sailed from Sydney with 40 long tons (41 t) of frozen beef and mutton as a small part of her cargo, and this meat arrived in good condition.
As a result of this success a Director of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company (NZALC), William Soltau Davidson, sent an employee, Thomas Brydone, from New Zealand to the UK to investigate compression refrigeration units.
The first attempt to ship refrigerated meat from Australasia was made when the Northam sailed from Australia to England in 1876; however the refrigeration machinery broke down en route and so the cargo was lost. Later that year chilled beef was sent from the United States to England (a shorter journey, at cooler, higher latitudes) and, although spoilage was high, this voyage provided some encouragement to Australian and New Zealand promoters of refrigeration. During 1877 the steamers Le Frigorifique and Paraguay carried frozen mutton from Argentina to France, proving the concept, if not the economic case, for longer-distance refrigerated shipping. In 1879 the Strathleven, equipped with compression refrigeration, sailed from Sydney with 40 long tons (41 t) of frozen beef and mutton as a small part of her cargo, and this meat arrived in good condition. As a result of this success a Director of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company (NZALC), William Soltau Davidson, sent an employee, Thomas Brydone, from New Zealand to the UK to investigate compression refrigeration units.
Dunedin (ship)