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PENSHURST AND DISTRICT BUTTER AND CHEESE CO. LTD

Location Chesswas Street and French Street PENSHURST, Southern Grampians Shire File Number 231 Level Stage 2 study complete

[1/4] 23353 Butter Factory Former [2/4] 23353 Butter Factory Former [3/4] 23353 Butter Factory Former [4/4] 23353 Butter Factory Former

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The Penshurst and District Butter and Cheese Co. Ltd. was established in 1898. It was located close to the former railway station on land in Chesswas and French Streets. The move was typical of the many butter factories established across the Western District at the time. The principal products were butter and cheese made from fresh milk but, by 1934, condensed milk and dried milk powder were prepared and marketed in large quantities, and other important products included cocoa and milk, casein, milk sugar, baby foods, and calf food. Mr. A. Hughes MLA opened the present brick factory in 1929. It is a single storey red brick building with a loading platform and office at the southern end. The other buildings have been demolished. The company merged with the conglomerate Murray Goulbourn in 1966 after which the factory closed. The surviving building is in fair condition and has been altered unsympathetically.

How is it significant?
The Penshurst and District Butter and Cheese Co. factory is of historical and architectural significance to the township of Penshurst and the Southern Grampians Shire.

Why is it significant?
The former Butter factory is of historical significance to the township of Penshurst as a representation of the dairying industry, which started in the area around the turn of the century, and as one of the major employers in the town. It is of historical significance for the physical reminder of a previous industry within the township associated with closer settlement, and a way of life, which is no longer supported. The Penshurst butter factory is historically important as one of two such factories in the study area. It is of architectural significance as one of the few surviving industrial complexes within the township of Penshurst.