Wednesday, August 9

Our Rotary meeting last night was held at Ashgrove Cheese.  There's a big expansion program going on there and we wanted to look at it before production started and visitors would be banned.  Cheese making started at Ashgrove around 1989 when the Bennett family took the plunge to extend the scope of their dairy farm.  One of the daughters, Jane, was sent off to England to learn how to make cheddar, and her father and uncle approached the bank in Deloraine for a big loan.

The company has been a real success, gaining an international reputation.  The new extensions will enable them to make 6 tonnes of cheese per day.  That's only working one shift.  If demand increased, they would be able to double or triple that output.  The basis of the new production line is a pair of 7000 litre stainless steel tanks from New Zealand.  Other bits of equipment were sourced from Canada and Italy, apart from the pieces that were available in Australia.

Like many Tasmanian enterprises, Ashgrove blossomed without any Government support.  At the time, one of the brothers was on some high-powered industry body and he used his influence to bring the top people in the field to Deloraine to advise on the project.  Last night, we were served a beautiful meal with smoked salmon, ham, various salads, many cheeses, followed by home-made slices and ice-cream.  Drinks included wine, cider and fruit drinks.  Everything was produced within a ten kilometre radius of Ashgrove.

We are certainly fortunate to be living in such a productive part of Australia where the famous can-do spirit of the old-timers still flourishes.