72a["Speech by Mr. Scaddan", The Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA), Tuesday 15 February 1916, page 18]

SPEECH BY MR. SCADDAN.

Perth, Feb. 9.

The Premier (Mr. Scaddan) addressed a crowded meeting at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, to-night on current politics.

...

Wyndham Freezing Works.

Dealing with the Wyndham freezing works, Mr. Scaddan said that neither he nor any of his colleagues had received one single penny in money or kind for what the Government had done in connection with the works. In 1910 Mr. Wilson, then Premier, thought it necessary to establish a freezing works in the north to find a market overseas for the State's surplus stock. Mention of the proposal was made in the Governor's speech at the opening of the 1910 session, but nothing had been heard of it up till the time the Liberal Government went out of office in 1911. When his Government decided to go ahead with the Wyndham works they did so with the object of frustrating the operations of the American meat ring, which had been let into the Eastern States by the Liberal Governments.

The Ring Had Been Kept Out

of this State by the actions of the Labour Government, but if the Labour Government was turned out and the Liberal Government came in, he believed the American meat ring would soon be in full swing in West Australia. It was recognised by even the meat ring itself that the strongest opposition they could get in northern Australia would be tne establishment of a State meat works at Wyndham, which, once they were started, would, effectively keep the ring out of the State for all time. Having decided to go on with the works, the Government communicated with the Agent-General, and, as a result,

Mr. Nevanas Came Out to the State

and made a report, which he was paid for. Being an accepted authority, the Government asked him to prepare plans for the works, which he did, and they were submitted to the State Departmental Board, who said on the plans that the works would cost £200,500. Mr. Nevanas, when he was told of that amount, ridiculed the estimate, and, at the request of the Government, submitted a tender for £155,000, which, when considered by the departmental board, was recommended for acceptance by it, particularly as Mr. Nevanas said he could

Complete the Works by March, 1916.

About that same time, a despatch was received from the Home Government asking the State to make every possible effort to supply the troops in the fighting areas with frozen meat, a scarcity of which then existed. It was a desire to fall in with this request that made the Government accept Mr. Nevanas' tender, and instruct him to go on with the work. The State unfortunately was a big one, and he could not refrain from saying that an area from Wyndham to Eucla could never properly developed until it had

More Than One Administration.

It might sound disloyal to say it, but it was his honest opinion. Mr. Nevanas told the Government that he would want some assistance to get his material to Wyndham, which was a reasonable request from him, and Cabinet decided to help him, and the State offered him the N.2, which was then in Melbourne, but owing to the Western Australian being sent to London for sale, they decided to cancel the charter to Mr. Nevanas, the N.2 being needed for mail service. It had been said, and he believed it true, that it was owing to the loss of the N.2 for carrying purposes that

Caused Mr. Nevanua Not To Go On

with the works. No actual contract had been entered into with Mr. Nevanas, but the arrangement was cancelled, and what material Mr. Nevanas had purchased the Government repurchased from him and was now using it in pushing on with the works by day labour. The only objection

the Pastoralists' Association had to the Government's scheme was to the hated principle of day labour.

...

72b["Derby Meat Works", The Sunday Times (Perth, WA), Sunday 05 March 1916, page 2]

DERBY MEAT WORKS

Will Anticipate Wyndham

Some few weeks ago we published the information that Melbourne capital had sent over experts to make the preliminary arrangements for establishing freezing works at Derby, and after waiting for the usual interval one of the somnolent Terrace "thunderers" got up sufficient energy to extract a sleepy statement by a member of the Government that they didn't know anything about it.

The object was to discount "The Sunday Times" announcement and to again slumber while the dreary old job of erecting the Wyndham Meat Works jogged along with its doomsday system of day labor. Meanwhile the Derby scheme has been going ahead with leaps and bounds. It is being promoted by the Flemington Meat Works, Ltd., in conjunction with certain W.A. investors, and the plans have been prepared by Messrs. Oldham and Cox, of this city. In fact, Mr. Cox is over in the East now in connection with the matter, and tenders have been invited for the supply of the material for the buildings.

Perhaps the Government do not know anything about all this, but they will know when they find that the Derby meat works are completed In less than quarter the time that the Wyndham works are likely to take at the present rate. As a matter of fact, it looks as if the £10,000 scooped by the wily Nevanas and the quarter of a million which the Government are going to sink at the head of Cambridge Gulf will be absolutely thrown away. First the Derby works will be running without any waste of time, and will mop up the whole of the cattle, in the Western Kimberley. Secondly, the Port Darwin works, now being pushed on with all speed by the Union Cold Storage Company, will draw all the cattle in East Kimberley--that is, all east of Wyndham. Thirdly, the U.C.S. contemplate putting on cattle steamers, to take off all the stock that is not secured by the Derby works.

Consequently when the Government have completed their Wyndham works they will find them nothing but a white elephant as contracts will be made with all the pastoralists by either Derby or Port Darwin. If the Wyndham works had been erected four years ago when proposed by the Liberal Government, all this waste of money would have been saved, and competition by the Flemington people and the Union Cold Storage Co. would not have robbed W.A. of its trade.