‘Smorgon’s was a Mother to the Macedonians’ - The Meatworks—‘smells, blood and guts in Melbournes West ! The Arrival and Settlement of Macedonians in the Inner Western Suburbs of Melbourne By Dr Nick Anastasovski. --------- Kako Makedoncite rabotele naj teskite raboti vo Melburn, formirale semejstva, izgradija kukji, pratile pari na rodnini vo SRM, izgradile vo Avstralija crkvi, socialni I fudbalski klubovi a nitu eden zbor *English (angliski) ne znaele ama vo SRM lugje so magistri i doktorati i koj se plasele od promaja i nastinka skokaja po kafanskite masi...I sega George Bush, Vatikinot, Makedoncite vo Avstralija mu se krivi oti ne mu se raboti ! ------- Dr Nick Atanasovski - The Meatworks—‘smells, blood and guts’ After arriving in Melbourne in 1969, Slavko Talevski spent more than two decades working in the textile industry at Bradmill Cottonmills and Davis Coop. He recalls many Macedonians moving from textiles to the meatworks industry.12 The western suburbs have had a long association with abattoirs dating back to the mid- to late 19th century.13 The arrival of a large number of Macedonians in the 1960s and 1970s saw one of the most recent migrant groups from southern Europe becoming closely identified with the inner west’s major meatworks. Most of the Macedonians had come to Australia from rural villages, where all households maintained livestock, including cows, sheep, pigs and chickens, essential for the family’s sustenance. Meat in the villagers’ diet came from family farm animals, which were slaughtered by male members of the household (women would slaughter chickens). So Macedonians were used to slaughtering farm animals and were also familiar with the labouring processes of meat preparation and preservation. These skills equipped them well to work in the abattoirs and meat industry in their new environment. The men were used in the meatworks as slaughtermen, boners and butchers. Employment in the industry was not exclusively male, as Macedonian women also had jobs there as meat cleaners and packers. It was hard, physical work, but these young men and women were attracted to the industry’s high wages. In this setting, thousands of cattle and sheep were slaughtered daily. The carcasses would be rotated through the plant on a continuously moving chain, where they would be gutted, trimmed and cleaned. Other tasks included working in the cool rooms and the specialist processing areas such as gut cleaning. Wally Curran noted that it was an industry that ‘not everyone could work in—there were smells, blood and guts’.14 (The graphic images below attest to the meat union secretary’s sensory and visual summation). Dobre Ilievski arrived in Williamstown in September 1971 as a 16 year old from the Bitola region village of Dolno Orizari. His first job was in Borthwick’s meatworks in Yarraville. Here he worked in the ‘offal room’ removing brains from severed sheep heads. Dobre stated that he had ‘no problem’ dealing with the nature of the work; as a boy in Macedonia, he had killed chickens for everyday consumption and had often watched men slaughter other farm animals.15 Dobre Ilievski working on the mutton chain at Borthwick’s meatworks in Yarraville in the early 1970s. Photograph courtesy of Dobre Ilievski. Peco (Peter) Ilievski working on the chain at Gilbertson’s meatworks in Newport late 1970s. Photograph courtesy of Todorka Ilievski. Varying numbers of Macedonians worked across the meatworks of the inner west. These included: Gilbertson’s Meatworks (later Greenham’s) in Champion Road, Newport (see photograph on next page) and Kyle Road, Altona; Angliss Meatworks in Ballarat Road, Footscray; Borthwick’s Meatworks in Francis Street, Yarraville; and Smorgon’s Meatworks in Somerville Road, Brooklyn. Anecdotal evidence reveals that at Gilbertson’s in Newport, Macedonians made up 15–20 per cent of the workforce, whilst at Angliss, Macedonians comprised 40–45 per cent. However, Smorgon’s Meatworks in Somerville Road, Brooklyn, contained the single largest number—as many as 70 per cent of the 3000 employees throughout the 1970s were Macedonian men and women. ‘Smorgon’s was a Mother to the Macedonians’ Entire sections of the workforce at Smorgon’s were almost exclusively made up of Macedonians. For example, 80 per cent of the workers on the mutton chains, beef chains and in theboning rooms were Macedonian.16 This very large Macedonian presence at Smorgon’s gave rise to a saying in the western suburbs Macedonian community at the time—‘ako majka si go izgube sinot, vo Smorgon ke go najde’ (‘if a mother has lost her son, he can be found at Smorgon’s’).17 Dobre Ilievski worked as a butcher on the mutton chain at Smorgon’s from 1978 to 1980 and stated ‘Smorgon’s majka mu beshe na Makedoncite’ (‘Smorgon’s was a mother to the Macedonians’).18 Macedonians worked hard in the meatworks and this enabled them to buy and pay off their homes and secure a future for their children.19 Commenting on the benefits of working in the meatworks industry, Wally Curran stated that ‘often a husband and wife worked together in the same plant and, although they arrived with no English language skills, training or education, the industry allowed them the opportunity to develop skills and establish themselves financially’.20 Macedonian meatworkers were not as politicised as some other ethnic groups; however, Curran recalled that ‘they respected and understood the need for the union’ and were active participants, providing delegates, shop stewards and representatives on the AMIEU’s committee of management. Link: pollitecon/html/reprints/The_Arrival_and_Settlement_of_Macedonians_in_the_Inner_Western_Suburbs_of_Melbourne.htm
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 13:22:34 +0000
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