King Island Dairy

Did You Know?

• In 1904, 900 cows were supplying milk to the dairy, and by 1998 that number had grown to over 9,000 cows, mainly Friesian.
• After 25 years of foreign ownership, King Island Dairy returned to Australian ownership in March 2025 when it was purchased by Nick Dobromilsky and Graeme Wilson.

History

The first known dairy on King Island, King Island Dairy Factory Co. Ltd, was established in 1892. On 22 March 1902, a proposal for an additional dairy, King Island Co-operative Dairy Factory Company Limited, was made with E. Cooper as chairman and F. J. Robinson as secretary, based on agricultural experts' reports on the island's climatic suitability for small scale dairying. Construction at Loorana began in June 1902, costing £310 for the building and £390 for machinery, and the first butter shipment occurred that September.

By March 1904, 900 cows supplied milk, and in 1905 the factory site was expanded. In 1936, Archibald Gunn established A. E. Gunn Pty Ltd at Wickham, a cheese and butter factory that produced the island's first cheeses; two years later it merged with the King Island Co-operative Dairy Factory. A proposed 1945 merger with Kraft Walker Cheese Company fell through, and in 1947 cheese production ceased and the Wickham factory closed. King Island Dairy Products Co-operative Society Limited continued with butter, dried milk powder and whole milk.

During the mid-1970s the dairy faced financial difficulties, ceasing butter production in 1975, and receivers were appointed in 1977. On 1 July 1978, William J. and Robyn Kirk, through Interlandi Cheese (Tasmania), bought the dairy for $180,000. Initially making processed cheese for Kraft Foods for the Middle East, the Kirks in 1984, with Tasmanian Development Authority assistance, shifted to upmarket cheese production, launching a signature Brie in April 1985.

The Tasmanian government dispossessed the Kirks in early 1986 over an outstanding loan and sold the dairy to Transequity for $300,000; later that year Agricorp acquired Transequity. In 1992, Melbourne investors bought Agricorp's shares and formed the unlisted public company Island Food Company. By 1998, over 9,000 cows, mainly Friesian, were on the island.