Boonah Butter Factory

File:A load of cream cans Boonah Butter Factory 1932.jpg

File:Boonah Butter Factory Brisbane Courier Wednesday 11 May 1932 page 14.JPG

Creameries had an important role in the establishment of the early dairy industry in the region and made a significant contribution to the prosperity and economic stability of Boonah which was one of the earliest areas settled by Europeans after the establishment of Brisbane.{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Murray|last2=Saunders|first2=Kay|title=Working the land : an historical overview of Boonah and its northern district|date=2007|publisher=Queensland State Archives}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3625685 |title=OUR INDUSTRIES. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |volume=LII |issue=11,961 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=15 May 1896 |accessdate=1 October 2016 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article216083849 |title=Boonah Beats Us |newspaper=The Beaudesert Times |volume=XXX |issue=1577 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=5 August 1938 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite book|last1=Pfeffer|first1=C|title=The Fassifern Story : A History of the Boonah Shire and Surroundings to 1889|date=1991|publisher=Boonah Shire Council|location=Boonah|page=62}} In conjunction with local cheese factories like the Trelawney Cheese Factory, which is listed on the Scenic Rim Regional Council Local Heritage Register as a rare example of early dairy technology, they were extremely beneficial to the district.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130383609 |title=Farming in Fassifern. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XXXVI |issue=5364 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=23 November 1895 |accessdate=5 October 2016 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}

File:Boonah Butter Factory cafe.jpg

The first creamery in Boonah was built by the Central Dairy Company in the vicinity of the current site of the Boonah Butter Factory around 1894.{{cite book|last1=Lake|first1=Morris|title=A Hundred years of dairying : A History of dairying in the Fassifern|date=1980|page=25}} The factory was located across the railway tracks from the township on the hill behind the school ground, with the {{frac|7|1|2}}-acre site 200–300 feet above Boonah offering panoramic views of the countryside.{{cite book|last1=Anders|first1=Elsie|last2=Lindgren|first2=Averyl|title=Boonah and beyond|date=2013|publisher=Pelican Crest|page=315}} The factory was designed and managed by Samuel Dover who had experience in the industry.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123752279 |title=LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=[?]XXVI |issue=5151 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=10 July 1894 |accessdate=1 October 2016 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123749732 |title=The Central Dairy Company. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XXXV |issue=5112 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=10 April 1894 |accessdate=1 October 2016 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite web|url=http://www.doverandsons.com.au/about-us.php|title=Dover & Sons - About Us|accessdate=21 November 2016|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901081831/http://www.doverandsons.com.au/about-us.php|archivedate=1 September 2016|df=dmy-all}} Milk from local dairy farmers was delivered to the factory, processed into cream and then transported via rail to the large factories in Brisbane for churning into butter.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130383609 |title=Farming in Fassifern. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XXXVI |issue=5364 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=23 November 1895 |accessdate=1 October 2016 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite web|last1=Jenner|first1=Margeret|title=Pioneer life in the Fassifern : Problems and prospects|url=http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:201584/s00855804_1984_12_1_73.pdf|website=University of Queensland|accessdate=1 October 2016|date=1984|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002183331/http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:201584/s00855804_1984_12_1_73.pdf|archivedate=2 October 2016|df=dmy-all}} The residue from the separation of the milk was used as a food source for pigs, which were also an important agricultural industry in the region.

By January 1895, the already successful creamery had been sold to the Lowood Creamery Company which was owned by Howes Bros. and Co.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21628282 |title=Horticultural. |newspaper=The Queenslander |location=Queensland, Australia |date=12 January 1895 |accessdate=1 October 2016 |page=83 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite book|last1=Pfeffer|first1=C|title=The Fassifern Story : A History of the Boonah Shire and Surroundings to 1889|date=1991|publisher=Boonah Shire Council|location=Boonah|page=59}} The Boonah Creamery was one of a number of factories in the district owned by the Lowood Creamery Company with other creameries located at Engelsberg, Milford, Rosevale and Anthony.

Despite the success of the creameries, the local farmers wished to have greater control of their own dairy products and pricing. Rather than transport the cream to Brisbane for final processing where the vibration of the train journey could impact the quality, the farmers wished to churn butter in Boonah.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123749732 |title=The Central Dairy Company. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XXXV |issue=5112 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=10 April 1894 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}} There was also a strong desire to remove their reliance on privately owned factories and participate in the cooperative movement in the dairy industry that was gaining momentum in Queensland. To achieve this, a local butter factory operated as a cooperative venture was required.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20795302 |title=BUTTER FACTORY FOR BOONAH. |newspaper=The Queenslander |issue=2052 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=8 July 1905 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=37 |via=National Library of Australia}}

Despite growing dissatisfaction with the privately owned dairy enterprises, the early factories of the dairy industry encouraged a proactive approach from farmers to improve the yield and quality of the region's milk products.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116028640 |title=DEVELOPMENT ON SOUND LINES. |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LXXIV |issue=14,809 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=1 May 1934 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=4 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}} The agricultural and dairy success of the area was directly linked to the community's ability to lobby for land to be set aside for the Boonah Showgrounds in order to hold an Agricultural show to showcase the district's produce and reinforce community spirit. The designer and manager of the creamery, Samuel Dover, was the first secretary of the newly formed Fassifern and Dugandan Pastoral and Agricultural Show Society.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123363691 |title=Fassifern and Dugandan Pastoral and Agricultural Society. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XXXVII |issue=5499 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=6 October 1896 |accessdate=1 October 2016 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}} The first Boonah Show was held in 1898.{{cite web|title=History and Facts|url=http://boonahshowsociety.org.au/about/history-facts/|website=Boonah Show Society|accessdate=3 October 2016|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105102941/http://boonahshowsociety.org.au/about/history-facts/|archivedate=5 November 2016|df=dmy-all}}

File:Boonah Butter Factory roof top.jpg

The first dedicated butter factory in Boonah was built by Samuel Dover in 1900 on property he owned in Church Street neighbouring the Roman Catholic Church.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18546667 |title=COUNTRY NEWS. |newspaper=The Queenslander |volume=LVII |issue=1279 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=5 May 1900 |accessdate=30 September 2016 |page=822 |via=National Library of Australia}} Known as the Fassifern Butter Factory and Ice Works, it was owned by Howes Bros. and employed seven men and collected milk from the various creameries in the area.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article101453158 |title=The Boonah Central Butter Factory. |newspaper=Queensland Country Life |volume=II |issue=16 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=12 June 1901 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=21 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20794002 |title=FASISFERN BUTTER FACTORY, BOONAH. |newspaper=The Queenslander |issue=2047 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=3 June 1905 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=27 |via=National Library of Australia}}

The local farmers were dissatisfied with Howes Bros.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123907116 |title=Our Boonah Letter. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XLVII |issue=6979 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=2 November 1905 |accessdate=15 October 2016 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}} and, after a series of meetings, decided to form a joint venture between the Boonah Farmers Co-Operative Dairy Co., which had been established in 1899,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123278781 |title=BOONAH FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XL |issue=5962 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=23 September 1899 |accessdate=15 October 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123267528 |title=BOONAH FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XL |issue=6051 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=21 April 1900 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}} and the Queensland Farmers Co-Operative Association which had been founded in 1899 and was based at the Booval Butter Factory, also known as the Jacaranda Butter Factory.{{cite web|title=City of Ipswich Planning and Development Update|url=http://www.ipswichplanning.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/64902/PDU_Edition22_v1.pdf|website=City of Ipswich|accessdate=12 October 2016|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012234945/http://www.ipswichplanning.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/64902/PDU_Edition22_v1.pdf|archivedate=12 October 2016|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|title=Queensland Farmers Co-operative Association|url=http://blog.library.ipswich.qld.gov.au/lh/2012/04/30/queensland-farmers-co-operative-assocaition/|website=Ipswich Libraries : By the Bremmer : Memories of Ipswich|accessdate=5 October 2016|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005200602/http://blog.library.ipswich.qld.gov.au/lh/2012/04/30/queensland-farmers-co-operative-assocaition/|archivedate=5 October 2016|df=dmy-all|date=30 April 2012}} The Queensland Farmers Co-Operative put a proposal to the Boonah Farmers Co-Operative in June 1905 to guarantee to establish a cooperative butter factory in Boonah and, in November 1905, the Boonah Co-Operative opened a dedicated bank account to build the necessary funds to buy a site. In 1907 the two cooperatives merged and purchased the Fassifern Butter Factory and Ice Works from Howes Brothers.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article124244689 |title=Boonah Farmers' Co-operative Company. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XLIX |issue=7191 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=28 September 1907 |accessdate=15 October 2016 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article124235526 |title=FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY. |newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser |volume=XLIX |issue=7179 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=31 August 1907 |accessdate=15 October 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20794491 |title=BOONAH CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY. |newspaper=The Queenslander |issue=2049 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=17 June 1905 |accessdate=15 October 2016 |page=27 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19418348 |title=BOONAH CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |volume=LXII |issue=14,921 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=7 November 1905 |accessdate=15 October 2016 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}} Samuel Dover remained in place as manager and, by 1909, the factory output was larger than any of the other factories controlled by the Queensland Farmers Co-Operative Association.{{cite book|last1=Pfeffer|first1=C|title=The Fassifern Story : A History of the Boonah Shire and Surroundings to 1889|date=1991|publisher=Boonah Shire Council|location=Boonah|page=64}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20794491 |title=BOONAH CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY. |newspaper=The Queenslander |issue=2049 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=17 June 1905 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=27 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100868280 |title=QUEENSLAND FARMERS' CO-OP. CO. BOONAH FACTORY. |newspaper=Queensland Country Life |volume=X |issue=2 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=1 February 1909 |accessdate=15 October 2016 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}

Within ten years the site on Church Street was considered too small and poorly positioned. The present site was selected and acquired for £10, 603 on the northern entry to the township adjacent to the railway station and, in both June 1914 and March 1915, tenders were called for the new factory to be constructed. Plans and specifications were available for view at Harding Frew in Brisbane, the offices of John Kerr in Melbourne and, in 1915, the Booval Butter Factory in Ipswich.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120101806 |title=Advertising |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LVI |issue=9036 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=10 June 1914 |accessdate=4 December 2016 |page=6 (Daily) |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28108854 |title=Advertising |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |issue=24,092 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=27 March 1915 |accessdate=4 December 2016 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121873030 |title=Advertising |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LVI |issue=918[?] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=8 March 1915 |accessdate=4 December 2016 |page=8 (Daily) |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109637022 |title=Advertising |newspaper=Construction And Local Government Journal |volume=XV |issue=373 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=26 March 1915 |accessdate=4 December 2016 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15586168 |title=TENDERS. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |issue=24,100 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=6 April 1915 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113126356 |title=Our Boonah Letter. |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LVI |issue=9417 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=17 December 1915 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=3 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20008099 |title=BUTTER FACTORIES. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |issue=17,862 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=16 April 1915 |accessdate=3 December 2016 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121882716 |title=Advertising |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LVI |issue=9201 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=27 March 1915 |accessdate=3 December 2016 |page=15 (Daily) |via=National Library of Australia}}

The factory was a modern brick building with concrete floors, a roof of Marseilles tiles and a railway siding and platform. The engineering drawings were prepared by the architect Robert Kerr of Melbourne, who was referred to as the 'father' of Victorian dairy industry and had been involved in the erection of approximately 400 butter factories in Australia including the first one in Victoria, from engineering drawings and designs created by Duncan Saxelby, the manager of the Queensland Farmers Cooperative Association.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145812324 |title=MERELY PERSONAL. |newspaper=The Australian Worker |volume=26 |issue=6 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=8 February 1917 |accessdate=6 December 2016 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154261669 |title=PERSONAL PARS. |newspaper=Ararat Chronicle And Willaura And Lake Bolac Districts Recorder |issue=2562 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=30 January 1917 |accessdate=4 December 2016 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74556180 |title=WELL-KNOWN LICENSEE DIES |newspaper=The Ballarat Courier |volume=CV |location=Victoria, Australia |date=27 January 1917 |accessdate=4 December 2016 |page=5 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1593280 |title=PERSONAL. |newspaper=The Argus (Melbourne) |issue=21,997 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=27 January 1917 |accessdate=4 December 2016 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19967504 |title=Advertising |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |issue=17,602 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=15 June 1914 |accessdate=4 December 2016 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55494508 |title=FACTORY PLANTS |newspaper=Morning Bulletin |issue=20618 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=16 August 1932 |accessdate=11 October 2016 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}} The supervising architect was George Thornhill Campbell-Wilson of Brisbane who was responsible for Hughesville, Eight Mile Plains. The building contractor was Mr. A. S. Jevnes.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113151624 |title=BOONAH BUTTER FACTORY. |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LVII |issue=9591 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=7 July 1916 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=6 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113145657 |title=CLAIM BY AN ARCHITECT. |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LVII |issue=9630 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=22 August 1916 |accessdate=3 December 2016 |page=7 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}} Samuel Dover continued in the role of manager.

The new butter factory was fitted with state of the art equipment and was officially opened in July 1916 by the Queensland Governor, Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113158152 |title=BOONAH BUTTER FACTORY. |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LVII |issue=9585 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=30 June 1916 |accessdate=1 October 2016 |page=4 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}} During his visit to Boonah, the Governor also unveiled an Honour Board for local men who were serving overseas in World War I.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113152630 |title=VICE-REGAL VISIT TO BOONAH. |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LVII |issue=9589 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=4 July 1916 |accessdate=1 October 2016 |page=4 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}} In 1928 additions to the factory were made.

During the early twentieth century the quality of dairy products from the region was well established. In 1931 salted butter from the Boonah Butter Factory was awarded the first prize at the London Dairy Show.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21737302 |title=WON BUTTER AWARD. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |issue=23,006 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=23 October 1931 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}} By the 1930s, the factory had 900 suppliers and during a visit to Boonah in 1938 by the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Joseph Lyons, the prominence and quality of butter from the region was mentioned in speeches.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115613135 |title=AT BOONAH. |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LXXIX |issue=16,121 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=23 July 1938 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=10 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}}

File:Opening of the addition to the Boonah Butter Factory, 1933.jpg

In 1932 tenders were considered for extensive additions to the butter factory.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21778154 |title=TENDERS. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |issue=23,095 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=5 February 1932 |accessdate=3 December 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}} Construction was to take place during the quieter winter months and the new buildings were designed to complement the existing structure. The only improvements made to the building already on the site were to relay the floors with tile and remove the pillars supporting the top floor so that the top floor could be supported with new steel joists.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113216909 |title=£13,700 CONTRACT. |newspaper=Queensland Times |volume=LXXII |issue=14,331 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=20 February 1932 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=8 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}}

The Boonah Butter Factory was extended by Messers Stuart Bros. Ltd. of Brisbane following plans created by Thomas Ramsay Hall of the architectural firm of T. R. Hall and Phillips {{cite journal|title=T. R. Hall and Phillips : their varied practice|journal=Building: The Magazine for the Architect, Builder, Property Owner and Merchant|date=12 October 1934|volume=55|issue=326|page=25}} who were also responsible for the Brisbane City Hall, Southport Town Hall and the Boonah Shire Chambers (later demolished). In January 1933 the additions were officially opened by Mr. P. Pease, Minister of Lands.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187215440 |title=BOONAH BUTTER FACTORY |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=Queensland, Australia |date=28 January 1933 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=4 (FIRST EDITION) |via=National Library of Australia}}

In 1947, plans for four self-contained two storey shops associated with the factory were approved.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118386970 |title=Boonah Shire Council PLANS FOR NEW BUTTER FACTORY SHOPS APPROVED |newspaper=Queensland Times |issue=19,012 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=11 November 1947 |accessdate=3 October 2016 |page=3 (DAILY) |via=National Library of Australia}} In April 1954, manufacture commenced on a new line of products at the butter factory with the introduction of butter milk powder.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76237955 |title=Seek Butter Milk Powder Market In The East |newspaper=The Central Queensland Herald |volume=28 |issue=1264 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=29 April 1954 |accessdate=4 October 2016 |page=17 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152628059 |title=Q'LAND HAS NEW MILK INDUSTRY |newspaper=Maryborough Chronicle |issue=25,630 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=24 April 1954 |accessdate=4 October 2016 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}

The Boonah Butter Factory closed on 1 March 1974 due to declining production as a result of low prices for milk and shifting agricultural practices in the region.{{cite web|last1=Flint|first1=Ian|title=Revitalising Boonah Shire : The Rural Economic Development Institute Project|url=http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/media/pressrel/VPP36/upload_binary/vpp3612.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22media/pressrel/VPP36%22|accessdate=1 October 2016|date=2001}} The last batch of butter came off the production line at Boonah at 10:45am. It was packed by Hartley Schumacher with George Kubler, Stan Schlieff, Roydon Kubler and Sel Schneider watching. Milk products from Boonah were subsequently transported to Booval for processing with the majority of employees also transferring to Booval.{{cite news|title=It was a sad day at Boonah|work=Queensland Times|date=5 March 1974}} Booval had ceased operation by 2011 and was demolished by 2016.{{cite web|title=Milk Factory Development|url=http://div4.com.au/2016/04/20/milk-factory-development/|website=Division 4 Community News|accessdate=12 October 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013071415/http://div4.com.au/2016/04/20/milk-factory-development/|archivedate=13 October 2016|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|last1=Garry|first1=Chris|title=Jacaranda factory set to close|url=http://www.qt.com.au/news/jacaranda-drink-factory-set-to-close-booval/519913/|accessdate=12 October 2016|work=Queensland Times|date=29 April 2010|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012232748/http://www.qt.com.au/news/jacaranda-drink-factory-set-to-close-booval/519913/|archivedate=12 October 2016|df=dmy-all}}

The Boonah Butter Factory is the only surviving major industrial site related to the dairy, timber and railway industries of Boonah from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The nearby Cossart's Mill at Dugandan was the largest supplier of butter boxes in Australia.{{cite web |url=http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/rfa/regions/qld-south-east/cultural-heriatage/forest-industry-places/pdf/qld_se_saw4.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2016-09-30 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329104711/http://agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/rfa/regions/qld-south-east/cultural-heriatage/forest-industry-places/pdf/qld_se_saw4.pdf |archivedate=29 March 2015 |df=dmy-all }} Like the butter factory, the sawmill had been a dominant industry and employer in the area. The sawmill was recommended for heritage protection in 1998 as a rare surviving example of a major Queensland sawmill from the mid twentieth century.{{cite web |url=http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/rfa/regions/qld-south-east/cultural-heriatage/forest-industry-places/pdf/qld_se_saw10.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2016-10-01 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329103559/http://agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/rfa/regions/qld-south-east/cultural-heriatage/forest-industry-places/pdf/qld_se_saw10.pdf |archivedate=29 March 2015 |df=dmy-all }} It was demolished around 2006.{{cite web|title=Boonah Shire Council Ordinary Minutes|url=http://www.boonah.qld.gov.au/Publications/Council%2BMinutes/OM_Minutes_November%2B2007.pdf|website=Pandora|accessdate=3 October 2016|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080131234100/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/81188/20080201-1041/www.boonah.qld.gov.au/Publications/Council+Minutes/OM_Minutes_November+2007.pdf|archivedate=31 January 2008|df=dmy-all}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite web|title=Agenda of the Ordinary Meeting of the Boonah Shire Council Meeting held on Tuesday 28 March|url=http://www.boonah.qld.gov.au/Publications/Council%2BAgendas/OM_Agenda_March%2B2006.pdf|website=Pandora|accessdate=3 October 2016|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080131234100/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/81188/20080201-1041/www.boonah.qld.gov.au/Publications/Council+Agendas/OM_Agenda_March+2006.pdf|archivedate=31 January 2008|df=dmy-all}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

The greatest percentage of freight on the railway line were products from the combined output of the butter factory and sawmill. The Dugandan railway line was closed in 1964 and the tracks and associated infrastructure removed. The original location of the Boonah railway station is marked by a memorial adjacent to the Boonah Butter Factory site.{{cite web|url=http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/technology/industry/display/90593-fassifern-branch-railway-memorial|title=Fassifern Branch Railway Memorial - Monument Australia|first=UBC Web|last=Design|accessdate=21 November 2016|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222170011/http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/technology/industry/display/90593-fassifern-branch-railway-memorial|archivedate=22 December 2016|df=dmy-all}}

The Boonah Butter Factory is now part of a network of extant historic or heritage listed butter factories in South East Queensland that have been re-purposed for cultural or community use including the Kingaroy Butter Factory, Nanango Butter Factory, The Downs Co-operative Dairy Association Limited Factory, Kingston Butter Factory and Grantham Butter Factory.{{cite web |url=http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/315850/Schedule-6-PSP-4-Heritage-version-1.1.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2016-10-01 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404192957/http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/315850/Schedule-6-PSP-4-Heritage-version-1.1.pdf |archivedate=4 April 2016 |df=dmy-all }}

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{{Commons category-inline|Boonah Butter Factory}}

Category:Dairy buildings in Australia

Category:Manufacturing plants in Australia

Category:1916 establishments in Australia

Category:Boonah, Queensland

Category:Industrial buildings in Queensland

Category:Industrial buildings completed in 1916

Category:Scenic Rim Local Heritage Register