In 1923, the Stanhope and District Co-operative Dairy Company Ltd was formed and purchased the factory. It was the longest custodian, owning the factory for 48 years.
In the early days of the factory, local farmers used to cart their milk into the factory on horse and cart twice a day, with milk stored in 12-and-a-half gallon cans, which is around 60 litres.
Once the cans arrived on site, they were emptied, manually washed and sent back to the farmers so they were ready for the next day of milking.
The Board of Directors met in the factory on a fortnightly basis to set cream prices, which in 1924 was 1/7 ½ pence per pound butterfat.
At this time, the site manager’s salary was set at £6 per week — plus an allowance of 30 shillings per week to employ any further labour required.
The factory was run by power and steam, which was supplied by wood-burning engines. At a cost of 30 shillings per ton of wood, this was a major expense.
By 1935, Stanhope had gained the reputation for its quality cheese, a title that it still holds until this day, and throughput was such that the original building had become inadequate.
From there, the Stanhope factory began its journey of growth and expansion.
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