Considered one of Kyabram’s economic pillars since its founding in 1922, the famous KY label on the cannery’s products was well known throughout Australia, as well as in the United Kingdom and Europe.
The book, established by the Kyabram Cannery Centenary Committee and set to be overseen by Shepparton Heritage Centre manager Geoff Allemand, will feature the people, businesses, events and milestones that made the cannery what it was.
Committee president Barry Churches, whose family history dates to the cannery’s inception, said the book was a personal venture for many of those involved.
“This place is so important because for the town of Kyabram, for over 70 years, it was a huge employer and it exported fruit to the UK and Europe,” Mr Churches said.
“And in the last 20 years we’ve welcomed a lot of new people to town who know nothing about it.”
Mr Allemand said the cannery’s significance to Kyabram could not be overstated and that its history deserved to be documented.
“I have a personal interest because I was born in Kyabram and my parents first met at the cannery,” he said.
Mr Churches said the committee was on the lookout for photos and stories revolving around the cannery, and was welcoming submissions from the community.
The official opening of the cannery in February 1923 was trumpeted in the pages of the Melbourne Age, which recorded dignitaries from the government, the banks and the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission.
“The cannery, which is the outcome of vigorous propaganda throughout the district, is a mammoth affair, and the machinery is the most up to date of its kind in Australia,” the Age reported.
“The main structure is 70 feet wide by 325 feet long, and a warehouse in brick at the rear of the cannery is 100 feet square.
“The State Government made available a loan of £15,000 to assist in establishing the cannery, while the residents found £25,000 and undertook to supplement this amount still further, a new issue of 8000 shares having been offered to the growers.”
Mr Churches said donations for the event would also be greatly appreciated.
Information can be emailed to: kyabramcannerycentenary@gmail.com
The book is set to be launched in December 2022. Pre-order is available for $20.
Donations can be sent to Bendigo Bank at BSB: 633 000, account: 183 305 978.
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