QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Queensland readers who’ve tucked into a tasty barbecued chook may not know of the German hands behind the wings – and drumsticks – so Robin Kleinschmidt makes a clean breast of it with a little-known family story. The large complex of low metal clad buildings sit snugly in the lower slopes of Mount Cotton, their industrial style almost incongruous in the peaceful green of the open paddocks. Here is Darwalla, one of the largest independent chicken meat producers in Australia. Its origins lie in the earliest settlement of this fertile corner of Southeast Queensland. The development of Mount Cotton and the Benfer family fortunes have run parallel since the earliest settlement. All four of the surviving Benfer brothers immigrated to Queensland from the Westfalen village of Diedenshausen, between 1862, when Johann Georg (Georg) arrived on the La Rochelle , and 1871, when the oldest brother Johann Philipp (Philipp) arrived with his family on the Gutenberg via Rockhampton. After a false start with land of doubtful quality at Tingalpa, Philipp became one of the first to select land on the densely timbered slopes of Mount Cotton in October 1871, with an initial holding of 80 acres (32ha). Brother Johannes also selected 80 acres of adjoining land the following year, and both increased the size of their farms as time progressed. The first crop of cotton after 18 months of labour proved worthless, as the local cotton market had collapsed and none of it could be sold. Maize proved more successful, and then the ubiquitous sugar cane brought prosperity. Benfers rule the roost Main background: The Benfer brothers on horseback on the Mount Cotton property, ca 1871. Image courtesy Redlands Museum

Initially there was no mill to crush the cane; then three small inefficient farm-based mills were built. Only one survived, its construction originally financed by Philipp, but it too finally succumbed to the 1880s collapse of the sugar industry. The soil and climate proved to be ideal for growing tropical fruit and vegetables. Bananas and pineapples thrived, and were transported to market in Brisbane either direct by horse and cart or via Beenleigh by rail. Passionfruit grew lush and wild, bearing prolifically, but prices were low initially as few knew how to use the fruit. They finally became the basis for a flourishing industry. Philipp’s farm passed to his son Franz, and then in the 1930s to Franz’s son Adolph (Dolph). In 1933 Dolph Benfer began the first egg production business in the Redlands and one of the first in Queensland when he bought 200 chickens. They died of disease, but he replaced them and began again, founding a poultry industry which remains in the family to the present day. Egg farms were being established in areas west of Brisbane and on the Darling Downs. When the Egg Board was established, Dolph was a strong supporter. Diversification into meat production began during World War II. Filipino soldiers seeking to improve their rations offered to trade rice for ‘spent’ hens (that is, those no longer laying eggs). It was the beginning of a major shift in the business. In the mid 1940s White Leghorn birds were crossed with Australorps to produce a larger bird for meat as well as a good layer of table eggs.

Opposite page: Dolph Benfer and his wife in an undated family photograph. Image courtesy of Albert Benfer

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