The Uki Butcher

Before refrigeration, the cream carriers would bring in orders from the local farmers. Their meat order would be cut up and wrapped in butcher's paper, with the final layer, a page or two from the local newspaper.

The local children would take a bundle of newspapers to the butcher and receive sixpence for their trouble. The farmer's name was written on each parcel in pencil so the cream carriers knew which cream can to put the meat into.

The butcher cut the meat on a thick block from a large tree stump and mounted it on 4 short legs. Each afternoon the block would be scrubbed down with a wire brush, the floor swept, and a fresh layer of sawdust from the sawmill next door spread over it. Because of the lack of refrigeration and the short life of ice, the local housewives needed to visit the butcher most days.

Mr C Connor opened the butcher shop around 1909, initially at 1446 Kyogle Road, with a small house further behind. This house burnt down in the 1930s. C. Connor also had a branch shop and slaughter yard at Terragon. About 1933 I. Imeson was the butcher. According to Les Burger, Mr Imeson never talked much.

I remember him buying a cow off dad one time. When he got to the bails, he said, "G'day". Walked in and said, "How much?" Dad said, "Oh, about four pounds." He said, "Give you ninety bob." Never said another word, and off he went.

Dad branched off to go to the house, and he turned and said, "Send a man on Tuesday." Nobody could ever complain about him because he never said anything to complain about.

Quite a few of the business people would get bad debts. By the time they took action, they'd be three months in. Dad tells, he'd be going through his books, Mr Imeson, and he'd come against a bad pay, and he goes, "Damn! Damn! Damn!" and he'd belt the book.) Mr Imeson was known by the locals as I-kee Imeson because they thought he kept his thumb on the scales when he weighed the meat for his customers. John Donahue.

The Butchers Boy

In 1912 Lionel Mitchell, at the age of 11, did deliveries by horseback for Mr Connor from the Uki shop to customers as far as the Terragon shop, where he would reload and continue to the top end of Byrrill Creek where Bob Butler would be waiting to give him breakfast and to hear the latest news from Uki.

Changing Times

The shop was moved to its position in 1933, and a new residence was built on the original site. After several owners, the butcher shop finally closed for business on the 5th of May, 2007.

In 2007 a combined Pharmacy and a Dentist opened in the building. The pharmacy closed in 2011, and Uki Dental Surgery continues to operate here.

Walk a little further up the road to hear about Uki's Ghost...