Royal Commission on the Butter Industry
11 April 1904 – 27 July 1905
Inquired into the marketing and export of Victorian butter and the conduct of butter companies and agents. It is listed among Commonwealth royal commissions, but the evidence indicates that it was a Victorian royal commission.
How it came into existence
Letters Patent dated 11 April 1904, according to the Commonwealth’s list of historical royal commissions. The commissioners were G. C. Morrison, the Victorian Under-Secretary (chairman), George Graham MLA and Henry Gyles Turner. The Australian Dictionary of Biography cites its report among the Victorian parliamentary papers, and a contemporary press report says the final report was presented to the Victorian Chief Secretary, Sir Samuel Gillott, so the commission appears to have been appointed by the Victorian government rather than the Commonwealth.
How it ended
Its final report was presented on 27 July 1905, and the commission then ended. It found that agents in Melbourne, together with certain London brokers, controlled the market in Victorian butter, censured several companies, and recommended that the affairs of some defunct butter companies be referred to the Crown Law authorities.
Main functions
- Marketing and export of butter
- Practices of agents, brokers and butter companies
Lineage
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Sources
Government records and websites
Some dates or links for this organisation are uncertain. Corrections are welcome.