Rabbiting and Canning

The disastrous introduction of rabbits to the early Van Diemen’s Land colony wreaked havoc on the environment and on farming. By 1827 they had spread throughout southern Trouwerner, slowly making their way north. One advantage to having a highly catchable and abundant source of protein was its use in hard times. During the Great Depression (1929–1939) rabbits became an important food source that anyone could hunt — and everyone did!

In 1935 the price for rabbit skins was 65 pence per skin. This was an attractive and potentially lucrative side-venture for farmers and non-traditional hunters. While the newspapers speak of the ‘zest of men and youths’, women also supplemented income by hunting the rabbits and selling their pelts. Rabbit fur could be made to look like other types of fur by hatmakers, tanners, and furriers.

When the Second World War commenced and feeding both the troops and the home front became a priority, the small dehydration and canning plant built in Mason Street in Ulverstone became an important part of wartime history. In 1943 in the week that it opened, 52 of the 67 employees processing food for the Front were women. The post-war era saw huge returns on shipping canned rabbit meat and vegetables to the United Kingdom while they had shortages of meat. In 1950 there were nearly a million rabbits processed at the factory. The virus Myxomatosis was introduced on the mainland later that year to end the rabbit ‘plague’. It made its way to Tasmania. By 1956 the rabbit industry was all but gone. The factory then prioritised frozen vegetables, particularly potatoes and peas.