Dairy pioneer gets his sick-bed wish
A Kiwi dairy pioneer has been granted his one wish for his twilight years – the chance to see what his life’s work has led to in a modern processing plant. Palmerston North 86-year-old Don King’s work at the Dairy Research Institute, now the Fonterra Research and Development Centre, in the decades after the 1950s helped lay the foundations and processes for modern dairy processing plants. King, extremely ill and rest homebound after a massive stroke, had one request – to see where it has all ended up. And thanks to an old colleague, and the efforts of Fonterra staff, his wish has been granted. ‘‘One has to feel a bit chuffed that people are willing to do that for me.’’ King said the virtual model was so realistic, he’d felt like he needed to watch his step around the plant’s heavy machinery. He marvelled at the massive spray dryers that can dry 30 tonnes of milk powder an hour – a far cry from the 2-tonne dryers of King’s day. It was made possible by his work in automation and control processing. King said he’d felt a lot of pride in his work and seeing how far his industry had advanced. ‘‘Some of this we’d foreseen, but some of it not all. It’s a different world . . . so much was light-years ahead of where I left off.’’ He couldn’t help but wonder what he could’ve done if he’d had this technology when he started. ‘‘A lot of things [in my plant] were held together by clamps and wire. Everything at the plant was much more sophisticated than that.’’ Fonterra chief science and technology officer Jeremy Hill said granting King’s request was a small gesture of respect, given how much he’d contributed to the industry. ‘‘We stand on the shoulders of the great scientists who have gone before us. ‘‘Much of what has been implemented across Fonterra is because of great men like Don.’’ King’s health meant he couldn’t visit a plant in person, so the development centre team decided to take the plant to King with a virtual reality tour at his rest home, Hill said. King’s daughter Sally said up until his stroke, he’d been incredibly healthy – he’d had an adventurous retirement hiking the world’s great walks and climbing Mt Everest. The loss of independence was a huge hit for her father, but the virtual plant tour had cheered him up, she said. ‘‘I asked dad what would make him the happiest and he said seeing where they’ve got to with his work.’’