Getting the Borthwicks gang back together

Bringing the Borthwicks crew back together will be like meeting up with long-lost relatives, as the ties that bind people who worked at Waitara’s meat works still run deep.

On October 15, a pot luck dinner will be held for former staff from Borthwicks, later known as Waitaki and Affco following ownership changes.

Organisers Doug Gadsby, Goose Jenkins and Joe Rauner, who all worked at the plant for decades, said there had already been plenty of interest from their ex-workmates in the event, including from their whānau.

That’s because the enduring legacy of the place – the friendships and links made there – have lasted a lifetime, with the baton passed down in some cases due to how it employed different generations of the same family.

At its height, 1200 people were employed at the meat works, and Rauner said it is still known as ‘‘the university of Waitara’’.

The name Borthwicks stuck after the works were purchased by Thomas Borthwick in 1903.

It changed ownership in 1986 when it was sold to Waitaki, before being onsold three years later to Affco, which marked the beginning of the end for Waitara’s once flagship employer.

Gadsby said at its height, one million lambs were slaughtered there annually.

However, by 1989, 600 people were made redundant in the first wave of job losses.

Four years later, 280 jobs were cut, and in 1997 the meat works were shut for good, with the remaining 150 employees left out of work.

Rauner said the closure was a financial shock, and resulted in some people moving away for work.

‘‘It changed the town.’’ Gadsby, who worked at the Waitara meat works for 27 years, said the get-together won’t be formal and no-one had to register to attend.

He said videos and photos will be on display, and he encouraged others to bring their own mementoes to reminisce over too.

The Anzco plant now sits on the former freezing works site.

Rauner, who has worked for more than 40 years in the meat industry – with 20 years in Waitara and the rest at Riverlands Eltham – said while the Anzco plant focused on processing, it was still positive to have a good source of employment in Waitara.

■ Anyone interested in attending the gathering, which will be held at the Waitara RSA from 3pm, can text Gadsby on 027 454 6283.

DEENA COSTER/STUFF, FILE Left, Joe Rauner, Goose Jenkins and Doug Gadsby are looking forward to meeting up with old friends on October 15, when a get-together will be held for former Waitara meat works’ employees. Above, Borthwicks butchery staff in 1982 included, from left, Wayne Holdt, David Lehndorf, Kay Brunning, Geoff Zimmerman and Graeme Duckett.