Cooperative Wheat Pool of Western Australia, commonly known as the Wheat Pool of Western Australia, is a
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
of
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
growers in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. The cooperative was formed in 1922 and one of the inaugural
trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...
s was Charles Walter Harper, who became the chairman of the
Westralian Farmers Co-operative later the same year and then went on to form
Cooperative Bulk Handling
The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling), is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia.
History
CBH was formed on 5 April 1933, at a ...
.
A conference had been held by wheat growers in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
in March 1922, where it was decided to consider the formation of the pool rather than depend on speculative trading. In June 1922, the Chairman of the trustees, Mr A. J. Monger, announced that the state government would not introduce legislation to continue state pooling but that the new pool scheme would commence operating independently. The pool had sources adequate finance from the
Commonwealth Bank to pay advances and had negotiated with pools in the eastern states to reduce competition. Participants in the scheme were sent a circular by the pool trustees: A. J. Monger (chairman), B. L. Murray, C. W. Harper and J. S. Teasdale. The circular outlined details of chartering ships, delaying construction of bulk handling facilities in
Fremantle, construction of holding sheds in other areas, negotiations with the Mill Owners Association and quashing rumours that contracts were not binding.
For the 1923 harvest, the pool collected 9.75 million
bushel
A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an imperial and US customary unit of volume based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel is equal to 2 kennings (obsolete), 4 pecks, or 8 dry gallons, and was used mostly for agric ...
s of wheat.
Over the course of the 1924–1925 harvest, the pool received over 14 million bushels with a return to growers of a little over 6s per bushel, not including rail freight. Mr H. E. Braine was appointed as the secretary of the pool prior to 1925 and found himself defending the pool against complaints from farmers who claimed they had been given advice to store their grain and contributing to the pool later hoping the price would rise.
The quantity of wheat collected the next season was only just over 6 million bushels; the 1926–1927 season resulted in 17.93 million bushels being collected by the pool.
Following
crop failure
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor- ...
s in India through 1928, the pool supplied over 14.25 million bushels to cover the short fall at prices as described by H. E. Braine as being "very satisfactory".
A record cargo of wheat for the port of
Geraldton
Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth.
At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...
in 1930 was loaded by the Pool aboard the ''SS Avala''; the vessel was loaded with 80,426 bags, a mass of about .
In 1932, the state
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
was approached by the Pool to confer upon the trustees sole acquiring rights of the land needed to set up bulk handling facilities. Initially the scheme was strongly opposed, and the bill introduced into the parliament was defeated as it was seen to grant a
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
. In 1933, the bill was reintroduced after a two-season trial in the
Wyalkatchem area. The
Premier of Western Australia
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...
,
Philip Collier
Philip Collier (21 April 1873 – 18 October 1948) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th Premier of Western Australia from 1924 to 1930 and from 1933 to 1936. He was leader of the Labor Party from 1917 to 1936, and is Western Au ...
, revealed that leases of land at 48 country railway sidings had been awarded to Cooperative Bulk Handling. The general manager of the Pool at this time was Mr. J. Thomson.
By 1935 the pool had estimated a harvest of over 27 million bushels after good rains had been recorded in July; the estimates were later downgraded to 20 million after a dry spell prior to harvesting.
The marketable harvest from the 1942–43 harvest collected by the pool was 18 million bushels. An early estimate of the following year's production was about 19 million bushels, of which 16.5 million was likely to be marketable.
References
{{reflist, 2
Further reading
Wheat Pool Act 1932
Cooperatives in Australia
Grain industry of Western Australia
1922 establishments in Australia