The ABC Cheese Factory in Central Tilba, was the first co-operative cheese factory in NSW. In July 1891, 320 shares were issued at 2s 6d each (£40). The cost of plant was £268. ABC was in operation from September 1891 until 2006 and it remains a local attraction. In 1892, half the shares had been taken up and the 450 gallons of milk was processed. The Moruya Examiner reported "The ABC Dairy Factory has settled down to its work...as proof of the popularity of which this brand has attained, we append an extract from the report of the manager of the South Coast & West Camden Co. ‘Cheese market improving…We received 45 [crates] of your cheese today, all sold…Can do with double quantity next boat." 1894: In the financial year ending 6 March 1894, the factory processed 219,000 gallons (0.8 of a megalitre) of milk producing 228,000 (~100 tonnes) of cheese. Gross revenue was £2,994 9s 8d. After deducting cost of manufacture, freight, commission, repairs and additions to plant, secretary's salary and sundry expenses, the suppliers received £2,114 8s. 1904: 265,000 gallons of milk were treated. Gross revenue from cheese was £5,841. The suppliers received £4,618. At this time there were 15 holdings and 800 cows. Farmers received £300+ from the Co-op, aside from revenue from pigs, poultry, calves and other stock which was estimated to be worth £100 each year. 1905: 313,000 gallons of milk were treated. Gross revenue from cheese was £7,119 18s 8d. The suppliers received £5,581 17s 10d. 1907: The factory was supplied by 16 dairies within a radius of three miles (5 km). One farm on 230 acres (93 ha) with a herd of 60 cows had a turnover of £998 of which £700 was from milk, the balance from pigs and other produce. In 1917 and 1918 the quantity of milk processed (250,000 gallons every six months) and the return to farmers were at record highs. 1922: A shock came in December 1922, when the NSW Department of Agriculture condemned the ABC and Tilba Tilba cheese factories. The ABC was given until May 1924, to erect an up-to-date building, with an adequate water supply. The decision lashed Tilba into a fury. But, said an observer, improvements were needed. Although the quantity of milk being processed had increased significantly over the last 16 years, the ABC had been using the same scales. The observer saw a long row of waiting waggonettes with their bright milk cans standing in the hot sun, the contents deteriorating all the time on account of the slowness of the weighing and receiving methods. Tenders were called in June 1924 and building was underway by August. By mid 1925 the new factory was complete at a cost of £4,364, while £603 was expended on plant and machinery. It was pronounced equal to anything of the kind in the State. In that year, 78 crates of ABC cheese were sold in London for £104 – topping the market. Foley Bros, the company's Sydney agents, said the ABC cheese was ‘always of excellent quality’. 1980: The drought of 1980 cut production at the ABC to a quarter of normal. Instead of 18,000 litres a day and four vats of cheese, the factory was handling only 2,300 litres and producing only one vat of cheese. 1981: The Bega Dairy Cooperative announced that it would close the ABC factory with its five employees on 21 March. BDC said the closure was due to a lack of milk due to an increase in the liquid-milk market and to the smallness of the factory. In December 1981, Geoff and Catherine Bryan announced they had bought the factory and it would re-open in February 1982. The Tilba Factory was purchased in 2012 by two local dairy farmers who installed new cheese-making and milk-bottling equipment, bringing back the tradition of dairy manufacture to the Tilba area. The milk bottled and cheese made on site are from two local dairy farms, one in Tilba one in
Cobargo. In 2006 there were 19 locals employed at the Tilba Factory, where they were producing award-winning cheese, yoghurt, milk and cream made from
jersey milk. the business is called Tilba Real Dairy. == From the ABC Coffee Palace to the Dromedary Hotel ==