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‘School Milk’ in the Context of the Australian Dairy Industry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2016

VIRGINIA THORLEY
VIRGINIA THORLEY*
Affiliation:
School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, Room E306, Forgan Smith Building, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia v.thorley@uq.edu.au
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Abstract

Australia, as with a number of other countries with dairy industries, established a national school milk scheme which operated from 1951 to the beginning of 1974 at no cost to the children's families. The scheme, funded by the federal government and administered by the states, ended abruptly after costs blew out, with resultant losses by the industry. This article describes the limited provision of milk in schools in two states prior to the national scheme and how, after the cessation of the national scheme, dairy industry initiatives in some states were gradually developed to market liquid cow's milk, including flavoured products, at subsidised prices to school children who were perceived as potential lifelong consumers. The article traces the rise and decline of these schemes in the late twentieth century within the context of moves towards dairy deregulation and its effects on the industry.

Keywords

dairy industrydairy marketingschool milkdairy deregulation
Type
Research Article
Information
Rural History , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , April 2016 , pp. 103 - 117
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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References

Notes

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