EMPLOYEES OF MILANG BUTTER FACTORY
EMPLOYEES OF MILANG BUTTER FACTORY

EMPLOYEES OF MILANG BUTTER FACTORY

by Alvyn Hopgood

Gordon Coppins

Gordon Coppins was general hand and assistant boiler operator to Jim Daniels. The boiler was used to power machinery and also for washing purposes and sterilising cans. Gordon was a big man who used to ride a bicycle to work with a motor bike seat fitted. Once at SAFU, Gordon fell into the milk trough near the weighing machine. A workmate had slipped an empty milk can in with the full ones, and, being much lighter, it caused Gordon to overbalance into the large open vat.
When SAFU factory was closed in 1951, Gordon started a green grocer’s round twice a week for the Milang and surrounding districts, including Langhorne Creek. He was helped immensely by his wife Flo. Gordon and Flo made a great success of their vegetable round for many years and were always generous in supplying goods for trading tables and raffles.
Gordon lived at 40 Watson Street, Milang all of his life. He purchased this property from his parents’ estate. His father Reuben was employed at Port Milang and used a horse and small rail truck to pull merchandise from the jetty to the railway station, and possibly cream to the Lakeside Butter Factory.
Gordon and Flo had one son, Reuben, who sadly passed away at about 15 years of age. This absolutely shattered them for some time. Reuben Jnr was a gifted electrician, but had to rely on correspondence for his education for many years, which was also a credit to his parents, especially Flo who supported him. Gordon and Flo were great gardeners, specialising in large dahlias and they had an extensive vegetable selection, which helped supply goods for their business. Gordon, Flo and Rueben Jnr are all buried in the Milang Cemetery.

Bruce Ross

Bruce Ross was employed at the SAFU factory as a general hand and maintenance person for the machinery and equipment. A quiet man, Bruce was very skillful. When the factory closed in 1951, he transferred to Balaklava and then to Murray Bridge, still mainly using his skills as a maintenance employee.
He married Edna Bowden (Ginger’s sister) and they had a daughter Mary who still lives at Murray Bridge. On speaking to Mary, she remembered Bruce in the evening studying pamphlets about new machinery and parts for his employment at the Murray Bridge Butter Factory. Bruce was born in Milang to parents Andrew and Amy, in 1915. While at Milang, Bruce was a talented sportsman and a member of the football premiership team of 1934.

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