History - Fungus and Butter

Chew Chong exists in the Business Hall of Fame for two main reasons. Fungus and Butter.
After living in Otago he shifted to Taranaki where he found the Jew's Ear Fungus which he identified as being food and medicine which he shipped back to China. It was also known as Taranaki Wool. He grew this particular fungus and set up stores all across Taranaki - including Inglewood and Eltham. In these stores he started trading goods. One of these goods was BUTTER.
1885 saw the opening of the Jubilee Butter factory in Eltham, he also added four creameries and he bought another nearby factory.
1889 and he was away - installing a Hall's refigerating machine, the first of these in any New Zealand butter factory.