Kirk Stuart

Butcher Shop Owner

Place of birth: Launceston

Year of birth: 1963

Lived in Launceston: All my Life

“Started my butchery apprenticeship in 1980 when they were butcher shops on nearly every corner of the Launceston CBD.
There were nearly 10 shops in Charles Street alone. Up until the supermarkets arrived everybody went into town to get their meat. It was the weekly shopping trip. We had sides of lamb hanging around the shop selling for $8.99 up to $12.99 each. The meat selection was a bit different then too. We sold lots of lamb because it was cheap then. Now nobody buys the old-fashioned cuts like I jointed loin or jointed shoulder with all the bones left in. There were only beef sausages or pork. None of the fancy flavours of today. We melted down all the fatty scraps to make dripping for fish and chip shops. The leftover cooked meat scraps were placed into trays to make “dog block” nothing was wasted. Things have changed quite a bit. ”