The industrial innovation of chilling or freezing perishable produce transformed relationships between climates and the production and consumption of food across the globe. This talk considers how refrigeration was adapted to open up new trades, notably in meat, dairy and fruit, between Australia and the Pacific Islands from the late nineteenth century. Refrigeration also had profound effects on livelihoods, cultural practices and regional relations, creating legacies that continue to shape the Pacific to this day.
Dr Frances Steel is a senior lecturer in History at the University of Wollongong and specialises in histories of empire and mobility in the Pacific.
Dr Steel is the National Library Fellow supported by Deidre McCann and Kevin McCann AM and the Macquarie Group Foundation.
