The story of Lacrum is very much the story of one man, Milan Vyhnalek. He was born in 1925 in the village of Hnatnice in Czechoslovakia. The family farm, some thirty hectares, had been farmed by his family for generations. His schooling days were spent walking the ten kilometres to school and back again at the end of the day. It was a turbulent time in the country, culminating in the 1938 German advancement into Czechoslovakia.

This was all reflected in time, with the separation of ethnic Germans who had been living within the country, from other ethnic groups. Milan continued to go to school. Every day on his return to the family farm, a list of chores would be left on the table for him to complete.

Village life was based on a strong sense of community, with attendance at the 'Sokol' (Czech National Gymnastic Association), the theatre group or playing the violin at the school dance being high amongst the activities list.

Milan's father was very involved in community affairs, being the chairman of the bank and of the gymnastic association Sokol, leader in the country party, little theatre group producer and speaker for the village in negotiations with the Germans.

As the eldest son, it was naturally assumed that Milan would take on work at the farm. He completed two years at Agricultural College, but his dreams lay in attending dairy college. This disappointed his father greatly. Off he set, to commence work at a dairy, to which he had been assigned by the college.

The early days at this dairy were spent shifting coal and other such tasks very early in the morning, and then supervising pasteurisation and separation of the milk and seeing to the washing of all equipment later in the day. He also went on to work in the production of Emmenthal Swiss cheese.

Following on from this he become technical manager of the Dairy Co-operative in Lanskroun. He had to serve his time in the National Army Service for a period of fourteen months. He then wanted very much to study abroad, in Denmark or some other country where he could add to his knowledge of the industry. This request was declined.

In 1949, with great care, he managed to make his way across the border into Germany, a potentially hazardous trip. Once there, he received a permit to stay in the Refugee Camp. He was accepted along with numerous other migrants by Australia, and set sail in 1950. On arrival he was assigned for two years work in the bush in Central Tasmania for the Hydro-Electric Commission, providing his first taste of both Australia and Tasmania.

His desire to be engaged in the dairy industry was frustrated once he had finished his two years. He travelled along the eastern part of Australia, visiting a variety of cheese factories, importers and wholesalers of dairy products.

In 1954 he attempted to apply for a licence to produce non-cheddar 'specialty' cheese. In October of that year he appeared before a hearing of the Special Committee in the Smithton Court Rooms. His application was declined. From this he went to work in a butter factory in Burnie, working long and hard hours.

However, he was not defeated and he maintained the vision of his dream in his mind. He became aware in 1955 that a Mr. Max Wade had an open licence. He approached Mr. Wade who agreed to lease a portion of his land, and so Lactose Pty. Ltd. made its first appearance. That year building commenced. From its small starting point, it gradually, with effort and commitment, grew. In the months when milk was not available every year, the staff were engaged in building and expanding the factory.

The name Lactos was one chosen from a total of fifty possibilities. Laktos was the name of one of the best dairy factories in Bohemia. Lactos' first product was Romadur, a soft ripened cheese.

By 1956, Lactos was operating its own open licence and by the third year of its existence, some six people were employed helping to produce 200 tonnes of cheese.

As the years advanced, further products were added to the list - Limburger, Port du Salut, Harzer, Gouda, Edam, Leyden and Smoked cheese. Production crescendoed to 500 tonnes by 1962 and still further cheese varieties were added to the list.

These formative years basically saw Milan responsible for the organisation of practically everything that was necessary in the running and smooth functioning of the operation. He had to oversee the maintenance of pure strains of dairy bacteria, control production, maturing and marketing.

By 1960 he started to seek the assistance of professional cheese makers from Europe. The problem faced by him and his cheese in those early years was that the Australians really only had a taste for cheddar cheese.

It was not even until 1970 that the Australian dairy industry properly recognised cheese specialty. As a result, not only was the market for such cheese practically non existent, but the Dairy Colleges did not provide technologists for the production of specialty dairy products. This lack of emphasis within Australia led to him having to look to Europe for the expertise which he required.

The years passed by and the fortunes of the company soared. In 1966 it was decided to construct a prototype for the production of cheddar and similar cheeses. Hence the creation of Lactomatic Pty. Ltd. whose job it was to manufacture and sell patented equipment. In its first year alone ten installations were sold which compares very favourably with the selling of four by three rival organisations for the same period of time.

Export markets had been developed over time. As early as 1958 Lactos cheese hit the American market. In 1966, the company came second, third and fifth place at the World Cheese Competition, winning against the likes of Denmark, Holland and Switzerland. Come 1977 production rose to 7500 tonnes and the company was employing 250 people and had become the country's largest producer of specialty cheese.

It has not all been roses though. A number of fires caused considerable damage on three occasions. The 1977 one in particular caused an estimated $3.5 million worth of loss. Through the commitment of the workers, the rebuilding was completed in an impressive 350 days. The then Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, and Mitsugi Sato, founder of the Japanese firm Snow Brand, with whom Lactos had very close and important ties, officially opened the new building.

After building up Lactos, Milan decided it was time to sell, which he did, to the renowned French Bongrain organisation in 1983, continuing on as adviser and one of four directors. Milan at this time had become involved in the Trade Development Council, becoming a member and adviser on the council. He moved on to another dream of his.

This resulted in the setting up of Lacrum, a 700 acre farm. Milan's idea was to see Tasmania becoming the Dairy 'Superpower' within Australia and to demonstrate exactly what could be achieved. Visitors would get to see how the whole process worked, with the final product of cheese emerging eventually.

For his efforts in the industry, Milan received the Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. from the Queen in 1978. In 1984 he was the recipient of the B.H.P. Award, and in 1982 another award came his way for assistance to the Australian Economy from farmers and migrants.

The fully operational farm of Lacrum is open for visitors to inspect. There are 550 cows milked here within a highly technological dairy design set-up.

Features of the farm include bush walks, fabulous views of the surrounding area, picnic and barbecue facilities, swings and slide for children, viewing of milking between 3pm and 5pm, informative talk, videos on different aspects of the dairy industry, and afternoon tea with delicious Tasmanian cheeses. Entry fee is charged. The farm is in Smithton. For further information please call (004) 52 2322. The farm is closed during the non-milking months of July to October.

This information was kindly provided by :

'''Milan Vyhnalek
Lacrum (Cheese) Pty Ltd
PO Box 82
Smithton
TAS 7330.
Phone : (004) 52 3500.

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