‘MUTTON DRESSED AS LAMB?’ THE MISREPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND MEAT IN THE BRITISH MARKET, c. 1890–1914

This article examines the misrepresentation of Australasian meat in Britain, 1890–1914. Using contemporary official analyses of this practice, we investigate the alleged economic consequences for Australasian and British farmers and British consumers and discuss evidence of the extent of this misrepresentation. The need to secure ‘honest trade’ by compulsory marking of imported meat was the principal recommendation of several official enquiries. However, support for the legislative measures proposed to eradicate misrepresentation was far from unanimous. Overall, the evidence suggests that misrepresentation was not as serious in extent or consequence, as some contemporaries feared.