From "CSIRO research for Australia" (1962) pdf page 32:
"During the early years of C.S.I.R. there were a few scientists engaged in research on the ripening of bananas and on freezing of meat and fish. A survey of food preservation and transport, with special regard to refrigeration, was made in 1931-32, and it became clear that much more work was needed in order to reduce waste and improve quality. In 1932 a Food Preservation Section was established and Dr. J.R. Vickery, an Australian who had been engaged on a survey of the New Zealand meat industry, became its leader. Dr. Vickery has been Chief of the Division since the group acquired Divisional status in 1941.

The first headquarters of the Division [section] were established at the abattoir at Cannon Hill, a suburb of Brisbane. The group at headquarters concentrated on the problems involved in the export of chilled beef, and a second group in Melbourne undertook a study of the influence of storage conditions on fruit quality.

In 1938, when the Division's headquarters were transferred to the abattoir at Homebush, near Sydney, work was extended into other fields, including fish preservation and bacteriological studies of the spoilage of eggs."