The Nolan Meats story began in 1958, when Pat and Marie Nolan founded a small retail butchery business in Gympie in Southeast Queensland. Pat and Marie set their sights on providing quality meat to the people of Gympie through their first small shop and quickly developed a reputation for high quality meats served with a smile.

Their strong customer focus led them to an ongoing search for reliable and consistent sources of high-quality meat. They found that they were able to better control the quality of their end product by working with suppliers and by becoming more involved in the processing and production chain.

In 1964, they bought a small country slaughterhouse to complement the retail operation. The energetic couple pursued their interest in animal production, adding cattle production to their business. As capacity and demand increased, they began wholesaling to other butchers in the local area.

The business grew in size and reputation, with the addition of feedlot operations and the modernisation of the meat processing facilities. Between 1976 and 1980, Pat and Marie’s three sons, Michael, Tony and Terry joined the business, each bringing their own individual and complementary marketing and operational skills and the possibilities for the Nolan Meats vision expanded. Michael, Tony and Terry are now the company’s directors.

Nolan Meats is a wholly Australian, family-owned company, with state-of-the-art production and processing operations. The company pursues World’s Best Practice ideals while continuing to provide customers with consistently great guaranteed tender beef.

Nolan Meats’ processing plant and head office are located on the eastern outskirts of Gympie, part of the lush Cooloola Shire in Southeast Queensland. This convenient location, two hours north of Brisbane, puts us in easy access with major transport routes, enabling us to serve clients from Rockhampton to Sydney. It also provides access to The Port of Brisbane, allowing us to conveniently serve clients internationally.

The company’s Wide Bay Feedlot is situated at Cinnabar in the South Burnett, about 60 km West of Gympie. Our Fleet of modern trucks provide an efficient and reliable service for our many Queensland customers. Strategic relationships with interstate clients ensure all products are available Australia wide. The modern export accredited Distribution Centre in Gympie ensures a secure cold chain to stow containers destined for our international customers.

Pat Nolan (centre) in his retail butcher shop in 1960

Installation of Boiler at processing facility in 1978