It's been over 40 years since Laurie Wright made the decision that his family will be a family of butchers providing only the best meat products to the people of North Queensland .

This family of dedicated butchers, from their initial beginning in the Hughenden district at the famous Collocott & Cairns developed a strong relationship with all the locals of the area...everybody new Laurie.

After a move to Townsville in 1971 we witnessed Laurie cementing similar strong relationships with fellow butchers Jack McKillop and then Kevin Shaw (Shaw's Meats). Laurie's Meatland became an institution in the North during 1975 and quickly expanded into Garbutt, with two outlets in Hermit Park , two outlets in Aitkenvale and finally one in Kirwin.

Laurie's son Jim commenced his own lucrative career alongside his father managing some of these Townsville operations, culminating with the acquisition of his own outlets in Charters Towers trading as Chick & Moo Meats along with Gourmet Meats On Mossman and then Rite Choice Meats.

Grandson Jamie then commenced his career as an after school junior in the father's operation in Charters Towers . This experience encouraged Jamie to follow in his Grandfather and Father's footsteps culminating with his own apprenticeship. Community minded, Jamie was nominated and indeed won the coveted Charters Towers Northern Miner Friendly Award at the tender age of 17. Then at 20, Jamie managed this Charters Towers operation when Jim, his father sold the business.

Jamie's career in quality butchering flourished after a move to Townsville, operating out of two retail outlets over the next five years.

These developments then, naturally progressed to a firmly established wholesale division for the city where we then experienced some of Townsville's leading restaurants, clubs and organizations making their buying decisions from the quality selections of Jamie's meat. Jamie also developed an association with the organizers of some of Townsville's leading events, namely the Festival Of Chamber Music, Chefs In The North and the Townsville Food & Wine Festival. The new division became a real feather in his cap.