This thesis is about the production, treatment and export of meat from Australia between the 1860s, when the trade began, and the Second World War. Primarily it is a study of those involved directly in the trade in Australia - graziers and farmers, meatworks operators and exporters - and of their actions and attitudes. To some extent, however, it has also been necessary to examine the trade in the broader context of Australian rural production as a whole, of domestic demands for meat and stock, and of the leading overseas markets and competitors with Australia in those markets.