The late Adolf (Dolf) Benfer started growing chickens in 1933 near the family home at Mt Cotton, south-east of Brisbane. Grown initially to only produce eggs, the chickens were eaten only as a delicacy. As the market changed, Darwalla adapted into producing chickens for their meat and expanded operations across South-East Queensland. Darwalla has expanded from a few hundred layer hens hand-fed by Dolf and his children, to a vertically-integrated business with our own rearing, breeding, hatching and broiler growing facilities. Our feed mill produces feed for our birds and sits on the site of Dolf’s original family home, on the eastern slopes of Mt Cotton.
As Darwalla transitioned to growing chickens for their meat, they invested in a basic processing facility in Lota, purchased in 1948. The demand quickly outgrew this small facility so 1952 a more modern plant was established right on the Brisbane River in Stanley Street, South Brisbane. This is now the site of Brisbane’s popular South Bank precinct. Darwalla’s current processing plant, Golden Cockerel, was built by the Benfer family in 1967 on its present site at Mt. Cotton and has expanded over the years to meet the growing demand for chicken. Darwalla is now the largest family-owned poultry producer in Queensland
About Darwalla
Darwalla Group is a proud Australian Family Business and is the largest Queensland-owned poultry producer. The Benfer Family commenced operations at Mt Cotton in 1933 and today grow in excess of 28 million chickens each year in their facilities located throughout South-East Queensland.
