ELA-MAR’S HISTORY
AN APPRENTICE BUTCHER & PART-TIME BOOKIE WHO BUILT AN OUTBACK CHICKEN RANCH
Lloyd Robinson (left) and Mary Robinson (right) with family friend Cloda (centre) and their children, from left: Kym, Julie, Ray and Don.
Ela-Mar's story starts in Adelaide, where Lloyd Robinson was an apprentice butcher who took bets in the back of the shop on Saturdays. When the police raided the shop, Lloyd was given a choice: stay in South Australia and take a conviction, or leave the state with a clean slate.
He and his wife Mary packed up for Broken Hill, where Lloyd spent around 10 years working underground in a small crew alongside local legends including Pro Hart, Gentleman Dynon and Ron Adams.
In 1963, Lloyd bought a burnt-out piggery on Calcite Street. It took the family three years to demolish it, rebuild their home and set up the Ela-Mar Chicken Ranch, breeding day-old chicks flown up from Adelaide. Don still remembers riding out to the airport as a young boy to collect them.
Fresh eggs & chicken, then everything else
Lloyd pictured with a family friends dog and the famous Ela-Mar delivery van
For over 20 years, Ela-Mar was a chicken ranch. Locals came to Calcite Street for poultry and fresh eggs, and before long they were asking if the Robinsons could stock a few other products while they were there.
The family saw the opportunity and started bringing in brands Australia knew well, like Sara Lee, Nestlé and Kellogg's. Don, who had been digging worms on weekends to sell to mine workers before leaving school at 15 to work at Ela-Mar full time, added a few sidelines of his own, selling locally caught fish and yabbies through the shop.
Bush orders soon became the backbone of the business. Station owners, property workers and teams based out of town relied on Ela-Mar to put their orders together, and they still do today. In 1990, the family stopped trading chickens altogether to focus on food distribution full time.
SIX DECADES ON CALCITE STREET
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1950s
A fresh start in Broken Hill
Lloyd and Mary Robinson leave Adelaide for Broken Hill, where Lloyd spends around 10 years working underground at the mine.
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1963
A burnt-out piggery
Lloyd buys a burnt-out piggery on Calcite Street, and the family work together to demolish it and rebuild the block with a new home.
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1966
The Ela-Mar Chicken Ranch
Three years of hard work later, the chicken ranch is up and running, breeding day-old chicks flown in from Adelaide.
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1980s
The first food lines
Customers collecting chickens and eggs ask for more, and Ela-Mar starts stocking Sara Lee, Nestlé and Kellogg’s.
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1990
Food distribution, full time
The family stops trading chickens to focus on food distribution and bush orders for stations, businesses and locals across Far West NSW.
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2010
The third generation
Griff joins at 18 as a storesman, after years of weekend shifts and forklift rides.
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2024
Handing over to Griff
Don hands management and operations to his son Griff, one of his proudest moments, and starts easing toward retirement.
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2026 & beyond
60+ years strong
Griff and his sister Rheearn, the assistant manager, are still holding the Ela-Mar fort, with the same great service customers have always known.
here’s to the next 60 years, with the robinsons
From Lloyd and Mary’s chicken ranch to Don’s expansion into food distribution and Griff’s eagerness to take the family business further, each generation has carried on the same relentless work ethic, never compromising on the service Broken Hill and Far West NSW rely on.
We wouldn’t be here today without the support of our community, and we’re looking forward to many more years together.
