The beginning

It began with George Steggles and sons Jack, George and Stan in 1919, trading as Steggles Bros in a small Newcastle shop-front. Their dream was to offer Aussies quality produce under a brand that reflected their steadfast family values.

Going the extra mile

Steggles began selling processed chickens by 1928. Around Christmas and Easter, when there was greater demand for chickens, the Steggles family, including Mrs Marion Steggles, would jump on their pushbikes to make deliveries around Newcastle.

Advancing the operations

Jack and Marion’s son, Bruce, was a pioneer in advancing the Steggles operations. Bruce initially gained work experience in the coal mining industry, the skin and hide trade, and even served as a RAF fighter pilot during World War II before joining the family trade. After returning in 1942, Bruce joined Steggles as a floor sweeper.

Leading the way

By 1950, Bruce moved his way up to become the Managing Director, leading the Steggles business through a period of growth. This included establishing a major operations plant in Beresfield in 1958.

Business comes home to roost

By 1962, Steggles was producing 800,000 chickens every week. To keep up with the growing demand we began to focus on mass production at a farm level, hatching over one million eggs per week as well as investing in key breeding technology.

Chicken to go

In 1968, Steggles became the first Australian brand to get into fast food chicken with the introduction of the Henny Penny fast food chain.

1980’s

With continued growth in both fresh and frozen poultry, Steggles evolved into an ‘integrated poultry operation’, adding turkey and stockfeed to its offering to bring quality chicken from farm to plate, of the highest standards.

Looking ahead

In 2009 Steggles was acquired by Baiada Poultry and “We’re Stegglers for quality” was born. We busted myths around poultry farming in Australia by sharing our values of quality and care in how our chickens are raised and fed.

Today and tomorrow, our values continue to remind Aussies to slow down and savour delicious chicken and turkey over quality time with family and friends.