Arthur Coxhead's Thistle Milking Machine

By the mid-1890s a number of the more prosperous and adventurous south Taranaki settlers were beginning to explore the potential of the milking machine, at first apparently with little success. In the December 1894 Farmer its Hawera correspondent reported that ‘The milking machines recently set up here have been pronounced a failure and are thrown on one side, and hand labour once more applied.’ But as the machines improved they began to make headway. There was therefore considerable interest when, in the winter of 1897, Arthur Coxhead* of upper Palmer Road, one of the L & M's larger suppliers, decided to switch to machine milking and so became its pioneer in the Kaponga district. The Coxheads had come to the district with a school-age family in the autumn of 1892. Arthur took an active part in Kaponga social life, becoming involved in the Mutual Improvement Society, the Caledonian Sports, the Horticultural Society, the Dramatic Society and the rugby club. On 19 August 1901 Coxhead, his wife and family were farewelled from the district with a banquet in the town hall. John Robertson, chairman for the occasion, paid tribute to his fine record of service to the community, noting that he had been the prime mover in the erection of the town hall, had been chairman of the school committee and had served on the road board.

Of the various milking machines appearing around the world Coxhead chose the Scottish Thistle, which had been put on the British market in 1895.² In preparation for the machines Coxhead made extensive additions to his sheds and acquired a six-horsepower steam engine. He also disposed of his herd of about 100 cows as it was considered at the time that the introduction of milking machines required young heifers that had never been milked. The Star (16/6/97) reported that a number of settlers were watching the enterprise with a view to following Coxhead's lead if it proved a success. Once it was in operation the Hawera Morning Post reported on a visit to the new plant:

A number of settlers, among whom were some Hawera townspeople, the other day visited Mr Coxhead's farm at Kaponga to see the practical application of the new Thistle milking machine. Mr Gabites, one of those present, informs us that the result was a complete success–the machine used to milk an unbroken heifer proved its suitableness for that difficult operation, and it was noticed the machine had a soothing effect on this animal, and other cows milked.³

page 195

Settlers like Coxhead, with the flexibility of mind to study new ways of doing things and the courage to put them to the test, were invaluable in speeding the development of the dairy industry. Coxhead told the 1905 Royal Commission on Land Settlement and Tenure:

Before coming to the North Island I spent a large part of my time in the busy entre of Dunedin, and was mixed up with artisans and what may be termed the leaders of the Trades and Labour Councils.⁴

In 1901 he left Kaponga for the new pioneer frontier of the Whangamomona district.

page 196page 197page 198