Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Sundry Manufacturers

page 412

Sundry Manufacturers.

Including—Brush and Broom, Gas and Electric Light Manufacturers; Waterproof Clothing; Straw Hat Manufacturers, and Jam and Preserve Manufacturers.

The Auckland Gas Company, Ltd. Directors: Mr Thomas Buddle (chairman), Professor F. D. Brown, and Messrs J. H. Upton, Thomas Ching, Thomas Peacock, J.P., William Philcox, and J. L. Wilson. Mr. E. B. Parsons (secretary), Mr. Chenery Suggate, A.M.I.C.E. (engineer). Offices, Wyndham Street. Works, Freeman's Bay, Auckland. Cable address, “Hydrogen, Auckland.” Office telephone, 50; works telephone, 185. P.O. Box 81. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. Private address of secretary (Mr. E. B. Parsons), London Street, Ponsonby. The Auckland Gas Company occupies a place in the front rank of the city's institutions. Its history shows that capable management—and not high charges—is the great secret of success. The company supplied gas for the first time on the 15th of April, 1865. Since June, 1867, sixty-two half-yearly dividends have been paid, averaging 14s 11d per £5 share annually, or within a fraction of fifteen per cent, premium. In 1862 the company was formed with a capital of £20,000, and in 1898 it stood at £250,000. Many of the shares have been sold at a high premium, and the resulting profits have been devoted to the expensive work of extending the mains throughout the scattered suburbs of Auckland. The mains measure 112 miles, and extend to the Avondale Asylum on the west, Onehunga in the south, and Remuora on the east, the North Shore being supplied from the company's separate works at Devonport. These mains vary in diameter from 18 inches downwards, and throughout the extensive area mentioned gas is supplied at the uniform price of five shillings per thousand, cubic feet. These results could not have been attained without the aid of the premium capital, which amounted to half of the paid up capital. Though gas was supplied in 1865, it was not until 1871 that the Legisture assigned to the company its area of supply, which is comprised within a radius of ten miles from the Auckland Post Office. The company early recognised the advantages of conducting its operations on ordinary commercial principles, and, for the purpose of affording facilities to consumers, undertook the importation and sale of gas fittings and appliances of every description. Accordingly the agency for the sale of the Otto gas engine was accepted from Messrs Crossley Bros., of Manchester, and one of the first engines exported by the makers to the Australian Colonies was exhibited in a shop in Queen Street in full work. This did much to popularise gas as a motive power, and since then the company has assisted manufacturers and others to acquire engines, by letting them on hire and selling them on the deferred payment system. This method has also been largely adopted in supplying gas ranges and all other appliances for the combustion of gas. At the company's head offices in Wyndham Street, there is comfortable accommodation for about twenty clerks. There, too, the company has its handsomely appointed board-room; a large and convenient saleroom; an unpacking room, and work-rooms; and on the ground floor, in the rear of the large public office, there is a model kitchen, fitted with all the needful ranges and utensils for the conduct of classes in practical cooking. This room is under the management of a lady from the South Kensington School of Cookery, and her instructions and expositions are very helpful to the ladies and girls of Auckland. She is most attentive to all enquiries, explaining the intricacies and demonstrating the practical use of the innumerable appliances for cooking and heating by gas, and nothing is charged for her services to the public. It was in 1866, during the administration of the City Board, that Auckland was first publicly lighted by gas. Under the Borough Council, and subsequently the City Council, this branch of the Gas Company's business has greatly increased, more especially since the amalgamation with the city, of the Ponsonby, Karangahape and Grafton highway districts. The city is now lighted by about 500 Welsbach incandescent gas burners, each of the strength of sixty candle power. The first step taken by the company on accepting the Welsbach incandescent gas light was to make an offer to the City Council to substitute in the public library and reading room, full-sized incandescent burners for the common ones then in use, the condition being that after a three months' trial the Council might call upon the company to re-instate the old system free of all cost to the city. Instead of this, however, the Council willingly paid all costs of the new installation, for it was found that the consumption of gas had decreased from 1300 to 800 cubic feet per night, while there was a marked improvement in the lighting. The company further undertook the upkeep of the burners, mantles and chimneys, at a cost of £2 per month, including the labour of lighting, cleaning and repairing. At the end of the first year, however, only nine mantles
Interior of Auckland Gas Co.'s Premises.

Interior of Auckland Gas Co.'s Premises.

page 413 tles had been replaced out of the sixty-eight which had been in use every night. The Auckland Gas Company has ever been on the alert to secure for its customers all available gas-saving appliances, yet the demand for gas has constantly increased. For 1897 the consumption reached 195,000,000 cubic feet, and 208 millions were manufactured; the fourth largest output in Australasia. The price per thousand feet has steadily decreased from one pound to five shillings, which for the past two years has been the uniform charge in city and suburbs. The principal works are situated in Freeman's Bay, where the company's property covers an area of nine acres. There are two gasholders at Freeman's Bay, one at Epsom, and one at Onehunga. The main holder is of the kind known as telescopic, is 105 feet in diameter, with two lifts each thirty feet high, and a capacity of 520,000 cubic feet. The second holder at Freeman's Bay contains 104,000 feet; the Epsom holder, 50,000 feet, and that at Onehunga, 29,000 feet. The low level of Onehunga necessitates the pumping of the gas into the holder, and for this purpose a very fine gas engine is used. Of course, the manufacture of the gas is continuous, for the several holders contain less than one day's consumption. At the main works there are eleven beds, each containing seven through retorts, and each bed is capable of manufacturing 100,000 feet per day of twenty-four hours. The plant throughout is of the most approved description ordinarily used for the making of gas, the only special appliance being the sprayer for infusing oil in to the gas to keep in suspension the napthaline, which would, if allowed, crystallize and block all small apertures. The residual products are collected and disposed of to the best advantage, and the careful management of this department has greatly reduced the cost of the gas. Probably no company south of the line has done so much to popularise gas as a means of light, heat and power as the Auckland Gas Company Simultaneously with the introduction of the new Welsbach burner, it imported a variety of beautifully finished and admirably designed fittings, and the ponderous old-fashioned gasoliers have been entirely discarded in favour of delicately constructed furnishings suitable to the requirements of the new light. These are supplied to consumers at the very lowest remunerative prices, and all the work connected with the fitting and installing is undertaken by the company. The Auckland Gas Company has 7000 customers, and there are 175 gas engines in use. It is, therefore, an extensive employer of labour. In winter the staff numbers about 200 men, but during the summer months the total is reduced to about 170. The company's valuable property on the western side of Freeman's Bay has been excavated for the erection of handsome and extensive new buildings, and the unsightly and unhealthy “intake” filled up without expense to the city. These works have been carried out under the supervision of the company's new engineer, Mr. Chenery Suggate, whose experiences in the Old Land well qualify him for such duties. The Devonport gasworks are the property of the Auckland Gas Company, and the Devonport Fire Brick Works are the only works of the kind in New Zealand. The whole plant has recently been increased, and new kilns and large drying sheds erected to enable the company to cope with the ever increasing orders. The company supplies retorts and fire clay goods of the best description to every gasworks
Auckland Gas Co.'s Offices.

Auckland Gas Co.'s Offices.

page 414 works in New Zealand, as well as fire goods for the many improved methods of treating ore.
Auckland Gas Co.'s Premises.

Auckland Gas Co.'s Premises.

Mr. Edward Brendon Parsons, the Secretary of the Auckland Gas Company, has for fully thirty years been a devoted servant of the company, and has during the whole of that time carried out his onerous duties in a manner which has gained for him, on the one hand, the entire confidence of the directers, and of the public on the other. Mr. Parsons has not only refrained from seeking civic power for himself, but has constantly declined to exercise the voting power of the company registered in his name. Inasmuch as the Auckland Gas Company holds property in every ward of the city and in most of the suburbs, this self-denial is creditable in the highest degree. Mr. Parsons was born at Launceston, Cornwall, England, and was educated at Plymouth. He served under indentures, and on the completion of his apprenticeship left his native town for London, where he was engaged in a wholesale house until 1862. In that year he left for New Zealand by the ship “Devonshire,” and landed at Auckland on the 7th of February, 1863. Mr. Parsons went to Dunedin, where he was employed as corresponding clerk and ledger keeper in the firm of Messrs Dalgety, Rattray and Co. He entered the service of the Auckland Gas Company as accountant in February, 1868, and in the following year was appointed to the secretaryship, in consequence of the removal to Sydney of his predecessor, Mr. J. N. Wark. When Mr. Parsons joined the company, the staff consisted of the manager and secretary, Mr. Wark, the accountant (Mr. Parsons himself, who did the whole of the clerical work of the office), the foreman and four men, of whom one was but a casual labourer. Of that old staff Mr. Parsons only remains, though a fair number of the 200 men now employed have been for many years in the company's service.

Mr. Isaac Watts, who entered the office in 1877, now holds the responsible position of general office manager and cashier.

Mr. Mortimer Fairs, the next senior officer, is chief counter clerk, and is well qualified to fill the position, as he has had a long experience with the company's customers.

Mr. Ernest Ashton controls the accountants' department, in which the records of the company's transactions are concentrated by double entry.

Mr. Chenery Suggate, A.M.I.C.E., Engineer for the Auckland Gas Company, is the son of Mr. Alfred Suggate, of London, and was born at Beccles, in Suffolk, educated at the grammar school in his native town, and studied engineering under several well-known gas engineers. After an exceptional experience in gasworks, he accepted an appointment as assistant engineer at Plymouth, passed second in honours in the “Gas Manufacture” examination and other kindred subjects, and was elected an Associate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers. He was afterwards appointed superintendent of new works at the Sheffield Gas Works, where the output averaged ten million cubic feet per day. In April, 1897, Mr. Suggate arrived in Auckland, by way of Sydney, and immediately entered upon his present duties. One of his first acts was to recommend his directors to substitute the incandescent light throughout the city free of all cost to the town. The Council agreed to erect fifteen new lamp posts, and the improved light gives great satisfaction to everyone. Special lights were erected in Queen Street, making it—once one of the dimmest—one of the best lighted streets in the Colonies. Mr. Suggate is a Freemason, and was initiated at Plymouth in Harmony Lodge No. 156 E.C. In 1887, Mr. Suggate was married to Miss Greening, daughter of the late Mr. Benjamin Greening, of Liverpool, England, and they have two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Suggate was among the prize-winners at the Auckland “Floral Fete” of 1897, when her horse and gig were adjudged the best in their class.

Mr. C. Suggate.

Mr. C. Suggate.

Colonial Sugar Refining Company, Ltd. This company's works are situated at Chelsea, with deep water frontage to the harbour, about two miles above the Queen Street wharf, and are owned by a company of Auckland capitalists, working in co-operation with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, of Sydney. The extensive original refinery page 415 was erected in 1883, and has been added to from time to time. The company has two fine wharves where large steamers may load and discharge, and numerous cottages for the accommodation of its workers. A large proportion of the sugar used in the Colony is manufactured at the works. When the industry was established, the output was 360 tons per week; now it is nearly 700 tons. Two hundred hands are constantly employed; Mr. W. J. W. Philson is manager in New Zealand, and Mr. E. V. Millar, manager of the works.

Downs, W. H. (late W. Downs and Son), Oil and Skin Manufacturer, 44 Napier Street, Auckland. Telephone 1012. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. This is one of the largest and soundest businesses in its line in New Zealand. It was started in 1874, and was conducted for many years by the late senior partner, Mr. William Downs, who was joined afterwards by his eldest son, Mr. William Herry Downs, who now manages the whole business. The volume of trade increases year by year, and owing to the excellence of the firm's manufactures, the energy and sound business qualities of the proprietors, the firm's goods are widely used, not only in New Zealand, but all over Australia and the South Sea Islands, and on vessels trading to various parts of the world. The very best material is used in making the goods, and the firm employs none but the most skilled workers of both sexes, and pays them liberally and treats them well. Hence the firm's name stands high, and its goods are held in high esteem wherever they are used. Its specialties are patent riding coats and coats with capes. The “Waikato Times” says that “the firm's oilskin factory is one of the best and most flourishing industries of its kind in the Colony. Started in a small way twenty years ago by Mr. Downs, senior, the business has been developed to a great extent by that gentleman and his son, who is now sole proprietor. Steady industry, great skill, first-class oilskin goods of every kind, business capacity and civility, combined with strict integrity, have procured success for the firm. It owns very fine premises, and the factory has every facility for manufacturing all kinds of oilskin goods, including cart, waggon, and carry-all covers, tarpaulins and rick-covers, which are sold through the firm's agents all over the Colony and abroad.”

Mr. William Downs, the late Senior Partner, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and arrived in New Zealand by the ship “Claremont” in 1863; his son, Mr. W. H. Downs, was born in New Zealand.

The Kapai Corn Broom Company, Ltd. (Thomas J. Harbutt, managing director), Manufacturers of Corn Brooms, Bass Brooms, House Bellows, etc., corner Victoria Street East and Coburg Street, Auckland. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. It is now nearly a quarter of a century since Mr. Harbutt concluded that the manufacture of corn brooms (known as ordinary American brooms) should be undertaken in this Colony, in order that the people might save the excessive freight on the imported article, and that the wages of those engaged in the manufacture might be paid and retained in the Colony instead of being, so to speak, sent away to America. In order that no loss might arise from want of knowledge of the industry, Mr. Harbutt sent one of his sons (Mr Lawrence Harbutt) to San Francisco to thoroughly learn the trade in all its branches. This done, Mr. Harbutt set his inventive genius to work on improvements which seemed to him to be necessary, and he produces
The Kapai Corn Broom Co.'s Premises.

The Kapai Corn Broom Co.'s Premises.

Interior of Kapai Corn Broom Stores.

Interior of Kapai Corn Broom Stores.

page 416
Interior of Kapai Corn Broom Stores.

Interior of Kapai Corn Broom Stores.

brooms of a quality which cannot be equalled by any over-sea importations. Indeed, considering the superiority of Mr. Harbutt's brooms over the imported corn brooms it is surprising that any of the latter should still come to the Colony. The output of the Kapai Corn Broom Company amounts to about 100,000 brooms per annum, and the turnover would be doubled if this first-rate local article were bought by the public. Mr. Harbutt was awarded the silver medal at the Wellington Exhibition of 1885, and a bronze medal at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, London, in the following year, and these honours prove the excellence of his goods. Many other articles are manufactured by the Kapai Corn Broom Company, but only a few can be mentioned here, such as the spiral chimney sweeper, a long-handled cobweb sweeper, a long-handled scrubber for verandahs, dairies, etc., and the ordinary house bellows. All these and many others were recently exhibited at the Auckland Exhibition, where they deservedly gained first prizes. At present the raw material is imported, but it is Mr. Harbutt's opinion that at least a thousand acres of good land might be profitably set aside for the growth of the corn required by his factory alone. Assuredly the Kapai Corn Broom Company should be encouraged by all who wish well to the Colony, as only those who have watched the growth of the industry can form an idea of the energy and perseverance exerted by Mr. Harbutt and his sons in bringing it to its present state of thorough-going efficiency.

Plummer, Charles Bernard, Straw Hat Manufacturer, Coburg Street, Auckland. This business was established by Mr. Plummer, senior, about 1876, and taken over by the present owner on the death of his father. The premises consist of a row of wooden buildings, where about fifty hands are employed; Mr Plummer having none but efficient workmen, who thoroughly understand their business. Mr. Plummer, who is the only straw hat manufacturer in Auckland, is doing a steadily increasing trade, and is proving that the colonial article compares very favourably in price and quality with the imported one. His business is chiefly with the wholesale houses, from which he receives some very heavy orders. The straw plaits are all imported, and consist of English, Chinese, and Japanese; the last named predominate considerably, but German ribbons are more used than any others. In 1889 Mr. Plummer took a trip Home, where he gained further experience in the straw hat industry. He is regularly supplied with all the trade journals, and is in a position to turn out the latest shapes in show hats. Mr. Plummer was born at Kaipara in 1869, and is a son of the late Mr. Charles Plummer, a member of the Port Albert nonconformists, and one of Auckland's oldest settlers. Mr. Plummer was at first in the Telegraph Department, which he left to join his father in business. He is an active member of the Orchestral Union, and plays on the drums, tymphani, etc. He was for some time a pupil of Mr. Paque, from whom he learnt the violoncello, which he plays for the Orchestral Union.

Tyer, A. and Son, Jam and Preserved Fruit Manufacturers, College Hill, Auckland. Telephone 718. Bankers, Union Bank. This enterprising firm was established in 1892, and the present commodious premises were erected in 1898. They are built in brick, and consist of two stories and a cellar, with every appliance for carrying on the business of fruit preserving. A ten-horse power boiler supplies the steam to four jacketed boiling pans, and also to the large tank used for preserved fruits. In the season about twenty-five persons are employed in the factory. The fruit is obtained from various parts of New Zealand; the oranges used in the manufacture of marmalade are grown in the north of Auckland; and only the best and soundest fruit is used in the various manufactures. The firm is deservedly celebrated for its marmalades, and was the first to start the manufacture of this breakfast page 417 luxury in New Zealand from locally grown oranges. At the Auckland Exhibition of 1899 Messrs Tyer and Son were awarded a gold medal for their exhibit of marmalade, against all comers, Preserved fruits are put up in tins varying in capacity from pounds to gallons, and comprise apples, plums, and peaches; which are so well known and appreciated throughout the Colony that the firm is greatly taxed to keep pace with the increasing demand. The firm's tomato sauce and jams are equally in favour.

Mr. A. Tyer, the Senior Partner of the firm, was born in 1832, in Kent, England, and for years he owned one of the leading businesses in his native place. Attracted by the glowing accounts of New Zealand. Mr. Tyer disposed of his business, and came to Auckland, accompanied by a family of ten. His early anticipations were not realised; shortly after his arrival he started a large grocery business, but the premises were burned down five weeks afterwards, and Mr. Tyer lost everything. He, however, started again, but this time as a manufacturer of jam. His eldest son then went Home and brought out a large quantity of glass and earthenware to take the place of the tin boxes previously used in holding preserves. Mr. Tyer's business then began to increase, and a demand sprang up for his manufactures, on account of their purity. This demand went on increasing so much that Mr. Tyer found it necessary to erect the large premises now occupied by the firm. His son and partner, Mr. Arthur Tyer, joined the firm in 1892.

Panoramic View of Auckland Harbour.

Panoramic View of Auckland Harbour.