Nelson Historical Society Journal, Volume 6, Issue 4, 2001

Brookside Mill 1962–1982

Brookside Mill 1962–1982

Staff

As the mill expanded so did the staff, from 17 in 1962 to around 50 in 1982. Noel Jarrett was the manager until 1978, after which he was the Production Manager in the Nelson office. The foreman, Cyril Riddle, then became the key man and he transferred to the newly opened modern and partly computerised Eves Valley Mill when Brookside closed. Charlie Benseman was the yardman, Trevor Barton operated the treatment plant and Syd Smith was the foreman in charge of Posts and Poles.

Expansion in the 1970s

The board edger was replaced by a breast bench, with timber free of bark going directly from the frame to the sorting chain. Packets of 600 super feet of timber were loaded onto railway irons, a tractor and trailer unit was backed under and the timber was then tipped onto the trailer rollers and taken to appropriate areas for filleting (stacking with spacers for drying). Depending on the weather, drying the 10 ft (3m) covered stacks could take from three weeks to three months. The bundles of timber 2 ft by 2 ft (600mm by 600mm), were then sorted for market or treatment.

Markets

Timber was sold locally or trucked to the port of Nelson for dispatch to Petone, Sydney or, in squares of 6–12 inches (150mm-300mm), to Japan.

Treatment

1. Tanalised: The tanalith was brought by truck from Christchurch in drums. A large cylinder containing timber on trolleys at the end of Bird Lane was filled with tanalising liquid and then pressurised until treatment was completed. The liquid was then pumped out to a storage tank, while the trolleys of timber were pulled out and drained on a concrete pad. The timber was then filleted and dried. This treatment extended the life of timber and posts, and prevented borer or marine life infestation.
2. Boric treatment: Near the tanalith plant was a tank half filled with water to which boron was added. The temperature in the tank was raised to below boiling point by diesel-heated hot-air pipes. Timber was lowered into it by winch for between 5 and 10 minutes, until there was sufficient penetration, and then lifted out and drained. The packets of timber were then placed in a sealed bay so that diffusion (absorption) could take place. The process took eight weeks to complete, and borer-proofed the timber which was used for building purposes.

Planer

A planer operated in its own shed where dried timber was dressed for orders, either straight or to building requirements, such as architraves. This mill could cope with dressing timber up to 12 inches (300mm) wide.

Chipper

This disposed of waste timber up to 8 by 6 inches (200mm by 150mm). It was quite large for the time, being fed from the chain with feed rollers. The chips were then belt-fed to a hopper which opened to fill the bins on the chip liner trucks underneath. The chips were exported from Port Nelson to Japan.

The land where Brookside Mill operated until 1982 is still owned by Carter Holt Harvey, which owns Eves Valley Mill.