 |
| Looking down from Mount Pauanui on Tairua Harbour Entrance - Photo CRB 2013 |
Looking back and doing some research, am fascinated with how the machinery and equipment for the first sawmill was bought to Tairua. There were no roads nor a railway back in 1864. A few rough tracks through what was said to be dense bush. Shipping was heavily relied on in those days and it was shipping that bought the machinery and equipment. Seccombe, Bleazard and Tothill were establishing a mill at Tairua. Seccombe being well known in Auckland back in the early 1860's as a brewer.
This was no small mill like some I have seen around the country. Said a few years after completion, to be employing 100 men in the sawmilling operations, it would even by today's measurement, be called a large sawmill.
The end of October 1864 saw the 21 ton cutter Ringdove departing from Port of Auckland with a cargo of sundry merchandise for the sawmill and four passengers. Captain Poulgrain was her master.
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua October
1864:
OCTOBER 1864
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
Tons
|
Poulgrain
|
31/10
for Mercury
|
sundry
merchandize for the
|
Bay
& Tairua
|
Saw
Mill Company—4 passengers
|
||||
NZ
Herald
|
Seccombe,
Bleazard and Co. agents
|
Ringdove was a
cutter said to have been built in 1864. ( Koel Junction ) Initially from
newspaper records it appears Ringdove was on the Russell Mangonui run,
Rackstraw her first Master. In October
Lloyd is recorded as master and Buchanan &
Stewart as agents. ( Daily Southern Cross 11/10/1864 ) Two weeks later, Captain Poulgrain was recorded as master with
a voyage from Mercury Bay with 5 passengers. ( Daily Southern Cross 29/10/1864)
The next two
months saw Ringdove to and from Tairua
with passengers. Captain Poulgrain was used to coasters and the coastal waters of the New Zealand eastern coastline. Poulgrain had been master
previously of Victoria, Albatross, Marwell and
Miranda.
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua November
1864:
NOVEMBER 1864
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
10/11
from Tairua
|
20
tons firewood
|
NZ
Herald
|
1
passenger
|
||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
11/11
for Tairua
|
sundries
|
NZ Herald
|
5
passengers
|
||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
24/11
From Tairua
Daily
Southern Cross
|
in
ballast
7
passengers
|
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua December
1864:
DECEMBER 1864
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
16 /12
From Tairua
|
In
ballast
|
5
passengers
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
19/12
For Tairua
|
Sundries
–
|
NZ Herald
|
7
passengers
|
||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
29/12
From Tairua
|
In
ballast
|
Daily
Southern Cross
|
5
passengers
|
||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
31/12
For Tairua
|
1 ton
coals
|
4
passengers
|
Tairua Harbour Entrance, just as it is even today, was one to be treated with respect. To the North and South of Tairua Harbour Entrance was a rugged coastline. Cliffs and rocky outcrops out of volcanic origins.
 |
| Cliffs near Onemana and Tairua Harbour Entrance - Photo CRB 2014 |
Into 1865. Ringdove was to be seen over the next few months, delivering cargoes of machinery and equipment for the new sawmill along with sundry foodstuffs and passengers.
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua January
1865:
JANUARY 1865
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
12/01
From Tairua
|
In
ballast
|
NZ
Herald
|
2
passengers
|
||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
17/01For
Tairua
|
66
pieces Machinery
|
NZ Herald
|
2 chain cables, 18 kegs nails,
|
||||
1 bag
shackles,
|
|||||
3,000 fire bricks,
|
|||||
Ex light brigade -
|
|||||
1 case
groceries
|
|||||
10
passengers
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
31/01
From Tairua
|
In
ballast
|
NZ
Herald
|
2
passengers
|
Woodworking machinery was introduced to Auckland in the 1860's. Prior to this it was pit- sawn timber. It was also reported in the Daily Southern Cross in early January 1865 that the well known foundry of George Fraser had manufactured entire machinery for the Auckland Timber Company and improved machinery for Seccombe & Sons Brewery in Khyber Pass Road. (Daily Southern Cross, 2 January 1865, Pg 5 )
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua February
1865:
FEBRUARY 1865
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
06/02
For Tairua
|
for
Tairua, with
|
NZ Herald
|
4
cases machinery,
|
||||
24
cases galvanised iron,
|
|||||
3 kegs
nails,
|
|||||
1 cask
iron work,
|
|||||
1 case
fire bars,
|
|||||
1
anvil, 1 smith's bellows,
|
|||||
1
bundle cast steel,
|
|||||
42 bars iron," 5 bundles iron,
|
|||||
20
pork, 1 ton potatoes,
|
|||||
6 bags rice, 17 bags sugar,
|
|||||
3
casks beer, 2 bags salt
|
|||||
3
bales blankets,
|
|||||
1 box
tobacco, 2 chests tea,
|
|||||
1 box
medicine
|
|||||
,1
pkg. matches,
8 casks
|
|||||
oatmeal, 3 cases raisins—
|
|||||
7
passengers.
|
At the beginning of March 1865, Tairua Sawmill were advertising for six labourers. They must have hired these for the voyage of Ringdove for Tairua on 2nd March recorded 10 passengers. Newspaper shipping reports of coastal shipping in the 1860's did not generally record names of the passengers.
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua March 1865:
MARCH 1865
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21tons
|
Poulgrain
|
02/03
For Tairua
|
Sundries
|
NZ Herald
|
10
passengers
|
||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
22/03
From Tairua
|
In
ballast
|
NZ
Herald
|
12
passengers
|
||||
T.W.
Brown agent
|
Tairua Sawmills continued advertising for " hands" throughout March, the end of the month for two men to work " Tide Work in a punt" (Daily Southern Cross, 27 March 1865, Pg 1) No doubt the work was welcome for those hired.
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua April 1865:
APRIL 1865
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
10/04
From Tairua
|
In
ballast
|
NZ
Herald
|
12
passengers
|
||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
15/04
For Tairua
|
31
pkgs. Machinery-
|
2
passengers
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
28/04
From Tairua
|
In
ballast
|
Daily
Southern Cross
|
6
passengers
|
April 1865 saw the following names recorded on the Electoral Roll as residing in Tairua and Hikuai ( spelled Hikowai )( Franklyn Electoral Roll 1865 then ) :
Bach, John
Bleazard, Robert
Bradley, Robert
Craig, Arthur
Craig, Joseph
Dyer, John
McDonald, Peter
Millburn, James
Rogers, Owen
Tapsell, Philip
Tothill, Charles
( Daily Southern Cross 12 April 1865 Page 6. & New Zealand Herald, 15 April 1865, Page 5 )
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua May 1865:
MAY 1865
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
01/05
From Tairua
|
in
ballast
|
16
casks beef
|
|||||
7
passengers
|
|||||
T. W.
Brown, agent
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
14/05
From Tairua
|
in
ballast
|
timber
|
|||||
damaged
sails
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
20/05
From Tairua
|
in
ballast –
|
6
passengers
|
T. W Brown was the first agent for the Tairua Sawmill. Based in Auckland, he arranged sales of timber after the mills were opened and cargoes to and from Tairua.
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua June 1865:
JUNE 1865
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
14/06
From Tairua
|
1 mule
|
NZ Herald
|
8
passengers
|
Captain Poulgrain reported heavy weather saw the Ringdove windbound at Tairua for several days. The coasters of the 1860's, under sail, were reliant on wind, weather and tide.
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua July 1865:
JULY 1865
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
06/07
From Tairua
|
1 mule
|
NZ
Herald
|
2
casks beef
|
||||
8
passengers
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
06/07
For Tairua
|
11casks
beef, 1/4 ton flour,
|
NZ Herald
|
2 bags sugar, 2 bags rice,
|
||||
1 box tobacco, 1 case belting,
|
|||||
6
boxes passengers' luggage
|
|||||
, 1
case saw-makers' tools,
|
|||||
Seccombe,
Bleazard ,Tothill—
|
|||||
7
passengers.
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
28/07
From Tairua
|
7 tons
kauri gum-
|
NZ Herald
|
19
passengers
|
Tairua Sawmill, even by today's standards, could not be regarded as a small sawmill. James Mackay in a report to the Colonial Secretary in 1875, wrote that the Tairua Sawmill employed an average of 100 men in the mills and forest. ( AJHR 1875 I, C-03 )Sawmills of that era were labour intensive and saw the employment of a number in mill, bush and on vessels loading and carrying cargoes of timber.
 | ||||||||||
| Union Sash & Door Co. Booms, Tairua River Webb & Webb.c 1865 photo use courtesy Pictures Collection, State Library of Victoria |
When Tairua Sawmills were first built there was no wharf to unload machinery and sundry items for the mill being established. The sawmills were built close to the waters edge in the Tairua Harbour. Two months after opening of the Tairua Mills, the Herald reported the following on the band saw and boiler: -
" This saw is of unusually large size, in one entire piece, and in the short space of twenty minutes will cut 550 feet, or at the rate of 2000 feet per hour, any size from ½ to 60 inches in width. The boiler attached to the mill is one of Harrison's patent, of 60 horse power, and takes up 8 feet square room."
" This saw is of unusually large size, in one entire piece, and in the short space of twenty minutes will cut 550 feet, or at the rate of 2000 feet per hour, any size from ½ to 60 inches in width. The boiler attached to the mill is one of Harrison's patent, of 60 horse power, and takes up 8 feet square room."
(New Zealand
Herald, 19 October 1865, Page 4)
 |
| From Mt. Pauanui looking down on Tairua Harbour and Tairua River - Photo CRB 2013 |
Following the voyages to and from Tairua in August 1865, Ringdove was put up for auction with the well known firm of Jones & Co.
Voyages of the Ringdove to and from Tairua August 1865:
AUGUST 1865
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
02/08
From Tairua
|
7 tons
kauri gum—
|
NZ Herald
|
21
passengers.—
|
||||
T. W.
Brown, agent.
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
03/08
For Tairua
|
37 bags flour, 2 casks cement,
|
Daily Southern Cross
|
1 cask
split peas, 6 tins coffee,
|
||||
2
paper parcels, 1 box tobacco,
|
|||||
4 bags
sugar, 10 barrels pork,
|
|||||
3 bags
rice , 3 half chests tea,
|
|||||
1/4
ton iron, 1 grindstone,
|
|||||
2
water-tanks, 1 case crockery-ware,
|
|||||
1 case
glass, 1 boat, 1 cask
|
|||||
blasting-powder,
1 barrel rum,
|
|||||
5 gallons oil, 1 casting and sheet
|
|||||
brass
Passengers 4
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
14/08
From Tairua &
|
In
ballast
|
Mercury
Bay
|
4
passengers.
|
||||
NZ Herald
|
—T. W. Brown, agent.
|
||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
16/08
For Tairua
|
1 cask
oatmeal,
|
2
cases axes, 1 parcel drapery
|
|||||
2 doz
axe-handles,
|
|||||
50 lb
tobacco,
|
|||||
15 Ib
powder, 1 cwt paint,
|
|||||
1
parcel groceries-
|
|||||
11 Passengers
|
|||||
Ringdove
|
Cutter
|
21
tons
|
Poulgrain
|
From
Tairua
|
In
ballast
|
4
passengers
|
Before the end of
September the cutter Ringdove and Captain Poulgrain were to see new waters Messrs Harris and Turner purchased Ringdove
at an auction held by Jones & Co and was laid on for the Hokitika
diggings . Captain Poulgrain took charge
of the Cutter Glimpse which was
purchased by a Canterbury firm.
Tairua Sawmill
James Mackay
reporting to the Colonial Secretary in 1875 recorded the following in a return -
Tairua Sawmill
Company :
Cost
of Mill & Plant £23,000
Date of Erection:
1864
Situation of Timber:
Tairua
Date of Timber
Purchase: 1864
Amount
Paid for Timber including land surveys: £3000
Value
logs in stock or in bush : £5500
Estimated
present value Mills, Plant and Standing
Forests: £26000
Total
Value Mills, Plant and standing forests &
timber in stock: £31500
Average number men
employed in mills & forest : 100
Average number
vessels employed in timber trade: 5
Average number men
employed in vessels: 10
AJHR 1875 I, C-03
In comparison to the other mills in this report, the cost of Mill & Plant of £23,000 was one of the more expensive. In 2013 terms the relative value of £23,500 from 1875 ranges from £1,932,000.00 to £29,900,000.00.
The Tairua Sawmills went on milling until into the 20th century. Another mill was built further down on the Tairua River and the Tairua Valley saw employment in sawmilling until 2005.
As to the cutter Ringdove - a varied and chequered use followed the Tairua Sawmill era. From the diggings of Hokitika to the Mahurangi run to notoriety because her new master, Mather, was reputed to use Ringdove for smuggling to being sold and used to carry a cargo of timber to Noumea and on to inter island trade.
Reference Source
- AJHR Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1875 Session I, C-03 CLAIMS UPON LANDS TAKEN OVER BY THE PROVINCE OF AUCKLAND FROM THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. (FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE RELATING THERETO).
- Koel Junction
- Papers Past, National Library New Zealand including :
- PORT OF AUCKLAND. MISCELLANEOUS Daily Southern Cross, 11 October 1864, Page 4
- PORT OP AUCKLAND. WEEKLY SUMMARY. MISCELLANEOUS. Daily Southern Cross, 29 October 1864, Page 4
- Daily Southern Cross 12 April 1865 Page 6.
-
THE TAIRUA SAW MILLS. New Zealand Herald, 19 October 1865, Page 4
- http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sooty/franklynERoll1865.html
- Measuring Worth http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/relativevalue.php
- Fiji Shipping Index https://fijishipindex.wordpress.com/inter-island/ringdove/
-
Bennett, Francis, Tairua, Arrow Printing Limited, Morrinsville, reprint soft cover 2004
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