Template for Registration Report for a Historic Place

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New Zealand Historic Places Trust Pouhere Taonga
Registration Review Report for a Historic Place
Oamaru Woollen Factory (Former), Oamaru
(Register No.3225, Category 2)
Aerial view of the Woollen Mill (photograph supplied by Summit Wool Spinners, 2012).
Heather Bauchop
DRAFT 13 November 2014
New Zealand Historic Places Trust ©
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4
1.
IDENTIFICATION
5
1.1.
Name of Place
5
1.2.
Location Information
5
1.3.
Legal Description
5
1.4.
Extent of Registration
5
1.5.
Eligibility
6
2.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
6
2.1.
Historical Information
6
2.2.
Physical Information
13
2.3.
Chattels
18
2.4.
Sources Available and Accessed
18
3.
SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT
18
3.1.
Section 23 (1) Assessment
18
3.2.
19
4.
APPENDICES
22
4.1.
Appendix 1: Visual Identification Aids
22
4.2.
Appendix 2: Visual Aids to Historical Information
31
4.3.
Appendix 3: Visual Aids to Physical Information
33
4.4.
Appendix 4: Heritage Protection
37
4.5.
Appendix 5: Significance Assessment Information
39
NZHPT Registration Report 2
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The Woollen Mill was first registered as a Category 2 historic place in 1983, but
no information was provided at this time about which structures in the large mill
complex were significant. The mill complex has been subject to extensive
change throughout the twentieth century. The purpose of this review has been
to investigate whether the changes to the mill complex over time may have
impacted on its heritage values, and to clarify those values and the appropriate
extent of registration, if any.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Oamaru Woollen Factory Company opened on this site in 1918 and with its
successor companies spans ninety years as a manufacturer of wool products,
and as one of the largest employers in Oamaru. The factory buildings reflect the
changes in this important industry over the last century.
With the company dating from the late 1880s, the mill’s history tells of the
development of the industry based on small town capital investment. The mill
played an important role during both World Wars providing woollen cloth for the
armed services. Relocating to its current site in 1918, the mill’s subsequent
history shows the changes in the woollen industry, with alliances between mills
and the role of major capital investment as the industry developed new
processing technologies. The changes in the buildings also reflect the changes
in the industry over the twentieth century. The mill’s association with the wool
industry continues in 2014 where the factory now produces yarn for carpets.
The history of the Oamaru Woollen Factory illustrates the cultural change in the
mill as a workplace over its history of operation. Nineteenth century mills had a
hierarchy of employment that created a particular work culture. The mill was a
significant employer of women, an important theme of cultural change in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Oamaru Woollen Factory features in
the writing of Oamaru author Janet Frame who recalls the mill girls on their way
to work and defines her own life in opposition to their experience. In the
twentieth century the replacement of individual labour with automated
production also illustrates the history of change in the industry.
The Oamaru Woollen Factory is a 20,000 square metre industrial site made up
of a large complex of factory, store and administration buildings. The site has
been extensively developed, altered and added to over its long years of
operation. The buildings are a mix of the limestone buildings from the 19181920 period, concrete block additions and corrugated iron sheds from various
times. All machinery is modern.
In 2014, the 20,000 square-metre factory is home to Canterbury Wool Spinners,
a subsidiary of carpet manufacturer Godfrey Hirst.
1.
IDENTIFICATION 1
1.1.
Name of Place
Name: Oamaru Woollen Factory (Former)
Other Names: Woollen Mill, Summit Wool Spinners, Oamaru Woollen and
Worsted Mills
1.2.
Location Information
Address
3 Spey Street
OAMARU
Additional Location Information
The extensive site covers a half a town block. The main entrance is on a side
street (Spey Street) at the end of Weaver Street before the railway line.
Local Authority: Waitaki District Council
1.3.
Legal Description
Pt Sec 1 Blk I Oamaru SD (OT374/198), Pt Sec 3 Blk I Oamaru SD
(OT184/228), Pt Lot 21 Deeds Plan 60 (OT355/27), Legal Road, Otago Land
District.
1.4.
Extent of Registration
Extent includes the land described as Pt Sec 1 Blk I Oamaru SD (OT374/198),
Pt Sec 3 Blk I Oamaru SD (OT184/228) and Pt Lot 21 Deeds Plan 60
(OT355/27), part of the land described as Legal Road,Otago Land District and
the buildings associated with the Oamaru Woollen Factory (Former) thereon,
excluding the wool store constructed in 2005. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of
the registration report for further information).
1
This section is supplemented by visual aids in Appendix 1 of the report.
1.5.
Eligibility
There is sufficient information included in this report to identify this place. This
place is physically eligible for consideration as a historic place. It consists of
buildings that are affixed to land that lies within the territorial limits of New
Zealand.
2.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
2.1.
Historical Information
The Waitaki area is traditionally associated with the Kahui-tipua, Te Rapuwai,
Waitaha and Kati Mamoe peoples. The land around the Waitaki River Mouth
shows evidence of extensive settlement, while Moeraki was one of the early
2
cradles of knowledge for Waitaha and Kati Mamoe histories. Key coastal
settlements were at Moeraki, Shag Point, Waikouaiti, and Huriawa (the Karitane
3
Peninsula). Ngai Tahu’s prehistoric presence is shown through a range of
archaeological sites from middens and urupa, to rock art.
Developing new industries
The land around Oamaru was included in Kemp’s 1848 Crown purchase, and
4
the town surveyed in 1859. Oamaru’s exuberant Victorian architecture shows
the town’s wealth in the 1860s and 1870s. From the grand estates in the
backcountry inland of Oamaru came wool and grain – estates like Elderslie,
5
Kuriheka, Tokarahi, Otekaieke, and Benmore. Merchants and warehouseman
were busy with the grain and wool carted to Oamaru. Grain and wool stores in
6
built in Oamaru’s Harbour/Tyne Street area show the large production. Ships
2
McKinnon, Malcolm, 'Otago', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, URL:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/Places/Otago/Otago/4/en, accessed 23 June 2009.
3
‘The Original Karitane’, The New Zealand Railways Magazine, 11(9), Dec 1936, URL:
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Gov11_09Rail-t1-body-d6-d3.html, accessed 23 June 2009, p.
19.
4
K.C. McDonald, White Stone Country: The story of North Otago, North Otago Centennial Committee, Oamaru, 1962, p.64.
5
There are a number of registered places which are examples of the estates which produced the
grain and wool in North Otago. These include: Elderslie Stables (Former) (Register No. 2420), and
Elderslie Men’s Quarters (Former) (Register No. 3251); Kuriheka Station Stables (Register No.
347), Two Cookshops (Register No. 2423), Woolshed (Register No. 2424) and Implements Sheds
(Register No. 2425); Tokarahi Homestead (Register No. 2431), Cookshop (Register No. 2432)
and woolshed (Register No. 2433); Benmore Station Complex (Register No. 7805); and the structures associated with Robert Campbell’s estate – his house (Register No. 4378), stables (Register
No. 4377) and cottage (Register No. 4887).
6
Examples of the grain stores include the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company Warehouse
(Former) (Register No. 354); Smith’s Grain Store (Register No. 4380); J and T Meek’s Grain Store
(Register no. 2288); and Neill Brothers Store.
called at the bustling port to transport these products to market (Oamaru
Harbour Historic Area, Register No. 7536).
In Oamaru industries developed to process grain and wool. The first flourmill
opened in 1864, others soon followed. The frozen meat industry began near
Oamaru in the early 1880s at Totara Estate (Category 1 historic place, Register
No.7066). The New Zealand Refrigerating Company were operating their
freezing works by February 1886 (Category 2 historic place, Register No. 3217).
Making woollen fabric and other woollen products was another of the country’s
emerging industries. New Zealand’s population grew through the 1860s and
1870s, and more people needed clothing they could afford. During these years,
7
the wool clip (annual crop of wool) also increased. These two factors enabled
New Zealand to develop its own woollen industry. Through the 1870s, 1880s
and 1890s woollen mills opened in many New Zealand towns, providing a local
market for the wool clip. The Joint Committee on Colonial Industry proposed
that a temporary duty be imposed on importing tweed, cloth and other woollen
8
goods, to foster local industry. Where such mills opened, they were an
economic hub for their community. While some mills, such as Ross and
Glendinning in Dunedin, employed more than 1,000 workers, mills in smaller
towns tended to be smaller, and perhaps less economically dominant.
9
Mills opened in the bigger towns or cities, spurred on by political enthusiasm.
10
In the late 1860s, for example, the Otago Provincial Government offered a
bonus to the first mill to produce 5,000 yards (4572m) of woollen cloth. Arthur
Burns, proprietor of the Mosgiel Woollen Factory (Category 1 Register No. 351),
won the prize.
11
The success of Burns’ mill encouraged other investors.
Williamson, Ure and Booth, backed by warehousemen Ross and Glendining,
opened the Kaikorai Mill in Dunedin in 1874. Ross and Glendining opened their
own mill in 1879 (the Roslyn Mill, also in Kaikorai Valley).
12
The Bruce
7
Thornton, p.91; Stewart, p.19.
8
S.R.H. Jones, Doing Well and Doing Good: Ross & Glendining, Scottish Enterprise in New Zealand, Otago University Press, Dunedin, 2010, p.77.
9
McLean, p.131. McLean compares Ross and Glendinning’s over 1000 workers in 1910, with Oamaru’s 115. As a percentage of the population, however, Oamaru’s mill workforce is larger – 2.1%
compared to 1.6% going by New Zealand Yearbook population figures for greater Dunedin and
Oamaru in 1910.
http://www3.stats.govt.nz/New_Zealand_Official_Yearbooks/1910/NZOYB_1910.html accessed 4
Sep 2013.
10
11
12
Stewart, p.52.
Thornton, p.81.; Peter J. Stewart, Patterns on the Plain: A Centennial History of Mosgiel Woollens
Limited, Mosgiel Limited, Dunedin, 1975, p.17.
Thornton, p.81.
Manufactory Company built a woollen mill at Milton in 1897.
13
Throughout the country, mills opened. In Canterbury, the Kaiapoi Woollen
Manufacturing Company began production in 1875.
14
Timaru’s woollen mill
opened in 1885. In the North Island, the New Zealand Woollen Manufacturing
Company began operations in 1885 at Te Papapa near Onehunga. The
Onehunga Woollen Syndicate bought the mill in 1891 and it became the
Onehunga Woollen Mills.
15
The Wellington Woollen Mills opened at Petone in
1886 and the Napier Woollen Mills in 1902.
16
A woollen mill for Oamaru
In 1881, a group of businessmen, led by George Sumpter formed the Oamaru
Woollen Factory Company with a view to building a woollen mill in the town.
17
A
Mr Collins offered the site just north of the town boundary, between the railway
line and the coast. The Company appointed George Ballantyne as manager.
Ballantyne, from the well-known Scottish family of woollen manufacturers, went
to Britain and selected the plant for the factory, had the plans for the mill drawn
up, and engaged key staff.
18
Builder A. Watson won the contract for the construction of the plant, with his
£3,759 tender. The contract covered the construction of the weaving shed,
teasing house, dyeing and finishing rooms.
19
Watson won a further contract for
the construction of the engine room, boiler house and the chimneystack. By
June 1882, the machinery was on site. It was trialled in August, and scouring
and dyeing started later that month.
20
The Long Depression of the 1880s stalled the mill’s progress. The business was
undercapitalised and finance was precarious. Ballantyne was a poor manager
and was dismissed in May 1883. His replacement, David Patterson, took up the
manager’s role – a position he would hold until 1917. The Patterson family’s
association with the mill lasted until 1955.
21
David Patterson proved an able
manager, the company made its first profit in 1885.
13
Thornton, p.86.
14
Thornton, p.86.
15
Thornton , p.86.
16
Thornton, p.86.
17
McLean, pp.19-20.
18
McLean, pp.22-23.
19
McLean, p.23.
20
McLean, p.25.
21
McLean, p.26.
By the early 1890s, the economic climate was brighter and the company
pushed ahead with additions to the factory. The company installed a new boiler
plant in 1893 and in the following year built a new warehouse and office.
22
Business was still tough because of competition between mills, and because
New Zealand’s population was now static. Cheap imported fabrics harmed local
business.
23
Economic pressure eased in the twentieth century. As ever, war was good for
production – the South African War gave production a lift and the First World
War provided more steady growth.
24
The Oamaru mill supplied tunic cloth and
over-coating for the war effort. Production and profitability increased.
25
A new factory
Unexpected expenses coincided with the end of the war. In the 1890s,
measurements had shown that waves were eroding the cliff face behind the
factory. While protection works slowed the erosion, it was clear that the factory
would have to move. The company purchased a four-acre site across the
railway line from the factory.
26
Manager D.L. Patterson (David Patterson’s son, manager 1917-1947) drew up
plans for the new mill. The contract for the chimneystack was awarded in
December 1917. By May 1918, all the new buildings were nearly finished.
Racing the sea, which by April 1918 was threatening the wool-sorting room in
the old factory, the contract for the remaining buildings was let. This contract
was for the winding, weaving, finishing and milling departments, offices and
warehouses. Builders reused materials from the old factory where they could,
and transferred the machinery from the old mill. The old mill closed on 13 April
1921. Patterson designed the new mill as a complete unit with room to expand
on the generous site.
22
McLean, p.32.
23
McLean, p.28.
24
27
Jane Tolerton. 'Agricultural processing industries - Woollen mills in the 20th and 21st centuries',
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 13-Jul-12
URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/agricultural-processing-industries/page-4 accessed 2 September
2013.
25
McLean, p.34.
26
McLean, p.35.
27
McLean, p.37.
Takeover
Meanwhile Macky, Logan, Caldwell Ltd (who had also acquired the South
Canterbury Woollen Mill Company in Timaru in 1919) took over the Oamaru
Woollen Factory Company.
28
These Auckland warehousemen were expanding
their interest into the manufacture of woollen goods. The company still traded
as the Oamaru Woollen Factory Company and remained a separate entity.
29
Although business boomed in the 1920s, difficulties were to follow. The
company extended the factory in 1932 building a new yarn store and yarndrying shed, but their business contracted. The Great Depression saw a
collapse of the industry. Macky, Logan, Caldwell Ltd went into liquidation in
1932 owing the Oamaru Woollen Factory Company a substantial sum.
30
Hope was restored in 1935 when W.E. Winks and T.A. Daley made an offer for
the company on behalf of Winley and Company. Winley and Company had
stakes in the Manawatu Knitting Mills among other concerns. They represented
the ‘monopolisation of capital and the accompanying professionalism of
directors’ that was developing in the New Zealand business world.
31
It was
agreed that the old company would go into liquidation and that a new company,
Oamaru Worsted and Woollen Mills Ltd, would be formed.
High tariffs on textiles and import restrictions protected the woollen mills from
the late 1930s. These measures meant that locally made fabric was cheaper
than imported fabric. The regulated industry did have its downsides – it was
hard for mills to diversify because those who held an import license could
oppose local mills wanting to make a similar product. Both importers and other
mills could oppose a mill’s request to import machinery to make a new
product.
32
Once again, the climate for the woollen industry improved with war. The Second
World War posed the next challenge for the new company with the huge
demands for wartime production. The Government declared woollen
manufacturing an ‘essential industry.’ Production for the army and the air force
28
McLean, p.63.
29
McLean, pp.37-38.
30
McLean, p.44.
31
McLean, p.43.
32
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/agricultural-processing-industries accessed 12 July 2012. Jane
Tolerton ‘Agricultural Processing industries’.
took over most of the capacity of the mill, although labour was hard to find.
33
This increased production did mean the plant had to expand. A conditioning
room was finished in 1950 and in 1952 two wool stores were added.
th
In 1956, the Company celebrated its 75 anniversary, producing a souvenir
booklet and holding celebrations.
Woollen mills were very important as employers of women, particularly in small
towns when there were few other employers who would take them on. Women
usually only worked until they were married (or soon after). Women did the
lighter factory work, particularly in the hosiery, darning and mending
departments.
34
The conditions in the mill depended on the department. Some departments
were unpleasant, such as the dyehouse with its running water and continual
steam. Others were noisy and the work monotonous, and sometimes
dangerous. The carding department, with machines unguarded until after the
Second World War was particularly hazardous.
35
The Oamaru mill did offer
social facilities and events for employees that helped to create a sense of
identity.
36
The woollen mill features in the fiction and autobiographical writing of Janet
Frame. It kept time, the mill hooter like a fire siren each morning at eight, and
the buildings were a landmark.
37
The mill is where girls who left school early
went to work. In Frame’s Owl’s Do Cry Fay Chalkin works in a woollen mill, and
the ‘mill girls’ ride six abreast to the mill. For Frame’s protagonist Daphne, ‘to
end up at the woollen mill’ is the pit of her despair.
38
But for many women, the
woollen mill provided a place of employment and companionship outside the
four walls of the home.
Alliances between mills: a changing industry
Industry changes, however, heralded further restructuring. The new
33
McLean, p.45.
34
McLean, p.121.
35
McLean, p.129.
36
McLean, p.130.
37
Sheila Leaver-Cooper, Janet Frame’s Kingdom by the Sea: Oamaru, Lincoln University Press,
1997, Canterbury, pp.55-56.
38
Sheila Leaver-Cooper, Janet Frame’s Kingdom by the Sea: Oamaru, Lincoln University Press,
1997, Canterbury, pp.55-56. References to the woollen mill are in To the Is-land (pp.91, 94, 130,
179, 185) and Owls Do Cry (pp.27-31, 75).
technologies developing in the textile industry needed huge capital
requirements, which were beyond the capacity of small companies. Mills
needed to cooperate to survive. Alliances between mills became necessary and
many woollen mills merged in the 1960s. In 1960, sixteen companies operated
18 mills. They produced carpet, weaving, woven fabric, yarn, blankets and rugs.
The development of synthetic fabrics in the 1950s offered direct competition to
New Zealand’s wool industry. As a result, many mills merged or closed. Petone
merged with Kaiapoi. The Mosgiel and Roslyn mills merged. UEB Industries
took over Ross and Glendining and the Napier Woollen Mills.
39
The Timaru and Oamaru mills formed Alliance Textiles, which then took over
the Bruce Woollen Manufacturing Company in Milton.
40
At Oamaru, the office
building was extended to accommodate the new Alliance staff, and a new dye
house, wool store and cafeteria were built.
41
The Oamaru mill developed its
woollen capacity, while Timaru specialised in worsted production.
42
These
alliances saw machinery moved from mill to mill as specialisations changed or
developed. For example, the Oamaru carpet yarn section moved to Milton in
1970, and back to Oamaru again in 1976.
43
Even with the mergers, the woollen industry remained under threat. In 1969, a
committee set up by the Department of Industries and Commerce concluded
that there were still too many mills producing ‘short runs’ of products – mainly
blankets, and serge and flannel fabrics. More mills closed. By 1980, there were
only eight mills, and by 2000, all the major mills had closed.
44
Textile producers
did continue to make carpet yarn and spin Merino wool for clothing. The largest
mills in New Zealand in 2009 were South Canterbury Textiles in Timaru, Interweave in Auckland and Masterweave in Masterton. A few firms continued to
spin yarn, while the largest textile firm knitting fine merino were Levana Textiles
in Levin and Designer Textiles in Auckland.
45
Oamaru’s woollen mill survived into the new century. Up until 2012 the mill was
39
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/agricultural-processing-industries accessed 12 July 2012. Jane
Tolerton ‘Agricultural Processing industries’.
40
McLean, pp.51-52.
41
McLean, p.139., p.141.
42
McLean, p.141.
43
McLean, p.166 and p.175.
44
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/agricultural-processing-industries/4 . Accessed 23 October 2012..
Jane Tolerton ‘Agricultural Processing industries’.
45
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/agricultural-processing-industries/4 . Accessed 23 October 2012.
Jane Tolerton ‘Agricultural Processing industries’.
owned by Summit Wool Spinners Ltd. Summit was New Zealand’s largest
independent yarn spinner. The company specialised in yarn production through
both woollen and semi-worsted spun processes, producing yarns for both
carpets and rugs.
46
In early 2013, Canterbury Wool Spinners bought the mill.
The company is a subsidiary of carpet manufacturer Godfrey Hirst. One
hundred and ninety two people lost their jobs as a result of the sale. A skeleton
staff was retained while the feasibility of the mill was reviewed.
In 2014 the mill is still operating, carrying on its close to 100 years of
production.
Associated NZHPT Registrations
None
2.2.
Physical Information
Within Oamaru and more widely in North Otago, the former Oamaru Woollen
Factory is one of several significant buildings associated with industries that
processed the wool, grain, and meat. Grain stores were located in the
Harbour/Tyne Street area near the wharf. Meek’s flourmill sat alongside the
Oamaru Creek close to both a water supply and the warehouses by the
waterfront. The Oamaru Freezing Works sat next to the railway line, close to the
harbour. The Oamaru Woollen Factory, with its rail-side location, links to these
places. They are all associated with the primary industries that gave the town its
economic heart.
Like the mills, the grain stores and the freezing works, the former Oamaru
Woollen Factory (and many other buildings) is built of limestone. The Woollen
Factory is one of the largest groups of buildings constructed of limestone.
Although it does not have the landmark status of the multi-storey Meek’s Grain
Elevator and Meek’s Flour Mill, the scale of the Oamaru Woollen Factory is
significant. The mill complex takes up a large part of a town block between
Weaver and Foyle Streets. The use of limestone gives Oamaru the architectural
character for which it is now recognised.
The Oamaru Woollen Factory’s main entrance is on Weaver Street. The factory
is set back from the street. Across the road are some light commercial
buildings, while back towards Thames Street are modest houses. On Foyle
46
http://www.summitwool.co.nz/profile.htm (accessed 23 October 2012)
Street, the factory’s long single storey façade dominates this otherwise
residential street. On the seaward side, facing the railway line, another
unbroken façade that can be seen from a public walkway, shows the scale of
the factory.
Current Description
The Oamaru Woollen Factory, now Summit Wool Spinners, is a 20,000 square
metre industrial site. The factory consists of a large complex of factory and store
buildings, with an associated administration block and social club rooms. The
plan in Appendix 3 shows the layout of the buildings.
The site has been extensively developed, altered and added to over its more
than 92 years of operation. Photographs included below show the degree of
change over the years of operation.
The buildings are a mix of the limestone buildings from the 1918-1920 period,
concrete block additions and corrugated iron sheds from various times. A new
yarn store and yarn-drying shed were built in 1932, a new wool store was
constructed in 1950 and the social club, additions to the office, a new dyehouse,
wool store and loom weaving shed were all built in the 1960s. In the 1970s a
new boiler house was built. The chimney stack was removed in 1986. In the
2000s the timber floors were largely replaced with concrete, and there has been
ongoing replacement of asbestos roofing. The latest addition is the 2005 wool
store close to Weaver Street. The 2005 store is not included in the registration.
All the machinery is modern.
The photograph below shows the structures associated with the new mill when
it opened around 1920.
Figure 1: The structures associated with the new mill when it opened around 1920 (North
Otago Museum, Accession No. 4064)
Figure 2: Above is an image of the Woollen Mills in 1956 (Summit Woollen Mills Collection),
showing the large number of additions and alterations to the site in the twenty five years
following the mill’s relocation to its new site.
Dying and scouring
Worsted production
Office and warehouse
Spinning and carding
Finishing, milling and weaving
Wool sorting and stores
Figure 3: Basic functions of the various buildings drawn from 1950s plan
Semi-worsted carding and spinning
Dyestore
Twisting and Spinning
Main office
Social clubrooms
Wool store
Wool store (2005)
Figure 4: The photograph above shows the further extension of the complex since the 1950s,
with the 2005 wool store in the foreground (excluded from the registration) (Summit Woollen
Mills Collection, 2012)
Interior
Similarly, the interior has undergone a continual process of adaptation and change
to new manufacturing and processing requirements and machinery.
In 2012 the main functional divisions within the complex were:
•
Administration (in the original office block and former showroom (now
meeting room);
•
Wool stores
•
Spinning, carding, and twisting facilities
•
Maintenance: boiler house, maintenance area and workshops
•
Dyehouse
Construction Professionals
Designer: David Patterson (1918-1921 period)
Construction Materials
Limestone, corrugated iron, timber, concrete block
Key Physical Dates
The alterations and additions to the complex are extensive. What follows is a
basic outline.
1918-1920 Original construction
1932
New yarn store and yarn-drying shed
1950
New wool store constructed
1960s
Alteration of what is now the semi-worsted spinning room.
Cafeteria/social club rooms built. Addition to the office block. New
dyehouse constructed. Wool store constructed. Loom weaving
shed constructed.
1970s
New boiler house constructed. Alterations to dye house.
1986
Chimney stack removed
2000s
Timber floors largely replaced with concrete to allow for operation
of forklifts. Asbestos removal and replacement of roofing (ongoing).
Acoustic tiles installed for noise control. Boilers replaced.
Uses
Manufacturing – Textile Mill
2.3.
Chattels
There are no chattels included in this registration.
2.4.
Sources Available and Accessed
There is a wealth of information written about the woollen industry and it
significance to New Zealand. Much of the material is about the ideas rather than
the history of the buildings. There is relatively little written about the buildings
themselves. The information has been sufficient for the purposes of registration.
Bibliography – Selected Sources
Gavin McLean, Spinning Yarns: A Centennial History of Alliance Textiles
Limited and its predecessors, Alliance Textiles Ltd, Dunedin, 1981
Geoffrey Thornton, New Zealand’s Industrial Heritage, A.H. & A.W. Reed Ltd,
Wellington, 1982
Website: http://www.summitwool.co.nz/profile.htm (accessed 23 October 2012)
3.
SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT 47
3.1.
It is considered that this place qualifies as part of New Zealand’s historic and
cultural heritage. This place has been assessed and found to possess
architectural, cultural, and historical significance or value.
47
For the relevant sections of the HPA see Appendix 4: Significance Assessment Information.
Architectural Significance or Value
The Oamaru Woollen Factory represents the development over time of an
extensive complex of industrial buildings built in the local vernacular material –
Oamaru limestone. The factory has typical industrial buildings and the
associated administration block and social club rooms.
Cultural Significance or Value
The history of the Oamaru Woollen Factory illustrates the cultural change in the
mill as a workplace over its history of operation. Nineteenth century mills had a
hierarchy of employment that created a particular work culture. The mill was a
significant employer of women, an important theme of cultural change in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Oamaru Woollen Factory features in
the writing of Oamaru author Janet Frame who recalls the mill girls on their way
to work and defines her own life in opposition to their experience. In the
twentieth century the replacement of individual labour with automated
production also illustrates the history of change in the industry.
Historical Significance or Value
The Oamaru Woollen Factory represents the history of the woollen industry in
New Zealand. With the company dating from the late 1880s, the mill’s history
tells of the development of the industry based on small town capital investment.
The mill played an important role during both World Wars (in the old building for
the First World War), providing woollen cloth for the armed services. Its
subsequent history shows the changes in the woollen industry, with alliances
between mills and the role of major capital investment as the industry
developed new processing technologies. Its association with the wool industry
continues in 2014 where the factory now produces yarn for carpets.
3.2.
This place was assessed against, and found to qualify under the following
criteria: a, b, e and k. It is considered that this place qualifies as a Category 2
historic place.
(a) The extent to which the place reflects important or representative aspects of
New Zealand history
The history of the Oamaru Woollen Factory reflects the general development of
the woollen industry in New Zealand. Its history spans the early establishment
of small town mills built with local capital using steam technology. Its later
history is typical of woollen mills in New Zealand, with the takeover by outside
interests, and the eventual alliance between mills which saw a rationalisation of
production.
(b) The association of the place with events, persons, or ideas of importance in
New Zealand history
The Oamaru Woollen Factory is associated with the development of New
Zealand’s home grown wool manufacturing industry, a significant element in the
economic development of Otago, and New Zealand more generally. The
Oamaru Woollen Factory Company has links to some of Oamaru’s significant
businessmen and politicians such as George Sumpter.
(e) The community association with, or public esteem for the place
The Oamaru Woollen Factory Company and its successors have been local
employers since the 1880s, and as such the factory has a significant
association with the community.
(k) The extent to which the place forms part of a wider historical and cultural
complex or historical and cultural landscape
The Oamaru Woollen Factory is part of Oamaru’s historical landscape. The
factory takes up the large part of a city block, and is a landmark in the town,
visible from the hill suburbs that look down on the coast. Built of Oamaru stone,
it links to Oamaru’s well recognised ‘White Stone’ image.
Summary of Significance
The Oamaru Woollen Factory has cultural and historical significance and meets
the criteria as a Category 2 historic place. The Oamaru Woollen Factory is
associated with the development of New Zealand’s home grown wool
manufacturing industry, a significant element in the economic development of
Otago, and New Zealand more generally. The Oamaru Woollen Factory
Company has links to some of Oamaru’s significant businessmen and
politicians. Though there have been changes to the buildings over time, the
Oamaru Woollen Factory represents the development of an extensive complex
of industrial buildings built in the local vernacular material – Oamaru limestone.
The factory includes typical industrial buildings and the associated
administration block and social club rooms.
4.
APPENDICES
4.1.
Appendix 1: Visual Identification Aids
Location Maps
Oamaru
Map of Extent
Figure 5: Extent of registration, Quickmap
Figure 6: An aerial view of the land associated with the Oamaru Woollen Mill, Google
Earth and Quickmap, accessed 2013
Current Identifiers
4.2.
Appendix 2: Visual Aids to Historical Information
Historical Photographs
Figure 7: Woollen Mill – 1956. (Photograph in Summit Wool Spinners collection)
Figure 8: The Woollen Mill c.1920 (North Otago Museum, No.3329)
Figure 9: New Oamaru Woollen and Worsted Mill (left) and the old Mill on its original site
(right) (North Otago Museum collection P4064, circa 1920)
Figure 10: Woollen Mill site in the 1970s (North Otago Museum collection, P9314)
4.3.
Appendix 3: Visual Aids to Physical Information
Current Plans
Figure 11: Site Plan (Summit Wool Spinners, 2012). Weaver Street runs along the bottom of the complex, Foyle Street along the top
Figure 12: Plan of the Oamaru Worsted and Woollen Mills in 1959 (North Otago Museum
Collection, no accession number)
Current Photographs of Place (Heather Bauchop, Heritage New Zealand, 17
October 2012)
Figure 13: Oamaru Woollen Mill Site (Summit Wool Spinners Image). Weaver Street is in
the foreground, Foyle Street to the rear of the complex. The railway line runs along the
west of the complex
Figure 14: Elevation to Foyle Street (Google Earth, 2012)
Figure 15: The office building
Figure 16: The exterior of the store
Figure 17: Typical truss detailing
Figure 18: Typical sawtooth detailing
Figure 19: Interior, twisting room. Typical altered interior where the ceiling has
been closed in to control noise levels
4.4.
Appendix 4: Heritage Protection
Local Authority and Regional Authority Plan Listing
Waitaki District Plan Operative (last updated 4 June 2013), Appendix BHeritage Items, No. 51. Scheduled along with ii. Wall.
Other Protection Measures
Archaeological sites are protected by the Historic Places Act 1993, regardless
of whether they are registered or not. Archaeological sites include ‘places
associated with pre-1900 human activity, where there may be evidence relating
to the history of New Zealand’. Places associated with post-1900 human activity
may be declared archaeological sites. It is unlawful to destroy, damage or
modify an archaeological site without prior authority from NZHPT.
NZHPT Recommendations
To ensure the long-term conservation of this place, the NZHPT recommends
that the Oamaru Woollen Factory remains scheduled in the Waitaki District
Plan.
Disclaimer
Please note that registration of this historic place by the NZHPT identifies only
the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as
advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety,
including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary
conditions.
4.5.
Appendix 5: Significance Assessment Information
Part II of the Historic Places Act 1993
Chattels or object or class of chattels or objects (section 22(5))
Under section 22(5) of the Historic Places Act 1993, an entry in the Register in respect of any historic
place may include any chattel or object or class of chattels or objects –
(a) Situated in or on that place; and
(b) Considered by the Trust to contribute to the significance of that place; and
(c) Nominated by the Trust.
Significance or value (section 23(1))
Under section 23(1) of the Historic Places Act 1993, the Trust may enter any historic place or historic
area in the Register if the place possesses aesthetic, archaeological, architectural, cultural,
historical, scientific, social, spiritual, technological, or traditional significance or value.
Category of historic place (section 23(2))
Under section 23(2) of the Historic Places Act 1993, the Trust may assign Category 1 status or
Category 2 status to any historic place, having regard to any of the following criteria:
(a)
The extent to which the place reflects important or representative aspects of New Zealand
history
(b)
The association of the place with events, persons, or ideas of importance in New Zealand
history
(c)
The potential of the place to provide knowledge of New Zealand history
(d)
The importance of the place to tangata whenua
(e)
The community association with, or public esteem for, the place
(f)
The potential of the place for public education
(g)
The technical accomplishment or value, or design of the place
(h)
The symbolic or commemorative value of the place
(i)
The importance of the identifying historic places known to date from early periods of New
Zealand settlement
(j)
The importance of identifying rare types of historic places
(k)
The extent to which the place forms part of a wider historical and cultural complex or
historical and cultural landscape
(l)
Such additional criteria for registration of wahi tapu, wahi tapu areas, historic places, and
historic areas of Maori interest as may be prescribed in regulations made under this Act
(m)
Such additional criteria not inconsistent with those in paragraphs (a) to (k) of this subsection
for the purpose of assigning Category 1 or Category 2 status to any historic place, and for
the purpose of registration of any historic area, as may be prescribed in regulations made
under this Act
NOTE: Category 1 historic places are ‘places of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage
significance or value.’ Category 2 historic places are ‘places of historical or cultural heritage
significance or value.’

Template for Registration Report for a Historic Place

Transcription

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