CO-OPERATIVE SAWMILL

Chronicle (Levin), 18 January 1947, Page 3

CO-OPERATIVE SAWMILL

EX-SERYICEMEN'S PROJECT Two young ex-Shannon men, Messrs, J. and R. L. Hayes, sons of Mr. R. Hayes, Ingle's Road, Shannon, are among the eleven exservicemen who have planned a cooperative sawmill, known as the Long Fern Timber Company, and operating at Te Whaiti, some 230 miles from Auckland. Mr. R. L. Hayes, who was in Shannon 011 Wednesday, said that they would commence operations in April. They have a production target of. 10,000 super.feet of timber a day, and they have already received offers to purchase their output for years ahead. The first idea of the partnership was to cut red beech for railway sleepers from a block of bush at Poronui, in the Rangitaiki district, but when the Rehabilitation Department considered their application for a loan, the partners were bitterly disappointed. The finding was that the proposition was not good, as the beech would be cut out in ten years and all the men would have would be heavily depreciated machinery. The Minister of Rehabilitation and Forestry, Mr. Skinner, suggested that there were plans for five new mills at Te Whaiti, one of which was to be a rehabilitation mill, with a heavy preference for a co-operative project. At Te Whaiti all the logging of native bush is carried on by the State Forest Service, which delivers the logs to the mills. There is an assurance that there is sufficient rimu, white pine, totara and matai for 18 years cutting. The partners are at present spending busy days in Wellington, where they are looking over the breaking down and breast benches being built for them by a city firm. There are also two swing saws for docking, and the whole 85ft. by 40ft. mill is planned on most modern lines. The engineer of the company is more than pleased with the modern diesel engine which they have been lucky in acquiring. They are confident that by„the time the. mill is built they will have eight prefabricated houses for the married partners, who will then board the single men. Besides Messrs. J. and R. L. Hayes, the others in the project are Messrs. C. J. Merrylees,'S': JM G. and A. R. Newlands, J. R. Hargreaves, A. J. Church, J. R. Brannigan, . W. J. McLean and- A. H! ;DeLisle, the latter acting as secretary of the company. Mr. DeLisle will be well remembered by locai. ex-members of the '22nd Battalion,''" as he: keryed with that unit; in Egypt .and Italy for over five years. He'ivas later :unit historian of the battalion. -