BIG TARANAKI DAIRY CONCERN BURNED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1008, 24 December 1910, Page 8

BIG TARANAKI DAIRY CONCERN BURNED.

KATJPOKONTJI FACTORY AND 'STORE. (By Telesraph— Press Association.) ... : Hawcra, December 23.' ' The Kaupokonui Dairy Company's factory, ,'the: .largest in Taranaki, and •I doing , ajbttsiness. of oyer £130,000" a year,- . was ''destroyed * by fire this morning. The fire broke out at 1 a.m. in tho - boiler house, and the flames soon had such., a hold* that the employees had difficulty in getting out. . There was little opportunity , or means for; fighting- the fire.- The brigado from Manaia—a . mile and a half distant— ■ went-out, but could only succeed' in. Baving the manager's house. The: machinery and plant were valued at £7000, and tho buildings and also the extensive stor©3 in stock, totalled ■ another'£7ooo. -. .. . • Insurances: In the Royal Office, the factory and stock,: £6000; store and j; stock;. ; £sooo. [ . Eiaupokonui is about twelve miles t from Hawera, and tho factory and storo i are right alongside tho Main South j Road,'- and on tho bank of the Kaupokonui River. •- ; . Tho. faotory was fitted with a dual i. plant.- The manager is Mr. M'Donald, [ and tho' secretary, of the company Mr. }-E. ■ C.: Barleyman., It is one of tho ( biggest; co-operative, dairy; concerns . in : the ■.Dominion." i • Two- other • very large ... companies l operating very "close to -tho Kaupokonui Company are Joll's' and..Riverdale,. . The size of the . company ' and the' ;,fact .that the..season is :at its height' ~ will; accentuate the , inconvenience of ; the ..suppliers, ;It seems a problem to ' guesS-.wnere the great volumes of milk. ". andi cream. wilL'iho. handled. They may - all be diverted'; to creameries, of which Kaupokonui l has "a • large ; number,, butasj all-the factories aro working at top pressure, it is-difficult'to fqresee what - will/'be.-done withthe cream'. If.no . immediate'arrangement can be made, great- loss may.,resulfe.- ; . Tie 'statement.'in the Press, Association message, that. the factory was : doinf: /a.-, business , of £130,000' probably . should.,read ..that , thefactory:: and- the together.; did business totalling ' that, amountinvpounds;., sterling.., A few months, ago a Dominion representative;, was given: the figures, of the factory's business as £68,000 for the 180910 season. The, figures for Joll's were " . stated'to .be £86,000 for the same year. The ; 'Press- Association messngo does not state that, the store, was destroved by the fire, but says that only the manager's house was saved. - However, a, private wire , received in Wellington .. yesterday stated'that .the store as 'well as the, .factory: bad been consumed in the flames. . v.,. - The store was run on a. co-operative basis., and did business with the people of a large and thickly-populated district.