STUART & CHAPMAN LTD

Hokitika Guardian, 15 March 1922, Page 4

STUART & CHAPMAN LTD

THE STORY OF AN ENTERPRISE IN SOUTH WESTLAND.

Nearly 20 years ago a party of young men established a small sawmill at the Waitaha River for the purpose

of cutting the Totara timber required to build the present Waitaha road bridge. After completing the work the- mill was removed to a location near the Bold Head Bluff, which lies about 6 miles south from the little township of Ross. During thu following 14 years, Messrs Stuart and Chapman, the owners of the above mill, continued cut-

ting silver pine and other timbers, including considerable quantities of railway sleepers. These prodiicts were transported by a wooden tram, to the Mikonui, river (then unbridged) and thence by road to Hokitika, a total distance of some 26 miles. Later, when the Hokitika-Ross railway was opened, the product was delivered to road to Ross station. Such methods of transportation prevented any but the higher-priced timbers being dealt with, and when the silver-pine bush was exhausted it be- ; came necessary to either provide some ! better means of transport, so as to ■ deal with ordinary timbers, or to ! abandon the enterprise. I The Government- of the day proposed to extend the railway from Ross as far as the Waitaha, river, a distance of about 9 miles, and a considerable • amount of survey work was done. A sum,’ of £5.000 was placed on the Estimates for the purpose of starting the work of bridging the Mikonui river, which lies about 21 miles south of the present rail-head at Ross. Nothing was done, however, and the vote laps- . ed. When it became evident that the Government did not intend to proceed with the railway .Messrs Stuart and Chapman, after notifying the then Minister of Public Works of their in- ; tention proceeded to form a Company j for the purpose of developing their ] properties. At this time the timber industry was under a cloud and considerable difficulty was exerienced in inducing those possessing the necessary capital to invest in the project. Most of those to whom it was submitted, and whose local knowledge should have enabled them to form a fair estimate of the chances of succcsr, turned it I down. Tt was only hv first extending j the scope of the enterprise that it conjd be made a feasible proposition: because the heavy expense of bridging | the Mikonui river a.nd constructing a. suitable line from Ross to the Eold Head mill could not possibly lie recouped from the original holdings of Messrs Stuart and Chapman. The new; company, Stuart and Chapman Ltd., was formed in February 1916.

The construction of the railway from Ross station yard to the sawmill at Bold Head was delayed somewhat owing to war conditions. The bridge over the Mikonui river consists of ironhnrk piles, caps and stringers, with steel girders on the longer spans crossing the stream. Seeing that the barest- possible railway bridge would require to he of ai substantial character. and that at comparatively little more expense it could he made available for rood traffic, Messrs Stuart and Chapman Ltd. made an offer to the County Council to so alter their clans as to make the bridge suitable j for road traffic, the conditions j being that the Council should hear the I exnonso of such alterations. This involved an expenditure by the Council of £1.600. and when it was found ! that this expenditure could not he | made in respect to a privately owned | bridge. Messrs Stuart- and[ Chapman handed the complete structure to the I Council in consideration of that sum I after securing runnings rights in ro- | speet to the railway for which the j bridge was originally intended. On September 28th. 1918 the Mikonui ! road and railway bridge was officially I opened to public traffic, the function i being performed in the presence of a j larpje gathering of people. , In this in-after a substantial, safe j and ccvuvcniont bridge, spanning one j of the worst streams crossed by the , Main South road, was secured for ! public use, and there was thus forged | one of the most important links bind- | ing South Westland to its Northern j centre. j Incredible at is may appear there were those who expressed the I opinion that such a eonvenj ience had been too dearly bought,

j and rather than that their action j should lie so misjudged, the Company j offered td refund to the County the j £1,600 a.nd to cancel the agreement I assigning the bridge. This offer was : rejected by the Countv.

About the middle of the following year (1010) the Company commenced j producing timber for export from I their Bold Head Bluff mill the output being 2,000.0f)0ft. per annum of Red and White Pine. After a pause of more than a year, owing to the im--1 possibility of obtaining material, the construction of the second section of railway was commenced. This section for nearly four miles is now well in hand, the railhead having reached the | Waitaha river, albout ten miles south j of Ross. The rails for about three | miles are laid on the unused formation ! of the Bold TTend Road, an agreement having been concluded with the Westland County Council whereby the railway will be available for road ballasting operations, and also for the haulage of settlers’ goods between Ross and the Waitaha river. The Company is providing a siding on the . northern bank of the river and ad,in- ] cent to the Main Road, for convonj ienoel in handling the settlers’ traffic. The next big task ahead of the I Company is the bridge across to the south bank of the Waitaha river. A large amount of material is on hand, and is is intended to proceed with the work as soon as the rails reach the bridge site which will be in the course of the next few weeks. This bridge will necessarily have longer spans than those in the Mikonui Bridge on account of the amount of drift (timber brought down in flood time. These spans will be of standard trusß construction having steel lower chords. Very heavy cuttings will be necessary for the railway construction on the southern bank of the riven in order that the haulage capacity of the

• line may be kept uniform with that I portion already constructed. I Thereafter it is intended that the j railway will bo continued about 2£ i miles south, to a, point not far from 1 Lake lan the, where the most southerJ ly of the companies properties are siti noted.

The company’s railway and bridges generally are of very substantial construction, silver pine sleepers have been used witli nothing lighter than -101 b rails laid. The last section was laid with 451 b steel rails specially rolled for the Company by the Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd. While attention has thus been directed to the Company’s railway, it must be borne in mind that, extensive though the work may appear, it is merely a- means of transport—chiefly for logs from the hush workings to the sawmills—and more important work in connection with the logging and sawing operations has not been lost sight of. For the purpose of converting into marketable timber those logs that will come from the areas south of the Waitaha river, a large and up-to-date sawmill, containing the latest appliances for speedy and economical working, is being erected near Ross railway station on a 12 acre block of land, the freehold of which was acquired by the Company for that purpose.

The two-storied mill building is now nearly completed. Some idea of its extent may he gathered from its length, which is 214 feet. The estimated annua] capacity is 5,000,000 superficial feet, and it is expected to commence operations in a- few months. As soon as this structure is completed, the builders will he sot to work on the erection of another sawmill on a site immediately south of the freehold site above mentioned. This latter mill is intended to deal with lons to he taken from the company’s areals in the vicinity of Lake lanthe.

■ These logs will need to he trnnsportI ed over the company’s railway for disj tamccs between 12 and 15 miles, j It is admitted that no other important New Zealand industry distributes such a large proportion of its gross earnings in ready cash as the sawmilling industry. Already this Company has between 50 and 60 men on its payroll and distributes about £lO,000 a- year in wages; and about half as much per annum is paid to the various Government Departments in rents, royalties and railage: ,and. within a short time, as the output increases, these figures will he doubled or probably trebled. From the above outline of the Company’s operations a, fair estimate may bo formed of that important development work underaken by Messrs Stuart and Chapman Ltd. It was indeed fortunate for the district that, when abandoned to its own resources, men came forward with sufficient enterprise to undertake a I work which the Government had re- J fused to do. Tn these days when we hear so much I about the unprofitable Government railways, it should he gratifying to I Ihoso concerned and who is not so I concerned - to find that private enter-| nrise will step in to provide such a I feeder for those l railways. [ The timber industry is just now I passing through a period of deep de- I nrrssion which might well cause any I but the stoutest hearts to pause in the j execution of development work; and I it would indeed he a calamity to this I district if. added to such depression, lie Company should he hampered in j any manner such as might compel it | 1i cut down, or to abandon in any de- j proo, the extensive development work I it has entered upon.