NGAHAURANGA TANNERY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 44, 19 January 1884, Page 2

NGAHAURANGA TANNERY.

(N.Z, Times, Jan. 8, 1884.) While now and then we hear of new industries sprin^in^ up m or near Wellington, those which aro already established are showing such signs of activity and progress os to refute to a very great extent tha assertion which is occasionally made that Wellington is behind other New Zealand citic9 m this respect, F.nd that ita inhabitants lack enterprise. It is not by looking through the Custom House returns of our exports to places beyond the colony that an idea can be obtained of what the place produces m local manu j factures, but by visiting the places where the work of converting the raw material is carried jOn : for th.je bulk of local pro* ducts is yet absorbed within the colony, and the quantity entered for export therefdre remains comparatively small, though here also we find that the figures are m many reapecta steadily increasing. • A visit to the Ngahauranga tannery, tho property of Mr Alfred I'yer, must necessarily prove highly interesting to those who take an interest m the development of , industries. The large majority woultf doubtless fetvl naoat agreeably surprised at the extent and cam pie te ness of the works, and the many' signs of further additions to th? plant which are apparent. Mr Tyer holds a freehold of 67 acres abutting on the Ngahauranga stream, find extending to within a very short distance of the railway line," and' on; this" he has erected the tannery alluded to, as wallas extensive 'vool.^scouring works.. The latter mxy be seen from the railway station, but few travellers would even suspect the existence of the formpr. Following tho Ngahaura,nga«rbad for &di 9* tance of about a quarter of a mile, the eye is attracted by a clump of large gum trees at a spot where a creek, which caries a large body of water, joihk the ' Ngahauranga from the south. A. good branch road leads past these trees, and pa*t a neat and substantial cottage, stirrounded by'an eqmlly neat gardnu and a plantation, wti'Tuh, on inquiry, is found to be occupied by the chief Unneiv Having reached this point a fair view of the works is obtained, though even -then ; <ina would scarcely^ bd prepared to hear tha* they cover an area uf three acres. When Air Tyer selected the spot it consisted of a pitch of shingle, wliieli formed a portion of the bed of the creek, aiid the slopes of the adjoining 'hills, which rise on both sides to a height of between two and throe hundred feet. By forming a proper channel for the water, and cutting away a portion of the slopes aud {dupoai.6ins, thd '" material thus obtained o<i tho low ground : - VgtK>d site for the buildings was obtaiued. Perhaps this could have been accomplished ac less cost iv other localities ; but water of a cartaiu quality is as as much importance. in a tannery as m a brewery, and Mr Tyer having fjuud that the stream referred to met all requirements m this respect cuose its ( banks accordingly, aud abandoned the worka which he had started lower dowu on the Ngahauranga. The first block of buildings, situated on the right hand side of the, road', comprises .-: the office, saraple«iroom, and warehouse, where the various mtvteriuls required for tanning ai well aa the finished product are stored. In the -sample room is shown the various classes of leather, from the heaviest belting to colonial calf, the get-up of which is equal to the finest French. ' : The bark storeuouse has a storage capacity of 55U tons, and that quantity of bark is used per annum. Only the best South Australian black wattle bark is employed, that being the best tanning agent known. It, may be opportune to state here, that about; 40 sacks of lime are consumed per week, : and about 800 tons New Zealaui coal per annum. Crossing the creek by means of a substantial bridge, the hide»house is reached. Here a large stock of salted hides is constantly kept, it having been found that they make the oe3t and firmest; sole leather whoa thay have been sea«j soned m this manner. Ulose to thi3 are the aoaka — the first place to which the hides go. Next to these are the lime pits and bates. Altogether, this department comprises no less thin J 26 soak«pits,batos, and tubs, all of which are required to bo used- before the article treated can. be passed on to the next stage. They are' all so arranged that, the hide* pass from one to the other without long carriage, the work progressing as they p.tß3 up the yard.' J?ast the beam-house, which stands m front of the lima pits, and where the hides-are uuhaired and flashed, are four large drums placet horizontally,! each measuring 7ft by 4ft 6in. They were i made , by Messrs Robertson and do., of Uue Phoenix Foundry, and are used for huii'ig H.ud softeuing and working out the hides and skins. There is also a Moliniare flashing machine for akinsj the small drum qf wtyich performs over,} UK) revolutions per minute, The next building measures b"3tt by «J3ft, and comprises two .floors. It is devoted to getting 'up the solo . leather, . and is fitted with lourrea all round, so as to regulate the drying, which is a very important factor m the process, a caretul drying addiug ? tfreatly to the regular color and firmnes3 of tbw finished material, aud therefore to us marKet value. THe B oie leather 18 taken m at one end aud huug^ u£> 'till aiifflowhtly drained, when it is" ♦' struck out " by one ot Haley's U su-iuing machines. From here it la passed ou to the rulier (made by Messrs HoJjetc.sun and Go ;) which ia usually worked vriih. a pressure of 22c wt., where it is rolled twice ;to give, it tliat decree of excellence m ;fiuish,itirmnea3, ana beauty of grain, for iwhica'the sola leather of the firm has jobt'iinedduou a g^ood naiqe throughout the 'colony, r.'^toe wuvkuig P? thw powerful instrument is a gvp&z Source ol interest to the visitor, who, will probably be gratiitied'to'leaVh that trie bed on which' the rolling tatces place consists of a large slab ofiblock maeire, that being the only wood 'found to at»ud tue., wear aud tear^ aui let iuco a qemeat block §ft long, 3rt wide, aud £jf.t deep. Tiie leather w then in*i« leited to the proper length, according v quality, mid passed to Che' upper t\>ov, where it is Uuug m ranges autil thoroughly dry. Ou this floor there is ulso another Moliniere maohine, used for setting out the ssins, &c, nud a patent grinder for sharpening .the knives of thehide-sulit-tiug machine. Tue handlers aud layers oc« cupy the centre of the premises, the former being placed m a row sufficiently elevated to uliow- the liquor, when rer quired tq b,e changed, to §ow by gravitation to the spenders, every known labor--saving appliunce being- taken advantage of. The renewing of tha liquors is done by uieau's of a centrifugal pump, capable iof throwing; up 4^ per lumute, ! which lifw ll t° tiumea running overhead round ihe sides of the yard, so that it cau be turned into auy of the larger handlers and hangers at will, aud without .the sliguest delay. After the hides are sutficm •ntly advanced iv the h ißdler's they are luid away beU'een. layers of bark for from seven 'to eleven months, according to thickness^ uo starving of le.ither bemg tt llowed, it beiny the aim of the proprietor to inaite the leather of such a quality a* to command a market everywhere. As a matter of fact, so well has he succeded that his leather is now taken by all the leading houses m New |sealaud, fi om '■ Auckland to Bunedin. '• TUe wliolebf the leather (with the exception of coarse hides,such us bulls' and broken grain sole', which. 1

13 shippei iiway) n absorbed m the colony, iid that, tuo, without employing a traveller or assent. This his beea practised for * number of year.«j iind a greit deal of eX-p-jnae is thus saved. Each siJe is ?tanped V l' Vf>r » s g-»h>uranga' previous to its oeitig p.ipkud. The handlers and layera are 124 iv number, and have been biiilt by Muaars Woods and C0., -shipwrights, or stout h*artof totara planking. The premises «ff »r-l room foe Ambling the number, and Mr L'yor feels conn lent that ere long he will have to ;nak-j a miterial in* cre-.ise, the steady increasa of hia trade Drmsjiujy him a fair reward for the ex*, extent and. unsurpassed product which he ha 3 hitherto put on the market As everything that knowlad-e, gained by long experience, combiued with amplecapital, can do, is done, this must lead to a business that will out-rival anything o f its kind m New Zealand. The tin spend ing process is a speciul feature m the yard, there being sixteen spenders each having a copper ateainpipe for boiling the watfer" so that the whole of the tannin* properties are taken out of the bark, the spenders connecting witn a substantial totara dram, made perfectly tight, 30 >ft long, eadinur to the well, from whence ihe liquors are pumped by the large centrifugal pump. These spenders, if seen, would no doubt be imitated by many, for there is little doubt that many a tanner has been ruined by his tan heap/ Tanners are, however, getting more careful m this reapect, and watch every ounce of stuff that leaves the tan heaps, for m a large yard carelessness m this respect may gradually grow to such -an .extent that it would eventually nun a Bank. The next building contains two more drums, also made by Messrs Robertson and Co., which are used for tanning the skina, four more be-' ing at proaeot m of construction " Ibis, again, adjoins the large two-storey building 'used for dressing splits, calf, legging, Mamel, satin, tweed, kid, and all other kinds of grained and fancy leather. On the lower floor of the building, which measures t3OEc by 23ft, Fs bue of Haley's largest size hide -splittrag machines, 6oe of Moliniere's scouring machines for skins and one, of Jackson's salf, C oncained patent scouring machines— one of the granioat labor»saving appliances m the trade, scouring kip and harneas leather m a manner impossible to be done by hand, and man incredibly short tiW(. Neit'in order comes another two«stoJtey building, 65ft by 34fr, the lower floor of which is U3ed for dressing harness leather, the getting up of which has attained such a degree of , perfection ihat severaUe^ding firiiij m the colony have endeavoured to obtain a monopoly ot the whole 'output. The upper 'floor is usei entirely for dressing kip, and is capable of hanging -off ; 1000 sides at a time, besides affording storage room for 2000 sidea to season ia stu/f, so as to guar^utee a good,, mollow leather to resist the damp when* made! into ooots. The biaiU are stained ani' tiuishsd iv another two-story building 50ft by Sufi-, ihe basils put. out by the firm have b^en renowned among couaumers for years past. Tne waxing room, >vhtou ia 40£ i by 30ft,' is lined turoagdouc co exclude all uumpuess and Httei- with flues to regulate the .temperature, so as to give that^jrrailed ftuiah whicn canuot be obcained ' with-. 1 out artifloial heat. It is situated close'to the oarner'a shop, so that tne leather cah' be ■passed from one room to the other with as little handling as possible. Ilia tables used 1 ia luead departments are a striking feature, liiey are four;aan m uu aber,* ail of them beiug Uh long, ofc wide, and <tin thick.' Tuey consist ot kauri, aud are suppliedby Jdes^rs ;stewart and Oj. U will eisilybe anderatood that it is a matter of some difficulty to find such broad wood without a flaw.' An adjoining building 60fc By' ; 40ft 'is used for the purpose of storing oils, tallow, &c. and .is fitted with five large boilers for making the duobiug for stuSiug the leather Opposite this is another building used for salting hides. The eogine^houae is conveniently situated near tue ceutre of the premises, and coutains two engines by Huston aud Proctqr.oae being of 30-n,p, and the othecof 13-h.p. Steam is Bappliad by'a large mu'ltitubular boiler made by Messrs Robertson and.Co. Ih.e admirable state m which boiler and engines are kept refldct great' credit on the engmeer.who has charge of them. The whole of tae buildings aud pits have" been built of totara, great care having been taken to prevent leakage m the latter, as ver/ serious loss woma otherwise result, some of the strong liquors being wonh 3s per gallon : loe number of men employed as tue tannery and feilmounery is ninety, six, besides ap-' prentices.audsouaeof the men have been m Mr l^er a employ for a period of sixteen years. What enterprise, combined with capital can effect may he gathered from the quantity of material worked up. The works turn out over 31,000 sides of leather and over 200 000 ca f, pig, goat, aud sheepskins per auuuui aud the proprietor has existing contracts for the deliver/ of 15 JO ox and cow-hides per : monthj JNo retail busiuess has been dove tor .years past, as it U fouud to interfere with other' brauohes of the trade. Mr Iyer is uot a believer m- local iud.uatry f Qr his own beuefto only, as will be gathered from the fact that he aas not imported a single article us«ki on his premises that can : be made m the colony. T^b whole of the belting m use, which is valuei at upwards of LSOO has been madu m Wellington from leather turned outrtfchis own taauery aud Messrs iiobertsou and Co. have alone supplied* a very large portion of the machinery: : The practice of sending saoaples of leather to exhibitions is not beiiered iv, a.9 the results are so misleading, it b,ein.g quite possible to get up a of each class of leather at great comparative coat that would stand iusi/ection, but which would by no means represent the gener U run of leather thut the exhibitors would turn otic of their yarda iv buik, and which is the only true criterion. A manufacture of the kind just described muse ueuessarily be of imindnse beuefit tooSe ; district rv .n jt^only,, beoauae it eiuniqygi labor aud produces articles which WQuld other- : wise have to be imported, out alao because it wcrua uu aud. give;a value to large quautities Qf miteritii wlUod, wunout it would Have no value. At a iater date a description oi the e.vbeuaiVj fellm^ngary,. o\yued by thd same i>roph»;or, wnt De given.