NEW ZEALAND DEVELOPS A NEW INDUSTRY BAY OF PLENTY WILL BE TRANSFORMED

Te Ao Hou, Winter 1952, Page 12

Left: Kelly Keepa and Garry Gear feeding the grinder with 3ft. pinus logs. Grinders crushing the logs into pulp are driven by 1200 H.P. motors. Right: Two cadets. Training at the Mill consist of several years in all departments, during which period evening classes are also available. These boys are in the laboratory for a six months period. NEW ZEALAND DEVELOPS A NEW INDUSTRY BAY OF PLENTY WILL BE TRANSFORMED Some Twenty-five years ago, people began to become aware of the great possibilities of using New Zealand grown forests for paper production. By then, many people were aware of the amazing rapidity of growth of certain timbers in New Zealand soils, especially pinus. It would be cheaper to grow the type of young pine tree used for paper production in New Zealand than in almost any other country, because of the short period of growth of the trees. The Government had some experiments carried out in the United States in 1928. A few years after that an Australian Company, named ‘Timberlands Woodpulp Ltd.’, arranged for some more detailed investigations. It was proved experimentally that the New Zealand woods used in the experiments (pinus insignia, rimu and tawa) were suitable for the manufacture of Kraft wrappings, board, newsprint, writings and high-grade white papers. On the basis of these experiments the Whakatane Paper Mills Ltd. was founded in 1934 with a capital of over £2.5 million. So far, these paper mills have made a significant contribution to the problem of finding work for Maoris in their home districts. As the first of several mills that are planned in the Bay of Plenty area, it has pointed the way, not only to the employment of local people, but also to training them in a highly skilled trade.