Wellington Woodware Company
Little Taranaki Street
The company was established in 1890 and were initially based in Willis Street. It was owned by Leonard Jack Holroyd. They advertised frequently for a range of skills:
‘young man used to the bench’
‘young Man used to cabinet and chairmaking’
‘two Boys to learn the trade’
‘a Boy, 16 or 17, to learn the chair and couch frame making’
‘Boy, to look after engine’
‘first-class Chairmaker, to take charge; wages, 10s day’
‘Boy, to learn business; only parents need apply’.
‘smart Boy, to mind pony and make himself generally useful; also first-class Wood Turner’
The factory used a six-horse power Tangye gas engine for wood turning, carving and band saw fretwork. They primarily worked with kauri, red pine and totara. One speciality of the business was making billiard balls and fittings. To illustrate the range of work they undertook, they made gym equipment for the Masterton Gymnasium.
In 1899, the factory caught fire. The fire brigade were called at 5:26am and arrived 2 or 3 minutes later. The fire was so great that nothing could be saved. All stock and plant were destroyed at an estimated replacement cost of £700 and the insurance cover was £400. Within a week, the company had set up temporary premises at Andrew Compton’s Empire Sash and Door Factory in Boulcott Street. The destroyed building was replaced with a two-storey brick one by the landowner, and the company returned to the site.
Further development was hinted at in 1903, when a ‘Lost’ ad appeared in the newspaper seeking the ‘rough Plan of New Building for the Wellington Woodware Factory’ which was dropped in the street. In 1905, all the equipment from the factory was sold by auction on account of Mr Holroyd moving to Australia. The new owners of the business are not known.
The following year, the company moved to new premises in Little Taranaki Street (now known as Egmont Street). Their new three storey building was constructed with a brick façade and a steel structure which provided large open floors for the factory work. Further expansion was planned with the company advertising for a partner to open a Christchurch branch, £100 investment required. The company was also photographed for a display by the Department of Labour at the New Zealand Internation Exhibition in Christchurch 1906-1907.
In 1908, without explanation, the company was placed in Liquidation. A new company called the Zealandia Cooperative Woodware Company operated from Egmont Street over the following decade.
Cabinet making workroom, Wellington Woodware Company, Wellington. New Zealand. Department of Labour :Photograph albums for the International Exhibition, Christchurch, 1906-1907. Ref: PA1-o-367-28. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23083797
Detail. Note the fretwork bedframe.
Detail. Note the manager’s office in the corner.
Interior of the cabinetmaking workshop of Wellington Woodware Co Ltd, showing workers. New Zealand. Department of Labour :Photograph albums for the International Exhibition, Christchurch, 1906-1907. Ref: PA1-o-367-27. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22343602
Exterior of the Wellington Woodware Co factory, with the men of the company standing alongside. New Zealand. Department of Labour :Photograph albums for the International Exhibition, Christchurch, 1906-1907. Ref: PA1-o-367-24. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23242232
Wellington Woodware Company building in Egmont Street (Google streetview 2020)