Sawmills on the Northern Wairoa River

(Excerpts from 'Sawmills on the Kaipara' by Ray Hill-Taylor)

Naumai Mill

In 1890 tenders were called to mill Kahikatea Bush covering 4500 acres out of a total of 21,000 acres of the whole of the Ruawai area. Messrs Butler Brothers of the West Coast won the contract and traded under the name 'White Pine Timber Company'. White Pine or Kahikatea being in demand for butter boxes, an odour free, fine grained timber also suitable for shelving and boatbuilding. The company was later taken over by the Kauri Timber Company. The Government of the day constructed a tramline to bring the timber to the mill, the Company supplying their own rolling stock. A road now exists where the tramline was, and bears the same name.

Tatararaki Mill

The next mill coming up river was Tatariki, concentrating mainly on Kauri timber, as well as handling other native timbers. This mill was originally built by Mr F W Matthews in 1893, who later sold the mill and the surrounding 40 acres to an Australian Syndicate, who traded under the name 'Northern Pine Company'. This company set about installing the very latest American machinery which gave this mill a very large output considering it's size. At one stage it operated three shifts, thus working around the clock, having installed it's own 110 volt power supply. This mill was forced to close, along with the other large exporting mills in 1921, through lack of millable timber.

William Bradley Mill

This was a small mill, privately owned and built on the river in the 1930's. It operated spasmodically for a number of years until it was dismantled in the early 1940's. It was powered by a 36hp tractor made by J I Case Ltd of Racine, Wisconsin and supplied by John Chambers and Sons of Auckland.

Te Kopuru Mill

This was the third largest mill built on the Northern Wairoa. Built in 1871, it had a very long life and a large output, playing a big part in the export of native timbers. It supported a considerable township consisting of export wharves, Public Hall, School, Post Office and other amenities. Alongside was the residential village of Newport. It was in this village that the Northern Wairoa Hospital was built, which served the district for many years. A crippling fire in 1914 brought the mill to a standstill. It was rebuilt and continued until 1917-1918 period when it was closed. In 1880 the mill was sold to Brown and Campbell, with Mr Kelly as Manager, and Mr F.W. Matthews as Secretary. Mr Matthews later became Manager. One of the mill's outstanding features was the large brick chimney which stood nearly 200 feet high.

Mititai Mill

This was the second mill built on the Northern Wairoa, about 1866, with logs coming from Wilson's at Tangiteroria. This mill was also known as Dodd's Mill, and was built for mainly local needs. The venture was not successful as it was too early for the local building trade and after two years of operation was forced to close.

Aratapu Mill

This was where the first really big mill was built in 1865, but owing to the uncertainty of the supply of logs the mill had a chequered career to begin with. Later two other mills were built, with various owners. In 1888 the 'Kauri Timber Company' moved in with their large organisation. Log supplies were now regular, and this is when the third mill was put into service. The K.T.C. moved out in 1908, some of the equipment going to Kawhia. In 1909 Messrs Fagan Brothers of Titoki established a timber yard which lasted for about ten years until they closed down. This was the last attempt at timber milling at Aratapu until after the Second World War. In the 1950's Glamuzina's established a small mill for local needs and Aratapu was known as 'Sawdust City'.

Aoroa Mill

This was a very large mill owned by Mitchelson's, situated three miles South of Dargaville. The number of export vessels waiting to be loaded at a time often reached double figures. This mill in its heyday had the largest output on the Northern Wairoa, and in fact it was the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Part of the mill was burned in 1904, but milling was still carried on until 1912, when the mill closed down.

Mangawhare

Although timber was exported from this earliest settlement of the district, as recorded by missionaries and other pioneers, it was mainly in the form of sawed logs (all done by hand), and spars. These were then man-handled aboard ship, often by the acquisition of Maori labour. The first serious attempt at exporting timber was undertaken about 1850 when Messrs Adkins and Marriner formed an exporting business at Mangawhare. Also in 1850 an Auckland cabinet maker, Mr James Johnson sent a sample of New Zealand timbers suitable for furniture, to be displayed at the Great Exhibition in London, for which effort a medal was awarded by the Exhibition Committee. The purpose of the Mangawhare business was to export logs and spars, these being secured from all over the district, the largest quantity coming from Tangowahine.

Dargaville Mill

Built many years prior to the First World War, this mill continued to operate up until the 1950's. The greater part of its life span was catering for local needs rather than export. The mill was established by Anderson and Sundberg, and was known as Anderson's Mill for many years. In the latter part of its life it was owned by the Rope Family. In 1954 a new company was formed by Morse and Ramsey which continued until 1970, when the mill was dismantled and re-erected at Parore, a little North of Dargaville. The original mill site was upgraded and now forms part of the waterfront area of Dargaville. The extent of the site was from the Northern Wairoa Boating Club to that land now occupied by Woolworth’s supermarket.

Hoanga Mill

In 1897 Mr Woolsey Allen built a sawmill, but records show that there was a previous mill at Hoanga called the 'Huia Mill'. Mr Woolsey Allen owned the mill for six or seven years then sold to the Kaipara Timber Company. With the mill came the village and the other facilities. A school was opened in 1901. The Kaipara Timber Company sold again to Woolsey Allen Jnr. who continued operating throughout World War One and closed in 1918 - 1920 period. This mill was a very successful venture, often cutting right through the night to fulfill an order. Records show that in 1909 at Tauroa, Mr Walton Brown was getting out one million feet of mixed timber from this mill. At Beasley's Landing, George New was finishing a contract of ten million feet of Kahikatea (White Pine) for the same mill.

Tangowahine Mill

This mill no doubt played its part in the export of timber in the early days of its life, but when the export trade fell off, it continued to operate, catering for local needs until the late 1930's. Records show that also in 1909, Mr. G Stanaway of Okahu had just completed a big contract in supplying this mill with timber.

Kirikopuni

Kirikopuni is interesting to note as it was a very rich source of native timbers which supplied the big mills down river. Again referring to records in 1909, Mr. W J Brown had a contract to supply the Auroa Mill with twelve million feet from Pekapekarau, and at Kirikopuni another large contract was let to Brown for the same company. A locomotive line was constructed up the Kirikopuni Valley and was in operation until about 1922.

Mangarata Mill

A small mill was built at Mangarata in the early years of the century, possibly 1906, but seems to have suffered a similar fate as Dodds Mill, forty years earlier at Mititai. Again according to records a barge load of timber was sent from this mill to be loaded aboard the ship 'Aratapu' which was loading at Te Kopuru in 1909.

Tangiteroria Mill

Although there were several landings further upstream, Tangiteroria was the terminal for regular river traffic, having its own settlement and population. Tangiteroria served as the stepping-off area on the tedious overland journey to Whangarei, or for travellers coming in the reverse direction.