The Kauri Timber Company, Limited (KTC)

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

was from 1888 to 1971 a large logging and sawmilling company in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. KTC was formed in 1888, with a capital of £1,250,000, paid up to £750,000, and its operations were of a very comprehensive nature. Besides KTC's headquarters in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and a branch in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, there were sixteen branches in New Zealand, where the timber was milled, including

Hokianga Sawmill Company The Hokianga Sawmill Company wharf was built in 1878 at Kohukohu, New Zealand, Kohukohu as the first stage of the company's sawmilling operations there. It was constructed by Auckland shipwright William Lowe from Podocarpus totara, totara and he ...

. The forests owned by KTC made it the fifth-largest landholding company in the country, which removed much of North Island’s

native forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

, initially

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

and later

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...

, assuring steady supplies for its mills for many years. Between 300 and 400 men were engaged in the Auckland mill and factory, and throughout the whole of the company's operations in mills, stores, and forests, some 5000 or 6000 people were employed. In its extensive export trade the company employed a large fleet of vessels, and was represented in the markets of

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and the

South Sea Islands Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

.''Kauri Timber Company.''
In: ''The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Auckland Provincial District).'' The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1902, Christchurch. The operations of the company expanded to

Vanikoro Vanikoro (sometimes wrongly named ''Vanikolo'') is an island in the Santa Cruz Islands, Santa Cruz group, located to the Southeast of the main Santa Cruz group. It is part of the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands. The name ''Vanikoro'' is alway ...

in the Solomon Islands, where it merged in 1925 with San Cristoval Estates Ltd. to form the Vanikoro Kauri Timber Company. The Auckland mill burnt down in 1942 and a new yard opened in Penrose in 1944. The 4-storey office at 104 Fanshawe St, which had been opened in 1882 by KTC's predecessor, Auckland Timber Co, and is now a Category 1 listed building, was sold to Austral Super Paint Ltd and a single storey office opened in the new yard. KTC was hit by 'the Menzies bloody Credit Squeeze' mini-budget in 1961 and invited Fletcher Holdings to buy KTC's New Zealand assets. First the Christchurch plywood factory, Butler Bros, Stuart & Chapman and Ellis & Burnand were sold on 5 June 1961 for NZ£750,000 (A£930,000), though they were said to be worth well in excess of £1 million. KTC's other New Zealand assets were sold to Fletcher for £1.6 million later in the year. KTC's customers and senior staff were not happy with the takeover, causing profitability to drop. They were merged into

Fletcher Challenge Fletcher Challenge was a multinational corporation from New Zealand. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Fletcher Holdings, Challenge Corporation and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It had holdings in construction, forestry, building, and energy, i ...

in 1981.

Kauri Timber Company was sold to

East Asiatic Company The EAC Invest A/S, formerly known as the Santa Fe Group and East Asiatic Company ( or ''ØK'') is a multinational holding and investment company, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally founded by Hans Niels Andersen in 1887. It owned 5 subsid ...

in 1971. Chatlee mill at Smithton was upgraded, 'home centres' were opened in

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and Melbourne and Devonport and Deloraine sawmills were sold to J. & T. Gunn. Kauri Holdings Ltd was listed on the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Stock Exchange in 1987.{{Cite news, url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240716813, title=COMPANIES (ACQUISITION OF SHARES) (VICTORIA) CODE Section 58 DECLARATION, date=1987-02-03, work=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. General (National : 1977 - 1987), access-date=2019-04-21, pages=354 File:The Kauri Timber Company Ltd (Auckland Office) -(Catalogue. Front cover. ca 1906). (21490058032).jpg, Premises at Custom Street West,

, with the Joinery and Box Departments at the left, and the head office at the right, joined by an overhead walkway, ca 1906 File:The Kauri Timber Company Ltd (Auckland Office) -Balustrades (and) balusters. (Catalogue page. ca 1906). (21698826291).jpg, Balustrades and balusters, ca. 1906 File:The Kauri Timber Company Ltd (Auckland Office) -Gates. (Catalogue page. ca 1906). (21473107010).jpg, Gates, ca. 1906 File:The Kauri Timber Company Ltd (Auckland Office) -Trusses, modillions, bay window angle brackets. (Catalogue page. ca 1906). (21510406691).jpg, Trusses, ca. 1906

References

External links

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9073, 6 June 1888

Kauri Timber Company, Freemans Bay, Auckland, and Massey's Special Constables, during the 1913 Waterfront Strike
Logging Agathis Logging railways in New Zealand Forest products companies of New Zealand