Sclanders & Co.

V ' ' CrjsJ'ERAL & Ek.CHANTS AND IMPORTERS. (Nelson and' Wanganui.) A 'Siifv Yea.rs' Record. - - Ths _ commercial annate of Nelson coiil^n jno name, more prominent; thaib"-tii^orMes_rs. Sclanders >«nd ■■Ca£" wJiOse hi3t6ry; while contemn ••-■ pora-ieioifisi-^ifh that of; the torn > ik^lias|beeii indissolubly linked >i^. prpgresij .and at tunes; aiiffi^i^th its^Sstettce. ""The*|irth j of^e ts } practically j Yi'.^M-fet^n^iT*-!^ tkdH of ' Qic/- £<yw_»y _ 'a»il' W^oWti^ 'long roll of ne&)f6o Vj^a^f Ms \v.ieiyte(f \a p)werM'lnw; vfluetwe^over lOtaL^stin^; It has' "y fcieen; -^<^e|y %itl^. SaW-' X -5^1^1009.1 and in its ; > tir^v;^^ ; "an enprmOus; quanii^ pf merchandise comityg Zfn& $$#. ; iamc^^locat lnfiabitants. Sclanders - Wnd%^M';bne' brthe domuiatiri| "Wholesale ;||Suses of the Nelsoh xlistrict^^^ln Ithe Provincial CounA lserv^^^(_^^felsoh v^ndj : prt»^l &ing^i^ii^y. _ .Tn^n it is | UOt only igorpvin/Nefson imd the large^ trac^pf .cbiintiy; Vwhich the '... tbwriv/sery^ i^il^^ 'A- : f&asl^but? 'is • ', 4 S^ at ; Wbl^m^j^^ branch; ; dtti^t^ :%^g%ut^ ;. vmer^n l^reh* ! i: ' .. .•"■"■ ".-. .-' Az\ yA-frtit biMnosil..was f^uh^ed- byV I^sr-^ MOrrison^d: v y DiM: Scllnaer^ii^ 184 a Ymder • the, na^ and $cla^etsr> Z ; :'ioSA^m^We^Z the I^ndpn^ pa|mer^d?Mi. :iSclanders cOnduav! ing^^iiisiit ihispehd^ The latjter;j > iftiQ was ' thetefote the' pioneer -so

fe as lSelsOn is' concerned, brought S/ith him the shop, fittings, and stock, and it is interesting to record that the firm use in their Hardystreet warehouse a Chubb safe installed in 1842. s The ; safe was first used by the original Union Bank before it left Nelson, then by the Nelson Bank and also at the same time by the Treasurer of the Provincial Council. The historical relic is as good as ever, and day after day Almost for sixty years has been ppened and shut morning and night. One' could without difficulty imagine the" primitive conditions under which ttie business was conducted in the first few years when Nelson was little more than the collection of a few wooden houses and numbers of surveyors' pegs, with native bush everywhere, and limited efforts at pultivation round about. It might be &iid that Messrs. Sclanders and Co.'s affairs in the colony grew with the extension of settlement and tra&e by supplying the settlers with yaribus kinds of merchandise, assuniing tlie position of universal provider^ and at the same time forking in the export trade. During the earlier years the history of this great Institution Was marked by important events, not the least being the historical Nelson Bank which the firm started in 1847 to help local trade round a difficult turning. In the mentioiWd owing to-an Act Of 'Parliatntetft' the -Union Bank of Australia, the only institution of the kfnd in Nelson and a Bank of issue, 1 Vfas compelled to close its tocal branch because the Act, creating a " Colonial Bank of Isstie," prohibited the issue of any ot&er notes payable on demand^ The Union Bank had to quickly call in every note it had in circulation V Local business men were - thus in "an awkward predicament^ the supply of Government notes and gold being small and uncertain. Various troubles -arose and to relieve them Mr. Sclanders opened the Nelson .Bank, issuing private notes payable 12 months after date. These notes were substantially as useful as those of a bank of issue, being payable on demand in cash or <■ notes," or drafts on the Union Bank of Australia. For all practical purposes the "notes'' were understood to be Government legal tender notes, and answered all the requirements of trade. The Nelson Bank continued in existence for nearly eight years, and its notes; were a circulating rreditim throughout the Nelsbn province. Originally only £1 notes were issued, but Mr. Sclanders was ir iportuned and decided to issue £5 n ites. Without these symbols business at that time would have been thrown into the utmost confusion, and a primitive sys.tem of barter must have been resorted to. In Marlborough and even in Wellington, particularly the former, the Nelscn Bank notes were accepted freely. Many years after the Bank closed one of the notes was presented from O'ago, and was' promptly paid. T aders had frequently to take the n'( tes,the usual procedure in such a cs >c being their presentation at the B; nk when _t cheque was given in exchange on the Union Bank of Australia in Wellington. In 1853 the Bi nk of Issue Act was repealed, and th_ Union Bank eventually reopened its local branch, thus obviating the necessity of the Nelson Bank. It is further interesting to record £hat the Outstanding notes on the Nelson Bank amount to .£4O. Mr. Sclanders personally conducted the business of Morrison and Sclanders during these troublous years, but in 1857 he returned to London where, at New Broad^-strect, the firm has a branch for buying. The pioneer still survives. Mr. Alexander Sclanders,. a nephew, was left in charge in tht colony, but in 1874 he also returned to England, when another ne ihew, Mr. James Sclanders, became the colonial manager, and the name of the firm was changed to Sclanders and Co. In more recent years, Mr. Henry Edwards, has taken his place, and is now almost as well known in Nelson as the business itself, having been associated with itfofover47 years. In 1863 the firm opened a branch at Christchurch, which it closed in 1895 in Order to concentrate its operations in Cook Strait, A branch was also opened at Wanganui, which is now almost as important as the local connection, very handsome premises being erected there in 1894 on Taupo Quay. The main local warehouse of Messrs. Sclanders and Co. is situated in Hardy-street, where the firm have ground 70 x-300 feet in dimensions, a large portion of which is occupied by a fine two storey structure, one ofthe best in the town. In addition they have large premises at Auckland Point, and a bond and free store, a bond store, -and a galvanised iron bond at the Port. All there contain a valuable stock, worth niary thousands of pounds, for distribution throughout the Nelson, Marlborough, and West Coast district. The firm deal in all sorts of mer:han#c such as drapery,, groceriis, Ijjeots and shoes, hardware, saddler^ wines and spirits. It is 'tliei: ofjject '.to supply almost everything by industrial and town classes, and besides what they obtan through'their buyer in London they have goods constantly arriving from China, Singapore, Japan, and-Amerlca. Their warehouse is therefore, an exhibition of all 6ms|erip ions l of merchandise produced •by almost every trading nation. From the large offices fronting the strett; department after department suggests the possession of a large and stable business^ One of their large. st lilies is- in wines and spirits, thou- ands of pounds worth of stock of thVkihd being on the water at onetime consigned; to their order aiiji;' n this as mi other respects they transact a preponderating share of the local trade . Travellers are sent oyer a big stretch of country ' in . the two Islands, the stock at Wanganui being as comprehensive as that in Nelson. /Besides importing merchandise Messrs. Sclanders and Co. export wool, 'hops, and other produce not,: however, now' devoting very special attention to the latter braiK.li. They have, also, for many years as attorneys for English .and colonial capitalists in the in'vestmeht of money on mortgage, their iiome connection therein being large. Then they are shipping and insUrr.nce agents* in the former represe itirig the New Zealand Shipping Co. and the Oceania S.S., Co*. :{S^re<:kles),'and with Messrs.'Cock aiid Co., are agents for the ' Shaw Rville Co. , managing for them the 1 3r&j*Ktage business; Messrs. Sclanders and C 6 .; are part owners' of the iViichor Co.'s line of local steamers, aui |aie agents for the South British Insurance; Co. of N.Z. Because of -jttle great dimensions of their general trade : they are happily situated to

/Sfcrve-the numbers of storekeepers I : scattered over 4his part of Newi Zealand, and in importing they procure those class- of goods that they k now to be in most request. . From this discursive sketch it will be seen that Messrs. "Sclanders and Co. are a firm of which Nelson may well be proud of. They employ some 40 hands altogether, a considerable number reckoning that they only engage in the wholesale trade, neither retailing nor manufacturing. After sixty years of trading, a phenomenal period in Australasian commercial records, they are as firm and progressive as ever. Mr Edwards, the Colonial manager, is esteemed as one of the soundest and most re- ■ putable business men in the district. He was Vice-President of the Nelson Savings-]. Bank, and Chairman of the Nelson Fire Underwriters' Association, and has also occupied all the high offices in the OddfellWirs Order, being now treasurer of the Loyal Nelson Lodge, the oldest in the district. He. is amember of Committee of the Chamber of Commerce. I 1 I