Family tradition in sawmill group

Press, 22 February 1978, Page 10

Family tradition in sawmill group

Pinewood and Hardware Ltd., manufacturer of the Pinewood Modular Homes, is one of a three-company group now operated by a long term sawmill family dating back to early this century. The other companies in the group being Selwyn Sawmills, of Hororata, and Hallidays Timber Ltd, of Ashburton.

The family business was started as Selwyn Sawmills in about 1910 by Albert William Halliday at Mabelbush, in Southland, with a traction engine.

Albert and four brothers moved the business and traction engine to Kamahi in 1915; and two brothers moved again in about 1920 to start the Waitane mill with a stationary steam engine.

The Waitane mill was burned down in 1925 and replaced with an all-elec-tric powered mill, which may possibly have been the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and

certainly was the first in Southland. This mill was still in operation in 1938. when Albert Halliday left for Canterbury and took over complete ownership of Selwyn Sawmills Ltd. The mill was used mainly for radiata pine and other exotic timbers used for box making at a time when there was no treating of timber. The company finally ceased box making in 1964 because of the increasing use of cardboard boxes. Albert Williams’ sons have continued the tradition in Christchurch and Ashburton — R. Clutha Halliday, a chartered accountant, is managing director of the group of three inter-owned and interoperated companies, and has been chairman of the Canterbury Sawmillers Association since June 1958; Bruce Halliday and his son are running the sawmill at Hororata.