Page 31 Advertisements Column 1

Evening Star, Issue 23503, 17 February 1940, Page 31 (Supplement)

mM re 91863*1940 AWAY BACK I!) THE ’SIXTIES, w‘,-»n hundreds of people were flocking fo the Otago goldfields, two men—Mr_ Henry North and Mr Arthur Scoullar—arrived in Dunedin. Like ail good colonists, they were willing to turn their hands to anything, and, as there was a great demand for house accommodation, they secured work as house carpenters. Taking over a building at the corner of Canongate and Rattray Street, originally a slaughterhouse, : they commenced the manufacture of furniture for the Dunedin firm of Kay and Beswick. IfiljeM4 W GLORIOUS K TRRDITIOn in Tay Street, Invercargill, and opened a branch under the management of Mr F. Butterfield. In 1921 Mr Butterfield resigned and Mr Wm. Buchan, late of Herbert Haynes and Co., was appointed manager, a position which he still holds. In 1853, wishing to commence business on their own account, Messrs North and Scoullar leased a building at the corner of Rattray and Maclaggan Streets, which was then known as the Shakespeare Hotel. They were very successful, for there was little opposition, and soon they had to extend their premises. In 1858 Mr Robert Chisholm joined the firm, and the wooden hotel building gave way to a substantial three storey brick and stone warehouse, the old slaughterhouse which had served as a warehouse being replaced by the present factory. A few years later progress had become so rapid that once again iho size of the warehouse was increased. In 1889 Mr North retired from the business, Mr Chisholm becoming a partner, the name of the firm now being Scoullar and Chisholm. At the N.Z. Industrial Exhibition in Wellington in 1885 the firm was awarded the only gold and silver medals offered for furniture and furnishings. The goods exhibited aroused such favourable public appreciation that it was decided to open a store In Wellington.. A four storey brick and stone warehouse with factory attached was, therefore, opened on Lambton Quay under the management of Mr Scoullar. Scoullar and Chisholm imported intensively from England, the Continent and America, but always gave prominence in the manufacture of their furniture to the beautiful New Zealand native timbers. In 1887, when the Dunedin City Council decided to send to the late Queen Victoria an offering on the occasion of Her Majesty’s Jubilee, Scoullar and Chisholm filled the order for the casket—a unique specimen of art cabinet work made from about 220 pieces of 20 different varieties of Now Zealand timber. In the same year they designed and manufactured a very fine piece of cabinet work in the shape of a cabinet and album as an offering from the Roman Catholic Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of Dunedin to His Holiness the Pope on the occasion of his sacerdotal jubilee. In 1899 the firm formed themselves into a limited liability company, of which Mr R. Chisholm was appointed General Manager and Managing Director, with the registered office in Dunedin. In 1911 the company secured a building situated During June, 1914, Mr R. Chisholm passed away, and Mr J. Heaney was appointed in his place. Mr Chisholm, who had been a great worker for the improvement of furniture manufacture, was one of the prime movers in a scheme to get a weekly half-holiday, and it was frequently he who arranged the yearly outings for the retail trade. He was a City Councillor for many years, later becoming Mayor, a position which he held during the Boer War. He was also on the Reception Committee on the occasion of the visit of the late King George V., then Duke of York. Under Mr Heaney the firm continued to progress, while always maintaining a very high.standard of quality. Mr Heaney was very popular with the staff, always being willing to help them in any difficulty. On his resignation in 1931, Mr T. Chisholm became General Manager, having to face the difficult days of the depression. He successfully pulled the firm through, but the strain was too much for his health, and he resigned in 1935, though still serving the firm in a less exacting position. Mr Spence NIco! followed Mr Chisholm as General Manager, but his health was very indifferent and ho resigned in 1938. Mr L. G. Wood, a man of wide experience, was appointed General Manager, and to-day, under his wise direction, the firm is making great strides towards record production and activity. A souvenir of this grand old firm is In the shape of a silver inkstand now on Mr Wood’s desk. It was presented to Scoullar and Chisholm Ltd. in 1929 by Messrs Arthur Ellis and Co. to commemorate " trading together for fifty years." Scoullar and Chisholm Ltd. are justly proud of their fine heritage of honest service and fine workmanship, and look forward to a future that will see still greater achievements. The firm i: developing on the most modern lines, and as long as the old traditions of service are maintained, cannot tail to progress. Interesting PICTORIAL RECORD An interesting Pictorial Record of the steps in the firm's progress and the awards won at the various exhibitions occupies one wall of our store. Drop in and see this historical survey. Scoullar ®> Chisholm Ltd. The Personality Furnishing House, Rattray Street, Dunedin.